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OpenStreetMap

This law has big implications for open mapping projects like Open Street Map. Have a look at the warning on the China page for OSM:

This [law] to outlaw the entire OSM project, and any participation or contribution. ... People visiting China would be well advised to avoid overtly wandering around looking at GPS units, and avoid carrying OSM related documents in your luggage. Or you might prefer to abide by these strange Chinese laws, and just not do any mapping there at all.

I know this taxpayer is saying, "why can't our idiot local governments publish their routes so Google, Garmin, etc. can include them in their databases?"

If you have a Garmin GPS, one where you can load new maps, you have no excuse: footpaths, stairways, and trails are often listed in OpenStreetMap, although I guess the thoroughness of the map might depend on whether there have been people in your area who have been active in mapping.

oh yeah, and of course there is OpenStreetMap & co.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti/Earthquake_map_resources
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake/Maps_and_data
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Yushu_earthquake

oh yeah, and of course there is OpenStreetMap & co.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti/Earthquake_map_resources
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake/Maps_and_data
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Yushu_earthquake

oh yeah, and of course there is OpenStreetMap & co.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti/Earthquake_map_resources
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake/Maps_and_data
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Yushu_earthquake

oh yeah, and of course there is OpenStreetMap & co.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti/Earthquake_map_resources
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake/Maps_and_data
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2010_Yushu_earthquake

I hadn't visited OpenStreetMaps in several years (it was an interesting project, but a little crude and sparse back then), so out of curiosity (prompted by your post) I went there to see how it has progressed. I am impressed! I don't know about how it fares overall, but someone has put an awful of work into Lexington, MA where I live. What most impressed me the most is that it includes the walking trails in the conservation land areas, which Google does not. Compare Whipple Hill on OpenStreetMap with Whipple Hill on Google Maps. (The hyperlinks are much shorter too...) So, finally I don't have to guess when I encounter partially overgrown trails on my frequents walks through them. This project needs to be more widely publicized. I had no idea how much it has improved.

As much as I like Google for all it's well-built, low-annoyance stuff, I have to admit there is just a fundamental, structural problem with companies - they need lots of income to keep going. I myself run, opened and closed a few... All planetary data being owned by a company is going to be a problem. But it's our own fault for directing all our attention, energy, and monies to companies, instead of community owned projects. For example there is Open Street Map there to prove that we can build stuff we own all by ourselves, no companies involved, thank you very much. Where we get salaries or monies to pay for bills and expenses is a problem, but problems always have many solutions. Open source civil engineering perhaps...

Okay it's lame to reply to myself, but I don't want to detract from the very real work and effort that has gone into making actual 3D maps for the blind.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_for_the_blind
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/HaptoRender

There's a lot of mapping information that can help the blind such as where audio enhanced intersections exist, which roads the sidewalks can be felt, there's even 3D maps printed out with the street names converted to braille so 3D maps really are awesome for blind people.

Okay it's lame to reply to myself, but I don't want to detract from the very real work and effort that has gone into making actual 3D maps for the blind.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_for_the_blind
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/HaptoRender

There's a lot of mapping information that can help the blind such as where audio enhanced intersections exist, which roads the sidewalks can be felt, there's even 3D maps printed out with the street names converted to braille so 3D maps really are awesome for blind people.

you mean... something like http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=River+Severn ? :)

geonames is quite a mess licence/copyright-wise - people are adding data there from basically anything, so some if it might be just lifted from any of the online maps, which would be a copyright violation in some countries.

but in general yeah, somebody should have given that erick buddy link to http://www.openstreetmap.org/ - would have saved some rant time...

I never cease to be amazed and geekily interested in the vast number of applications that people find with for Google maps & earth data.
That and the GPS are, for me, great examples of the gov/military and private enterprise really giving something back to the community.
Now if only we can have street maps & associated guidance software of the same quality as the commercial stuff.
http://www.openstreetmap.org/ is a good start, but it has a long way to go...

and they've got a nice JavaScript API.

...at the cost of their WMS interface.

So, instead of linking to their server for just the needed images, it's necessary to download their whole dataset (7GB extracted to 160GB), serve it yourself...and maintain it through updates (10MB/day).

and they've got a nice JavaScript API.

...at the cost of their WMS interface.

