Idevio - Questions and answers

Idevio is a software company focusing on geographic compression and streaming technology. Idevio is connected to the Business Incubator, Chalmers Innovation, of Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg Sweden.

What is RaveGeo?

RaveGeo is a fast, compressed, multi-resolution map format for huge geographic vector databases, designed for environments ranging from handheld devices and navigators to workstations.

How does RaveGeo differ from and relate to formats like ECW and MrSID?

First, RaveGeo handles vector data, like road databases, topographical maps and similar. ECW from ER Mapper MrSID from Lizardtech are raster formats, made for images, like satelite images and ortophotos. But they also share many features like multi-resolution, high compression and fast, streaming access over networks.

How far can you zoom in the demos?

How far you can zoom in is only dependent on the geographical data being used. There is no limits in RaveGeo of how detailed data can be, in fact the access time is almost independent of scale level. If more detailed data is used, more details are shown. The RaveGeo format has been successfully tested with high resolution data from several sources, such as TeleAtlas, TeleAdress, Navtech, National Land Survey of Sweden and ENCs from NOAA.

What is the purpose of the demos?

The purpose of the demos shows the unique features of the RaveGeo concept, the very fast access of huge database with continuous zoom and scroll, the automatic multi-resolution, the progressive update of details over the internet and the efficient compression of a large spatial database.

What data are used in the demos?

The demos are using free data from different sources like the National Imagery and Mapping Agency NIMA. The dataset is the Vector Map (VMap) Level 0 and 1, which provides worldwide coverage in scale 1:1,000,000 scale. The data has been converted to RaveGeo format, compressed approx 13 times, and arranged in 10 levels of detail.

Does the demo work on Windows 98?

No, we recommend Windows 2000, NT or XP for the Windows demo. The Java demo works in most browsers with support for Java 1.1 or later.

How much bandwidth does RaveGeo require?

The RaveGeo multi-resolution capacity enable also progressive updates. This means that the significant information is sent first, and the map becomes useful before all detailed data is transmitted. Progressive updates combined with a very dense format makes RaveGeo suitable for devices with low bandwidth and/or low memory storage capacity.

Is it possible to evaluate RaveGeo before acquiring a license?

Yes, there is an evaluation package available. The package contains documentation and a trial version of the RaveGeo Reader C++ API. The test reader can can read from map data our server.

How is RaveGeo data visualized?

Several options exist to render RaveGeo data, third party mapping engines can be used or the RaveGeo Map Client can be used.

What vector formats can be converted?

Today, vector databases in VPF and Shape format can be compiled, but more formats will be added and the RaveGeo Compiler will be able to convert all of the most common formats in the future.

How does RaveGeo relate to standards?

The RaveGeo format is compatible on a object model level with GML (Geography Markup Language), from OGC (Open GIS Consortium). The RaveGeo Server uses the open protocol HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to transmit vector data to clients. The RaveGeo Reader API is defined with standard C++ and Java.

Can RaveGeo handle 3D vector data?

Yes, RaveGeo handles geometries in any dimension. The geometry types are today Point, Line and Polygon. For 3D terrain models and similar mesh objects are required. This is something that will be available in coming versions.