OpenStreetMap
Using OS OpenData to improve OpenStreetMap
On 1st April, Ordnance Survey released a lot of their data under an open data licence, allowing it to be used freely (with an attribution to say where it came from) and incorporated into other open data projects like OpenStreetMap.
The OpenStreetMap project started off in the UK because Ordnance Survey was so restrictive over the use of their data, so this has been a great win for the project, though the release of the data doesn't make the project any less likely to continue. This is partly because of the project's aim to create an open map (and open map data) for the whole world, and partly because in many parts of the UK, OpenStreetMap actually surpasses the level of detail that Ordnance Survey has released as part of their OpenData package.
Where the Ordnance Survey data comes in very useful for the OpenStreetMap project is in areas where we don't (yet) have much map data, as well as for areas where we do have a lot of data, for checking that our data is accurate and complete.
A little while ago I noticed that Canvey Island hadn't had much attention in OpenStreetMap, with just a few roads that had been added by a couple of users over the past two years or so. Curious about the place (and for some reason, partially imagining it to be a little like Coney Island in New York) I started to read a little about it, and thought about visiting, but the more I looked at it, the more I wanted to fill in the map. The result is below.
The OS OpenData allowed me to add roads (and most of their names), museums, libraries, pubs, schools, churches, camp sites, caravan sites, chalet villages and some natural features. Where things on the OS map didn't show names, it was often possible to pick these up from photos on the excellent Geograph project and from other research on the internet.
Once I'd got most of the tracing work done, I also got in touch with the two local contributors I had identified, one of which got back to me straight away (despite not editing the map since last year some time), and added in any extra information he could, such as the extent of parks and recreation grounds.
I think this is a great example of one open data project being advanced by the availability of data from other sources and projects.
If you want to help mapping an area (it's probably best to improve the map in areas that you know rather than mapping an area like this that you don't know that well...), just follow the instructions on the OpenStreetMap wiki.
iPhone guide to Isle of Man businesses
If you're on the Isle of Man (or thinking of visiting) and you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you may be interested in the latest mobile guide to the Island that's been released for the iPhone.
I blogged last year about a couple of specialised iPhone apps that let you see offline maps of the Island - but not much more - and I also mentioned OffMaps which at the time was simply an offline map viewer that let you download maps of anywhere in the world. Having released their latest version though, OffMaps now provides much more functionality in the form of a local guide to businesses, services and attractions, and access to Wikipedia articles about the places around you.
Now, if you're looking for a bar, cafe, restaurant, museum, tourist attraction - or, in theory, anything else - you need look no further than the guide in OffMaps. It'll show you its location, give you their address and phone number (though there aren't many of these yet) and link you through to their website if they have one. Note that not everything is in there, and in particular it's lacking in the shops it covers, as well as in some other areas.
If you run a business or service - or know of one which isn't already covered - and you'd like to advertise yourself in this guide to the Island, you can be a part of it for free.
All of the information is based on the OpenStreetMap project and Wikipedia, so you can add your information yourself. The easiest way to edit is using the free Mapzen POI collector app for the iPhone, but if you're not comfortable, just drop me an email and I'll happily add your details in to OpenStreetMap for you, for free, and you should get into the guide the next time it gets refreshed.
Note: the app is currently only listing things in certain chosen categories, so if your business falls outside of those categories it may not show up in the guide. You're still free to add your listing to OpenStreetMap though, as it could be used in the future either in OffMaps or in any other application.
Edit OpenStreetMap data from your iPhone
There are a number of iPhone apps - such as OffMaps - which let you use OpenStreetMap data, and view the maps, on your iPhone and iPod touch, but there hadn't been any apps which let you edit the data, until now.
If you are a member of the OpenStreetMap community, you've probably been out and about at some point and looked at something and thought 'hmm, I wonder if that [insert interesting thing here] is already on the map?'. Well, now if you have an iPhone you can quickly check whether it is or not, and either add it or update its details directly in the OSM database.
The first iPhone editor to launch on Apple's App Store is Little OpenStreetMap Editor (iLOE), an app that allows you to add or edit OSM nodes wherever you are. While its user interface isn't very friendly at the moment, hopefully it will improve in the future and make it easier for users to edit the data around them. In the mean time, it does do the job, so if you're desperate to edit OSM on the move, give it a try.
