Microsoft Bing Maps Multi-Itinerary Optimisation API

Microsoft has launched the Bing Maps Multi-Itinerary Optimisation (MIO) API. The REST service automates the process of building itineraries for multiple agents (e.g., drivers, sales representatives, professionals, etc.) while also optimising the routes among all agents to save travel time and distance.

Whether you’re a small or large organisation with a fleet of drivers, mobile salesforce, or a team of personnel in the field, maximising workforce efficiency by effectively planning and optimising routes is a high priority.

At launch, the MIO API can support up to 10 agents and 100 waypoints (i.e., stops) with plans to increase the API limits in the future.

Some suggested scenarios for MIO API:
-Multi-day route planning
-Multiple agents and multiple shifts of those agents (characterised by start and end locations and times for each shift)
-Service time windows, priority and dwell time (i.e., how long an agent needs to be present) at each service location, making sure that agents arrive at and leave the service location within the defined service time windows

Customers can specify whether to use actual road network information or a constant radius and travel speed to calculate travel distances and travel times between the itinerary locations to optimise the routes. Also, the API can take optional inputs for customers’ preferences for reducing travel time or distance. The API gives you the ability to factor in predictive traffic in route optimisation. You can use a histogram of travel times in a time-window that takes into account the predicted traffic at those times.

For more information contact our Bing Maps team: +44 (0)1364 655 133 or email: mapping@greymatter.com