Mapping the future

In-Depth

Innovation is at the centre of Chris Parker’s work for Ordnance Survey. He tells Stuart Nathan how he is exploring our ever-increasing technological advances to exploit the uses of geographical data.

For most of us,

is not a name readily associated with high technology. Although we're familiar with its iconic maps from school geography classes and, if we're outdoor types, from planning walks and other expeditions, OS is, literally, a part of the landscape.

But the landscape, as any geographer will tell you, is far from static. And just as the landscape changes, so OS has to change too. Always at the forefront of the technologies used to survey the land in all of its forms, from rugged mountains to coastal plains and man-made town- and cityscapes, it is also now deeply involved in the development of pervasive computing, which promises to bring about enormous changes in our lifestyles.

OS is a venerable institution, founded in 1791 to help George III's government plan the defence against a possible French invasion. Ever since, the organisation has prided itself on using the best available technologies for surveying and mapping. And although it's the paper maps which are best known, OS's flagship product is the

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