So, instead of linking to their server for just the needed images, it's necessary to download their whole dataset (7GB extracted to 160GB), serve it yourself...and maintain it through updates (10MB/day).

and they've got a nice JavaScript API.

...at the cost of their WMS interface.

So, instead of linking to their server for just the needed images, it's necessary to download their whole dataset (7GB extracted to 160GB), serve it yourself...and maintain it through updates (10MB/day).

Or if you just need a map for driving, there is OpenStreetMap: http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Nothing very fancy, but not bad at all for what it is.

Looks like it's pointing to the shoulder of a cycleway. http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=37.769573&mlon=-122.483123&zoom=16&layers=00B0FTF

I think Geotagging an old map, which isn't based on accurate satellite imagery is an interesting concept.

Of course you aren't interested in in its accuracy, as that probably is horrible comparatively speaking, but like any good metatagging of content an image contains, it's interesting to geo-tag what's represented on the map in the context of the item being geo-tagged.

Things like : http://www.openstreetmap.org/ are interesting, and adding historical maps to that as well would be interesting, for although it's not a perfect replica, if the map is contorted to the real word map by the geotagging information, you could have a pretty accurate depiction of development within an area.

Focus on the preservation of the imagery first, obviously, because once that's gone it's gone forever.

The cheapest option is a large-megapixel digicam known for good image quality. SLR would probably be a good bet. You can take multiple images and stitch them together without too much trouble, so you can get reasonably fine detail with a little work even with a $200 consumer camera. Or, alternatively, hire a professional photographer and have him/her take really high resolution photos of the maps. The advantage of this approach is that you don't have to take the maps anywhere or do anything special with them. Just lay them out on a low table or the floor and align a camera over them, and take heavily-overlapping shots.

Large-format scanners might cost some serious coin even to use for a one-time project like this, but would probably yield better results with less effort.

You might check with local companies that deal in maps and cartography, they might be able to recommend ways of saving the imagery, and some might even offer to help out if the maps may be of commercial interest (they might even share the proceeds with you in addition to giving you high-res digital images).

But I'd say if the maps are truly delicate, your first focus should be to take the highest-resolution images you can of them now, even if it's multiple images per map that need to be stitched. That way, you have *something* preserved in case one or more of the maps is destroyed or deteriorates further before you can preserve it.

If there are particularly interesting features of the map, use the MACRO feature on your camera - most stitching programs can integrate images at different scales and preserve a lot of detail. I used the "Hugin" pano toolkit (free) to stitch together about 100 random photos I took at the top of the Eiffel Tower into an impressive contiguous 360 panoramic shot, and it was literally a "here are the pictures, figure it out" process. The pictures were all taken at different zoom levels, different angles, and all sorts of issues, yet it looked like a Google Street View 360 image. This was 5 years ago, I can't imagine how much better the technology is today.

The geolocation shouldn't be all that hard - it's a matter of choosing a few points on the map and identifying their coordinates accurately. Of course, if there are few/no reference points it gets a lot harder. http://www.openstreetmap.org/ is a good starting point to a group that does free, open-source mapping. They or some of their related sites might possibly have a tool that does what you want. Also, a professional cartographer may be able to help you out as well.

and http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Gpsmid also

They will start charging for it when, and if they think they can get away with it. If there is no decent free alternative and they have a good market share they will most likely start to charge for it.

This is why its important to keep projects like http://www.openstreetmap.org/ going, even if just to keep them on their toes

More details can be found here. More people are needed to help map Haiti. Help on destroyed building would actually be extremely helpful

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti

Judging by your link the data is supplied through google maps I couldn't see a way to get at the raw data. As for what to do with it, I'd suggest providing it free in a commonly used format like SHP or BIL. Accurate terrain data is insanely expensive so any freely available data is good.

You could then also import it into things like OpenLayers or things like Open Street View.

It seems no one yet mentioned Wiktionary.org. Over 1 536 000 + in French, a similar number in English. While there's obvious room for improvement, it's generally usable and often useful.

So here's my question, why does Google dives into a new initiative instead of jumping on existing trains? I guess the answers has something to do with control. Google wants to keep the control (which is understandable and not necessarily a bad thing). This Wiktionary-Google Dictionary is not the only example, Google Map Maker and OpenStreetMap.org is another one (both crowdsourcing map data, and yes, OSM was there much before).

