Geographic Information Systems (GIS) clients capture, store, manage and display data elements according to geospatial coordinates. For example, mapping clients, such as Google Maps, render maps, satellite imagery and other data over a two-dimensional surface. Similarly, earth-browsing clients, such as Google Earth, render satellite imagery, terrain, vectors and other data over a three-dimensional geometry representing the Earth's surface. Thus, a user of Google Maps or Google Earth may navigate across the two-dimensional surface or three-dimensional geometry while data and images corresponding to geographical locations are presented to the user.
To provide for such a user experience, an enormous amount of geospatial data must be organized and indexed into geospatial assets, such as 2-D maps or 3-D globes. Typically, users rely on access to a central or master server(s) to provide this geospatial data to their mapping or earth-browsing clients. However, it is often the case that access to such master server(s) is not available, thereby limiting or preventing a user from retrieving the desired geospatial data.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds