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OpenStreetMap Sends UK Volunteer Mapper To Antigua
Gerv writes "When Google launched their Map Maker community mapping tool last year, they included loads of Caribbean islands. This led Ed Parsons (chief Google Maps guy) to say that he was sad there wasn't any fieldwork involved. Well, now OpenStreetMap have gone one better — following a successful Pledgebank pledge, they have got together the money to send one randomly-chosen guy to Antigua for a week to work on the OpenStreetMap map!"
The pledge and volunteer drive for mapping the Swat valley didn't generate nearly as much interest.
Start a happiness pandemic
to say that I will take one for the team and volunteer to map Hawaii. Although it may take two weeks.
-- This sig is in Spanish when you are not looking
This guy was annoying them with all his "help." No one promised a return ticket.
When I first read "OpenStreetMap Sends UK Volunteer Mapper To Antigua" I thought it meant that a software bug led some poor shlub on a wild goose chase from the UK to a destination address in Antigua. Like, you should look up every once in a while while following those turn-by-turn directions.
Oh Anonymous Coward, you do alone do not suffer. I have seen the terrible foe that is the new Slashdot, and, after succumbing to a terrible bout of despair and terror, I managed to log in and enable the old index. Oh Anonymous One, I suggest that you trade in your glorious anonymity for an account.
SSC
Correct me if I am wrong, and do not mean any ill will towards the winner of this contest, but doesn't it make more sense to just hire someone from the island to do it? It would either be quicker, cheaper, or possibly both.
Mapping for OSM is easy. Set your GPS to record your trail, and record street names and businesses as you drive/walk around. As long as the GPS and whatever device you use for street names have synchronized clocks, the work of matching them up and drawing the streets can be done later.
mkgmap is a java program that will convert OSM data to Garmin map format. It's not perfect, but I've found it works well with my GPSMAP 60CSx.
There's a choice of about 50 different models here: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GPS_Reviews It all depends on whether you want to contribute content to OpenStreetMap or just use the maps, or ideally both.
I'm all by myself mapping Guyana so if you wanna keep me here...
Kidding! :)
But I am mapping Guyana and working on some advocacy posters to get some locals involved. Openstreetmap is such a great project, the data is open and can be used for anything. It allows places like this to get mapping done on their own because otherwise there isn't the commercial interest for it. I just did the small area known as Rosingol and part of New Amsterdam, they have NO MAPS there. None. I found someone in the area who was supportive of it and was able to have him drive me around all day twice now.
Guyana is a really neat place, one of the few unspoiled natural environments left. Not much tourism at all, now the government and locals want more of that for the investment that comes with it, but I'm sad to think of the negative affect it'll have on the environment.
Having no map was the scariest thing about coming to Guyana for me, and what led me to Openstreetmap. I'm really glad they got this project going and had all the tools I'd need ready to go. It also gives me a nice long term project for when I get bored or miss home there's something to work on.
Thanks guys!
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
I'm an OSM enthusiast and wanted to share this: Canada, one of the 'poor countries' of OSM, is on the verge of seeing *all* roads added to OSM. No kidding.
Here's an excellent OSM introduction webcast on fosslc.org.
If you want to learn more about OSM, here's my shameless (really) plug, hell, even the White House uses OpenStreetMap! With projects like OpenRouteService, one will be able to replicate many of the important services provided by Google Maps, MS Virtual Earth, Yahoo! Maps, MapQuest, etc.
Animoog.org
Mapping for OSM is easy. Set your GPS to record your trail, and record street names and businesses as you drive/walk around. As long as the GPS and whatever device you use for street names have synchronized clocks, the work of matching them up and drawing the streets can be done later.
Ha ha ha, ow splitting my sides! You've never been to Antigua, I note. Street names? Unlikely, even in St John. Business names in St John maybe; elsewhere on the island, forget it. We saw only two direction signs anywhere - every telegraph pole had an arrow pointing to a night club on the north end, and an arrow pointing to Harmony Hall, a truly marvellous restaurant at the south end. You want somewhere else? Find it yourself by random walk.
"Cock Up Your Beaver" does not mean what you think. This sig is intended to clog filters and annoy do-gooders
Last week PGCon had a session introducing this project and how to use OpenStreetMap with PostgreSQL. One Postgres add-on that's very popular in the mapping space is PostGIS, which lets you do all sorts of spatial bits it used to take expensive propriety tools to handle.