3D maps come into their own in the great outdoors, so you have 3D mapping apps like the Maps 3D app which tracks you as you bike, hike or ski. But others are taking this area more seriously, and want to attack the market more aggressively. Today, London-based Terrascope has raised £300,000 ($470k) in seed funding to create what it aims to be the most detailed digital maps possible with their Fatmap application. The company will use the investment to fund product development and marketing.
The company is launching Fatmap Ski, a subscription-based, consumer-facing product for ski resorts in December this year but is also in a number of discussions to license its 3D mapping engine for other applications and industries.
The investment comes from a number of angel investors, including Kenton Cool, an English mountaineer who has climbed Mount Everest 11 times.
Misha Gopaul, co-founder of Fatmap and member of the British Ski Mountaineering team, says today’s maps are missing a lot of detail and context-specific information relevant to outdoor sports, which is why he created what he calls an “advanced terrain intelligence toolkit.”
Fatmap uses high-resolution, tri-stereoscopic satellite imagery to create 3D models with an elevation grid resolution of only 2m. Think Google Earth but with between 15 and 45x more detail, usable offline plus with a whole terrain toolkit to make it a useful mapping tool.
In terms of mapping and terrain intelligence it probably competes with MemoryMap and ViewRanger to an extent. In terms of ski tracking and location sharing it would be Strava, MapMyRide, Ski Tracks etc. But in terms of more off-piste ski mapping they don’t really have a competitor, says Gopaul.
The app has the ability to share 3D fly-throughs of any ski descent on the mountain, find the sunny slopes, consult detailed route descriptions off all piste and off-piste lines, locate family and friends through real-time location.
Fatmap will initially cover Chamonix, Verbier, Zermatt, Val D’Isere & Tignes (Espace Killy) and Les Arcs & La Plagne (Paradiski) with other resorts launching throughout the winter season.
Here’s an example of its 3D mapping engine in action:
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