Getting Started

Getting Started Guide

The structure of indexing assets (e.g., aerial imageries, digital elevation models, street view panoramas) in FastMap is based on SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specifications.

We have four definitions in FastMap that helps us index and serve assets:

1. Collection: It is a structure to organize and index geospatial datasets that share common characteristics. A collection might include all aerial images or all elevation models. Each collection has a list of missions.
2. Mission: A mission represents a specific data capture operation that gathers geospatial data. For example, a drone flight or satellite pass that captures aerial imagery over a city. It is possible to have one mission to capture multiple collections. Each mission has a list of assets.
3. Asset: An asset is a specific file or data product resulting from a mission. It represents individual pieces of geospatial data such as images, point clouds, elevation models, or panoramas.
4. Layer: A layer is a representation of geospatial data that can be visualized and queried. Layer

Each collection has a category property. Each category share common characteristics that shows users what endpoint to use to retrieve their assets. Here is a list of categories:

1. ortho_photo_mosaic (1): A seamless mosaic of orthorectified aerial imagery, ensuring uniform scale and alignment with the Earth's surface. Used for base maps, land cover analysis, and high-resolution mapping
2. terrain_mosaic (3): A raster dataset representing terrain elevation over a large area, usually derived from Digital Elevation Models (DEM, DTM, or DSM). Supports hydrology, slope analysis, and terrain visualization.
3. streetview (4): Panoramic images captured at street level, allowing users to explore locations in first-person view. Used for navigation, urban planning, and infrastructure assessment.
4. pointcloud (5): A collection of 3D points representing surfaces, captured via LiDAR or photogrammetry. Essential for 3D modeling, forestry analysis, and volumetric measurements.
5. ortho_photo_tileset (6): A tiled version of orthophotos, optimized for efficient streaming and rendering in map applications. Used in web GIS platforms for smooth zooming and panning of aerial imagery.
6. oblique_photo_tileset (7): A tiled dataset of oblique images, allowing high-performance visualization of angled aerial photos. Helps in 3D mapping applications and visualization tools like CesiumJS.
7. terrain_tileset (8): A tiled dataset of elevation models, allowing progressive loading and rendering of large terrain datasets. Used in 3D terrain visualization, geospatial simulations, and VR applications.
8. web_service (9): Represents a dynamic, API-based dataset that serves geospatial data on demand rather than static files. Used for real-time mapping, live tracking, and cloud-hosted GIS services.

FastMap provides endpoints based on OSGeo (Open Source Geospatial Foundation) and OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standards to serve assets.

OGC services:

1. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v1/OGC/wms
   This is Web Map Service can serve web service, orthophoto mosaics, and orthophoto tile set, terrain mosaic, terrain tile set collections.
2. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v1/OGC/wmts
   This is Web Map Tile Service can serve web service, orthophoto mosaics, and orthophoto tile set, terrain mosaic, terrain tile set collections.

OSGeo services:

1. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v1/stac/tms/missions/{mission}/{z}/{x}/{y}
   This legacy Tile Map Service can only serve web service, orthophoto mosaics, and orthophoto tile set collections, and is not supported anymore.
2. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v2/OSG/TMS/{layer}/{z}/{x}/{y}
   This is new version of Tile Map Service can serve web service, orthophoto mosaics, and orthophoto tile set, terrain mosaic, terrain tile set collections.
3. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v2/OSG/TMS/oblique/{layer}/{uuid}/{z}/{x}/{y}
   This Tile Map Service can only be used for oblique photo tile set collections. In addition to layer name, the UUID of a particular oblique asset (tile) is required.
4. https://tiles.fastmap.ai/v2/OSG/TMS/streetview/{layer}/{uuid}
   This Tile Map Service can only be used for street view collections. In addition to layer name, the UUID of a particular panorama is required.

** Point clouds (pointcloud category) are not yet supported via API.