Consider trying OpenStreetMap for some of your navigation. http://www.openstreetmap.org/ It's a Wikipedia-like effort to create an Open Source-ish map of the world. The project was started in the UK and although coverage is still patchy in some areas it does already have excellent coverage of large parts of London. It includes some data that Google Maps does not have. Due to the Free as in Freedom nature of the project, the website also makes it easy to export PDFs, pngs, etc of areas of the map which you can then store for reference offline (though obviously you can't then search them).

There's a navigation service at http://yournavigation.org/ which has some neat features, like the ability to plot a route for pedestrians or cyclists that will take you down cycleways and footpaths where possible (there was also an elevation profile of your route, so you'll know how hilly it is! That was a GSoC project, I think but it seems not to be available for now).

Disclaimer: I am plugging a project I've contributed to here but it really is pretty good.

PS. There are internet kiosks but you'll need to ask your butler to bring some coal to power them. ;-)

Yes, but if they'd gone straight to http://www.openstreetmap.org/traces or http://www.openstreetmap.org/traces/tag/drive they wouldn't have got any press coverage about what they're trying to do with the data...

Yes, but if they'd gone straight to http://www.openstreetmap.org/traces or http://www.openstreetmap.org/traces/tag/drive they wouldn't have got any press coverage about what they're trying to do with the data...

exactly. http://www.openstreetmap.org/ project has massive amounts of gpx tracks uploaded from all over the world, and i think that would be a wonderful source of information for these people.

Open Street Maps

Yes, that would be a good idea, wouldn't it? On Android, there's a usable offline GPS app that uses OSM data called Mapdroyd.

This is available via AndNav and OpenStreet Maps via Open Route Service. Sadly, development for USA navigation has been slow or non-existent despite my donation to the project.

A perfectly fine alternative for the map on the Software Freedom Day site, and one which in the same spirit, is OpenStreetMap. Why stick with a proprietary map, when a free (in both senses of the word) map is available? Free Software? Free Map!

well, openstreetmap has ability to record maxheight limits. it's right here - http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:access#Size_and_statutory_restrictions.

now all you need is a routing application, supporting this key as a routing parameter.
and this limitation correctly tagged everywhere. and all roads drawn ;)

but in general, infrastructure is pretty much there, road coverage is quite good in many areas... maybe it works for you :)

Semi-related to this topic; worth knowing about:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

... To do that with the blackberry I'd have to buy special software, and also buy a subscription to it.

Well, not as such:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Software/Mobilephones

I've used bbTracker on a Blackberry quite happily. It won't replace your Garmin though - there's no software that you can install that will make a phone waterproof!

It's already been mentioned that it is possible to see Openstreetmap maps on Garmin devices, but phones can use OSM data too - I use Mgmaps (on a Blackberry, but it runs on others too):

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mgmaps

It's not as fast to display as Google Maps, but (where I live) is substantially better quality data than either Google or the maps that Garmin sell.

Having said that, I still have a Garmin Etrex series GPS (with OSM data on it) which I use for hiking - it'll run for ever on 2 rechargeable AA batteries every couple of days and is waterproof, which phones aren't.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin

Nowadays no additional costs are involved for map data anymore - unless you want to spend it.
Have a look at the OpenStreetMap project - http://www.openstreetmap.org/ - there you can get the data (which is partially better than Garmin maps) for free. Routing data is just emerging but already possible. I uploaded the complete world map on my GARMIN GPS 60Cx a couple days ago (you will need a big memory card for that, though)

"But do real men use sat-nav?"

Absolutely. But "real men" (sheesh) have their GPS plugged into their laptop computer, plot their tracks in real-time over a fully detailed topographic or satellite imagery map, and they synchronize their camera and GPS date/time so that they can plot the exact location of any photos using GPS photo tagging software. If the trip might be of interest to others, they convert the whole thing into HTML and/or KML automatically and put it on the web for other people to enjoy.

Those silly "turn left here" things? Heck, no. What a waste of time those are, especially since all they usually have on them are the roads. I don't get lost easily -- take me to an unknown city, drop me off somewhere, and I can wander around just fine and find my way back to where I started, whether in a car or on foot. But if I'm trying to find some obscure place off in the wilderness, of course I would take a map, and "turn left" doesn't have any meaning when off road. Why wouldn't I use the modern equivalent of a good topographic map or orthophoto map?

