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Location Data

Location data is what Astral operates on. Every API call starts with spatial data — points, polygons, lines, or references to previously recorded locations. But not all location data is created equal. The provenance of a piece of location data determines how much trust you can place in it.

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The Verifiability Spectrum

Astral works with location data at three levels of verifiability: Each level adds verifiability. Raw GeoJSON is fine for some use cases; signed location records add attribution and integrity. Location proofs add evidence of physical correspondence — the hardest part. Astral doesn’t take a stance on what’s trustworthy — that’s not our role. Instead, we provide a system to organize, harmonize, and evaluate location data and evidence — to make spatial decision parameters legible – so that applications can make informed, risk-appropriate choices about what to trust and how much.
v0 supports vector geospatial data only. Raster support (GeoTIFFs, imagery analysis) is planned.

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Geospatial data sources

Location data comes from many sources, each with different properties:
  • Device sensors — GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular positioning. Ubiquitous but often spoofable.
  • Network infrastructure — Cell tower triangulation, IP geolocation, internet latency measurements. Coarse but hard to manipulate without network access.
  • Hardware attestation — Secure enclave readings, hardware keystores. Harder to forge but still device-dependent.
  • Institutional records — Land registries, shipping manifests, IoT telemetry. Trusted because of the institution, not cryptography.
  • Reference data — Official boundaries, standard geometries, public datasets. Trusted because they’re publicly auditable.
No single source is sufficient for high-stakes applications. Location proofs address this through defense-in-depth: combining evidence from multiple independent sources to raise the cost of forgery.

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Coordinate system

All location data in v0 of the Astral Protocol uses GeoJSON as the geometry format. Coordinates follow the GeoJSON standard:
  • Default Coordinate Reference System (CRS): WGS84 (http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/OGC/1.3/CRS84)
  • Coordinate order: [longitude, latitude] — note that this is the opposite of what many mapping APIs use (a common challenge in GIS systems — here’s why.)

Next: GeoJSON

Raw unsigned geospatial data
See also: