[Freegis-list] Project: Street mapping using GPS data

[Tamas Decsi]

Hello Nils,

just to let you know you're not alone: I'm doing a street map for
Budapest, Hungary. So far I'm using my own set of GPS tracks collected,
and it covers some 6% of the approx 7500 streets here. I've also done
a minimalistic app in python/gtk to postprocess tracks, since I've found
GRASS to be too complex and less handy for my yet simple purposes.

Sure, count on me contributing to such a project.

Take care,
Tamas

On Fri, 21 May 2004, Nils Faerber wrote:

> Hello all!
> I am new to the list so please excuse if this already became an FAQ... I
> read the FAQs, HowTos and docs I was able to find on the net but did not
> come to any conclusion, so I am asking here now.
>
> What I want to do is to start an open project to create street maps. I
> intended to use GPS data as base for the maps since GPS devices have
> become such cheap and many users can afford one - subsequently there are
> many potential contributors out there.
>
> What I am looking for are software tools to create decent maps from
> those GPS tracks. What is needed is a quite comfortable tool to first
> import the GPE/NMEA data into some GIS application. From my research I
> found that maybe GRASS could be a potential target - though GRASS seems
> quite complex to use. The next thing that needs to be done is editing
> and annotation, maybe Thuban can be used for parts of this. The tracks
> have to be split into seperate streets and the streets have to be
> identified and annotated. And last but not least the resulting data has
> to be pretty-printed so that a user can finally use those resulting
> maps.
>
> Lot of stuff!
> And above all a colaborative method has to be found so that users can
> contribute GPS recorded tracks in a manner so that an already recorded
> street is not added twice to the resulting database - the second
> reconrding could be used to achieve a higher accuracy?
>
> I would like to start the whole project by making myself more familiar
> with the whole GIS and mapping system. I have to admit that I know how
> to operate my GPS but know almost nothing about GIS. What I do know
> quite a bit about is (system) programming. I could offer to create the
> data aquisition application, i.e. a nice user friendly frontend
> application that records GPS tracks in a certain format for various
> devices - PDAs, notebooks, etc.
> What I need help with, at least in form of hints, is the GIS system,
> i.e. how to import the GPS data in a system like GRASS, how to
> postprocess it and how to generate some form of map from it.
>
> The result could become a community effort and project. I do intend
> (take this as my word and promise) to make this like an opensource
> project, i.e. have users contribute GPS data, help annotate, etc. and
> make the result available to the community again. All software sources
> and all intermediate data should also be open to all interested users
> under a free license.
> In some years we might be able to have a decent street map set for
> several countries and maybe one day an opensource navigation software. I
> am willing to spend my spare time on writing software for the areas I
> have some expertise with and to contribute my GPS data.
> But I need help for the GIS part.
>
> At the moment I want to investigate the feasability of such a project.
> If anyone here on the list is interested in such a project you are
> absolutely welcome to contact me by personal email or, if the others of
> the list agree, discuss such a project here on the list. I am open to
> any suggestion!
>
> If this idea has already been discussed, please excuse my ignorance and
> point me to some archive of that discussion.
>
> Having said all this (already too much :) thanks for reading that far!
> Looking forward to your suggestions, ideas and comments!
>
> CU
>   nils faerber
>
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