Tele Atlas Mapping Van Comes to Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Digital cartographer Tele Atlas NV has brought its first orange mapping van to Asia as a part of its effort to collect global data for portable, Internet, in-car and wireless navigation systems.

CEO Alain de Taeye said Thursday the Dutch-based company will eventually operate 50 of the vehicles throughout the region.

"Asia-Pacific will most likely be the biggest region for digital mapping in the world," he said.

Tele Atlas, founded in 1984, competes with U.S.-based Navteq Corp. to provide digital mapping data to major companies including Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., MapQuest and Google Inc.

The bright orange sport utility vehicle shown in Taipei – flown in from Belgium a few days ago – was laden with six high-resolution cameras, Global Positioning System receivers, laser scanners and onboard computers.

Tele Atlas vans gather data for standard two-dimensional maps for car navigation systems and handheld devices. The company also deploys people in more traditional cars and motorcycles.

Data collected on board will be sent to one of the company’s two production facilities – in Poland and India – for processing into maps.

The van in Taipei was emblazoned with the company’s logo, a boy on the back of a flying goose. It is based on the Swedish children’s book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils" about a boy who gains a unique visual understanding of the world from his vantage point atop the waterfowl.

Mark Steele, Tele Atlas’ chief operating officer for the Asia-Pacific, said that Tele Atlas operates in 10 countries and territories in Asia. That number will expand to 13 by the end of this year, Steele said.