Using the maps service
For models that involve routing and thus require maps data, a maps service is part of the Timefold Platform.
The maps service supports integrations with maps providers to calculate distance and travel matrices. These matrices are used to calculate the distance between locations and optimize their routes accordingly.
Features of the maps service
In addition to making travel times and distances available, the maps service adds the following features:
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Pre-calculation and caching of matrices, to avoid calculating matrices on the fly while solving.
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Incremental updates, to avoid recalculating matrices every time they are used and only download updates to the matrix instead of the entire matrix.
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Throttling based on the capacity of each maps provider, to avoid overloading the provider with requests.
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Concurrency guarding, to prevent similar requests to the same provider from being done simultaneously.
Distance and travel matrices
The maps service is used to calculate a distance matrix and a travel matrix for a list of locations.
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The distance matrix is used to calculate the distance between two locations.
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The travel matrix is used to calculate the travel time between two locations.
Each matrix is a 2D array of size n * n, where n is the number of locations in the list.
The matrices are calculated by sending requests to the maps provider with the coordinates of the locations.
The request is done during the "Started" phase of a run (SOLVING_STARTED).
Available map providers
It’s possible to configure the map provider and map location via Configuration parameters and profiles.
The maps service supports the following map providers:
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haversine: calculates the matrices using the Haversine formula. -
osrm: calculates the matrices using an OSRM service for a specific location.
For users with a Trial tenant plan, only the map provider haversine is available.
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Available maps
In the Timefold Cloud Platform UI, you can create a configuration profile and choose a maps provider (e.g. OSRM) to see a full list of available maps.
| Not all map locations are loaded by default. If you want to use a map that is currently not available, you can contact us. |
Vehicle maps
The available maps for typical vehicle traffic include (but are not limited to):
| Map | Description |
|---|---|
Australia |
This is the OSRM map for the country of Australia. |
Belgium |
This is the OSRM map for the country of Belgium. |
Dach |
This is the OSRM map for the DACH region, covering the countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. |
Mexico |
This is the OSRM map for the country of Mexico. |
Netherlands |
This is the OSRM map for the country of Netherlands. |
Ontario |
This is the OSRM map for the region of Ontario in Canada. |
Sweden |
This is the OSRM map for the country of Sweden. |
UK |
This is the OSRM map for the country of the United Kingdom. |
US Georgia |
This is the OSRM map for the state of Georgia in the United States. |
US Midwest |
This is the OSRM map for the Midwest region of the United States, covering the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. |
US North-east |
This is the OSRM map for the North-east region of the United States, covering the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Main. |
US Pacific |
This is the OSRM map for the Pacific region of the United States, covering the states of Hawaii and Alaska. |
US South |
This is the OSRM map for the Southern region of the United States, covering the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Lousiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington DC. |
US West |
This is the OSRM map for the Western region of the United States, covering the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Denver, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada. |