In this paper we present a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) map server centered on the vector format SVG. The main motivation behind this work is to build a simple map server that can be accessed easily using a standard web browser that does not support SVG.
Due to the fact that most of the currently available cellular devices support raster formats such as GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) and PNG (Portable Network Graphics), a solution that increases the accessibility of map services should be based on a raster format and subsequently avoid the use of vectorial formats. Using raster formats to display maps on mobile devices does not only increase accessibility, but also increases the potential market of map services. Commercial solutions exist, however they are to the best of our knowledge not FOSS solutions.
In this paper, we present a prototype of a web mapping solution designed for mobile devices. The solution is a client server solution. The server is doted of a module that converts on the fly the rendered SVG graphic corresponding to the mobile query into standardized bitmap images that are sent back to the client. Experimental tests on mobile browser simulators and J2ME clients demonstrate the feasibility of the solution.
@article{yazolst4p2007,
author{Anis Yazidi, Morten Goodwin Olsen},
title{Increasing participation for mobile map applications},
booktitle{Technology for Participation},
year{2007},
month{June}
}