Articles about map export formats, tools and OpenStreetMap data use cases.
Locus Map by Asamm Software: SQLite-based `.sqlitedb` tile container, mapsforge themes, POI databases. OSM offline maps for hiking on Android.
LAS — the ASPRS industry standard for LiDAR point clouds (1.0–1.4). LAZ provides lossless compression. PDAL, lastools, ground/building/vegetation classification.
Lanelet2 is an HD map format from KIT and Autoware based on OSM XML: lane-level topology, 3D geometry, traffic rules; used in Apollo, Autoware, NVIDIA DriveSim, BSD license.
LandXML from Autodesk+Bentley+Trimble consortium 1999: Alignment/Surface/Parcel XML, AutoCAD Civil 3D, OSM road export.
KOMPAS-3D and KOMPAS-Graph by ASCON: ESKD standards, .frw/.m3d/.a3d, SolidWorks/AutoCAD substitution, OSM pipeline.
Deep guide to KMZ: ZIP wrapper over KML with embedded images and models, OGC standard, usage in Google Earth and mobile navigators.
Deep guide to JPEG (JPG): what's inside ISO/IEC 10918-1, the JPEG Committee's history since 1986, which programs open it, pros and cons. How to get a compact JPG map from any OpenStreetMap area in 30 seconds.
Deep guide to KML: what's inside the Keyhole/Google XML format, OGC standardization history, which programs open it, pros and cons. How to get KML from any OpenStreetMap area for Google Earth in 30 seconds.
JPEG 2000 (ISO/IEC 15444): wavelet compression with lossless and lossy modes, multi-resolution decode, 16-bit channels. Used in DICOM, DCP, Sentinel-2 and archives.
IFC is the ISO 16739 BIM standard from buildingSMART for exchanging 3D building and infrastructure models: IFC4.3 (2023) adds roads, bridges, ports; works in Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla.
JPEG XL (ISO/IEC 18181, 2022): royalty-free successor to JPEG with lossless transcoding, HDR and progressive rendering. Why it matters for OSM maps.
Uber's H3 (2018, Apache 2.0): 16 levels of hexagonal grid, 64-bit cell IDs, parent/child hierarchy. Surge pricing, mobility analytics, OSM POI aggregation into H3.