The next time you visit Yosemite National Park, a GPS device may be able to help get you there and back. However, when you get off the car and venture onto the actual trails on foot, your GPS will cease being very useful. The Denver-based digital mapping company Intermap Technologies recently launched its very first iPhone application, called AccuTerra, which seeks to fill the void left by lack of quality off-road mapping in GPS devices.
AccuTerra provides users with high-definition 3D maps of U.S. forests, state parks and national parks, maps that work even when you are far outside the reach any wireless mobile networks. One of the very first maps that were made available by Intermap for their new iPhone app was a map of Yosemite National Park, so now you can use your iPhone to navigate the Yosemite trails and know where you are exactly every step of the way.
AccuTerra displays the user’s location and how far they are from the nearest roads, rivers, warming huts, trails and even natural points of interest. All of this is displayed along with information about the terrain, which is essential when hiking your way through a wilderness region. You can also take photos, which are saved onto your iPhone along with information concerning the location and elevation of where you took the picture. AccuTerra also makes it easy to share these pictures with friends and family, on Facebook or through your email.
Earlier in June, AccuTerra’s slick interface and smooth performance, as well as its innovation and usefulness, earned it an Apple Design Award for best iPhone 3.0 application at the 2009 Apple Design Awards. The AccuTerra was praised for its “usability” and “technology integration and adoption.” Because of the time it takes for the Apple store to approve new apps, AccuTerra was only available after the awards conference. However, once the delay was over, Intermap’s first iPhone application did not disappoint.
A large part of the application’s success is probably due to the fact that Intermap’s primary business is not application development. Intermap is first and foremost ahigh-tech aerial 3D mapping company. One of Intermap’s biggest projects involved contracts with the U.S. government and Magellan GPS to come up with over 3 million square miles of reliable 3D map data. To do this, Intermap used over 2,530 airplanes that clocked in over 10,000 hours of flying over U.S. territory.
The launch of its first iPhone application marks the first time that Intermap has developed a technology specifically for use in consumer electronics. The company’s previous clients have mostly consisted of governments, military organizations and large engineering companies. The AccuTerra app certainly benefited from Intermap’s previous experience. A whole new business unit was created solely for the purpose of creating an iPhone app that could smoothly implement the company’s high definition 3D mapping data and technology. You can now purchase AccuTerra at the online Apple store. State park maps will be sold for $1.99 each and national park maps will go for $2.99.
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