If you're really worried about "losing local knowledge", put it in OpenStreetMap :-)

Most of the digital mapping data misses out a lot of local features. Even the Tele Atlas data that Google maps uses is buggy and in Western Europe misses minor roads, and I've even seen it miss junctions between major roads. In Eastern Europe it often misses entire roads and cities (e.g. compare the capital of Albania on Google Maps and OpenStreetMap .

Even in Western Europe, the digital map makers miss stuff like cycle and walking trails. If you look at a detailed map like the British Ordnance Survey, which has been built upon local knowledge for hundreds of years, you'll see an amazing amount of information that is missed in the digital maps. I was surprised the first time I looked up my local area and saw that even the tiniest woods were named, and every hill was named and had elevation data. This is local data that almost no-one cares about anymore, but it still seems a shame to lose the history. I think the future is this kind of local data encoded in a modern digital open-standard format, and the only project I see doing this kind of work is OpenStreetMap.

You may want to check out some of the work done by OpenStreetMap, especially the Cycle Map layer. The OSM data can be loaded onto a Garmin GPS.

From there you can add topographic layers from other sources. No doubt there's somebody who's made Garmin img files for the US based on SRTM and it's only a matter of time before this higher resolution data is incorporated. I'm Australian so I only know of the Australian sources off hand.

Also, as is the nature of OSM, if you find a trail which isn't marked you're welcome to draw it in and help out other users of the maps.

You may want to check out some of the work done by OpenStreetMap, especially the Cycle Map layer. The OSM data can be loaded onto a Garmin GPS.

From there you can add topographic layers from other sources. No doubt there's somebody who's made Garmin img files for the US based on SRTM and it's only a matter of time before this higher resolution data is incorporated. I'm Australian so I only know of the Australian sources off hand.

Also, as is the nature of OSM, if you find a trail which isn't marked you're welcome to draw it in and help out other users of the maps.

try Gosmore. It's extremely(!) basic, but kinda works, once you figure out the controls. I;m using it on a very shitty Navigon unit here in Costa Rica. Little bonus: you can save you GPS traces, and add POIs, and then afterwards incorporate them back into the OSM database.
There seem to be other programs, though

try Gosmore. It's extremely(!) basic, but kinda works, once you figure out the controls. I;m using it on a very shitty Navigon unit here in Costa Rica. Little bonus: you can save you GPS traces, and add POIs, and then afterwards incorporate them back into the OSM database.
There seem to be other programs, though

Hacking your navigation device will be HOT after the community develops three things.

• Passively user generated map data (not to be confused with actively generated map data from openstreetmap.org) (see blog entry comparing active vs. passive maps)
• Open source navigation routing algorithms to use the above map data.
• Devices anonymously reporting data to improve the above.

If those three things happen I could see a ddwrt type of pack being developed.

There is little incentive to hack GPS or PDA devices:

• Map data is expensive. Free data is mostly unusable for routing.
• Quality navigation routing algorithms are expensive and/or unavailable.
• Open source routing isnâ(TM)t as usable as paid options.

One that is done and a certain mass of users are using the above data and algorithms; maps would become dynamic information sources constantly updated with road changes and maybe even real time road closures, road speed data, one way street information and other valuable tidbits. More advanced devices with accelerometers could make that data even clearer for eventual technology like eco routing.
If you have to have a hackable linux navigation solution now get a cheap umpc or netbook running igo 8 or another nav engine on wine.

Not sure telenav is a good source, at least in Oregon, it's missing most roundabouts and a substantial number of streets, and trap streets are a real hazard to navigation in Salem. I'll be interested to see if Garmin's software will read garmin gmapsupp.img files; if so, then I can still use a decent map with it.

Garmin units also support maps created by "mkgmap":

http://www.mkgmap.org.uk/index.html
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Mkgmap

This takes openstreetmap data (mentioned elsewhere - actually any data in OSM format would do) and creates a map in a style that you choose.

That's what OpenStreetMap is all about: http://openstreetmap.org/ Crowdsourced mapping combined with an open license produces free, high quality mapping that can be very detailed and very up-to-date.