User-friendly web client for map updates

Jørn Storholt, lead engineer at NIBIO, has been instrumental in the development and implementation of AR5web in Norwegian municipalities. The web client AR5web became available to all municipalities in the spring of 2022. So far, 274 municipalities have completed mandatory training courses, and 216 municipalities have implemented the web client.

“We have come closer to the goal of bridging the gap between map and terrain," says Storholt.

AR5web is a small piece in an extensive mapping collaboration serving Norwegian administration. The most detailed map data is managed in the Common Map Database (FKB). This includes AR5, or Land Resource Map 1:5000, which contains information about Norway's land and forest resources, as well as other undeveloped areas below the tree line.

Map data from FKB is essential for municipal and regional land use planning. Effective processing requires that the maps used reflect reality as accurately as possible. For this, the map database must be updated. NIBIO is responsible for AR5 and collaborates with municipalities to keep the dataset updated.

AR5web makes it much easier for municipalities to register changes in AR5. Previously, all changes had to be entered using advanced software. Now, employees without such expertise can enter the changes directly into the original AR5 in FKB. The next day, the changes become visible to everyone, for example, in the mapping solutions of NIBIO, Gårdskart, and Kilden.

Although the web client is easy to use, it has been developed using advanced programming that has received international attention.