Cloudmade are also working on an app - the Mapzen POI Collector - which aims to give a quick, user friendly way of editing OSM data. The app tries to make it as simple as possible to contribute to the project from your iPhone, whether you were an OpenStreetMap contributor before or not. The only thing you need to do is sign up for an account at openstreetmap.org, and the app will let you add all sorts of information without having to know anything about the tagging scheme used in the project.
Currently awaiting moderation to get into the App Store, the app should be available very soon, and is definitely worth trying out when it's available. If you're interested, you can sign up to be notified when it's out. I've tried out some pre-release versions which have been shaping up very well, as these screenshots in their tutorials show.
A number of apps are available on other mobile platforms which will let you view OpenStreetMap data, and a few of them also allow editing, including the Java-based TrackMyJourney app which I recently tried out on my Nokia N95 phone.
Update (26 November): Mapzen POI Collector is now available for the iPhone from the App Store
Guess where on the Isle of Man
Since I received the DVD of high resolution aerial imagery and maps from the Isle of Man Government last week, I've spent most of my spare time starting to digitise information for the OpenStreetMap project.
Using QGIS to load in the data, I started to gather all the names from the map that I could, including both place names (for small local areas, hamlets and villages that weren't already in the database) and also farm names. With over a thousand names, this is already a massive boost to the data in OpenStreetMap as it is data that would have been immensely difficult to gather on the ground.
The image to the left represents the shape of the Island, made up of all the points obtained from the map, and soon to be imported into the main database.
The three images below are of small areas that I have started to digitise the buildings of. I'm offering a prize (a pint at the next London mapping party perhaps) to the first person to guess all three places correctly. Two of them may well look familiar to anyone who I chatted to at the 5th birthday party of OpenStreetMap.
Most of the data in the images above (and future data others would like to extract for OpenStreetMap) would have been impossible (well, certainly extremely impractical) to gather were it not for the very generous support of the Isle of Man Survey in giving us a license to derive this information, for which I'm personally very grateful, and I know a lot of other people in the project are also excited about.
These images are licenced as CC-by-SA and the data behind them all will be in the OpenStreetMap database very soon.
Using official Isle of Man map data in OpenStreetMap
Before traveling back to the Isle of Man for the second Manx mapping party, I received an email from Juan Watterson, the Member of the House of Keys (MHK) responsible for the Isle of Man Government's mapping efforts (as part of the Department of Local Government and the Environment) who was interested in OpenStreetMap and in particular the Isle of Man mapping project. Juan kindly put me in touch with the Government's Senior Cartographer, Rob Clynes, with whom I met up when I was on the Island.
Back in 2007, Rob offered Nick Black the use of the official 1:100,000 small scale map of the Isle of Man from which to gather data for OpenStreetMap. Since then, CloudMade mapped the Island more thoroughly than we had done previously, and donated their data. While that gave a massive boost to the map data for the Island, there was still plenty more information which could be added to the map, hence the recent mapping party.
Meeting with Rob, he talked me through me some of the work he does, like digitising high resolution aerial imagery, change monitoring, co-ordinating the updates of the imagery, and cartography for the smaller scale maps (1:100,000 and 1:25,000) they produce - largely as a side product - and turn into printed maps. It was interesting to compare the data collection and management processes they have with those we use in the OpenStreetMap project, comparing my Walking Paper scrawls and GPS tracks from the weekend before with the official map data creation.
Having chatted with Rob for a while, he mentioned that he should be able to sort out some more data to help out the OpenStreetMap project. I got home yesterday to find a DVD of geodata sitting on my door mat. We now have access to two datasets from which we can derive data for the project:
- the 1:25,000 tourist map (2007), provided as a set of four GeoTIFF images
- the high resolution aerial imagery (2001), provided as a set of three MrSID images
| OpenStreetMap | IOM Government 1:25,000 | IOM Government aerial imagery | using overlays |
|---|---|---|---|
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There is a massive amount of information which we can gain from these datasets still, and I will be posting some ideas soon about different possibilities, such as collecting place names, paths and tracks, historic sites, outlines of the national glens, open rambling land, etc. as well as using the data for error checking and correction in the existing OpenStreetMap dataset.
I am planning to make these datasets available as a WMS server that can be used in JOSM (and Potlatch) for editing, once I've had a chance to organise it, and have had an official license document through.
If you're interested in helping collect data from the data to add to OpenStreetMap, please leave a comment below or get in touch.
* Isle of Man Government map data and aerial imagery © Crown Copyright, DLGE; OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap and contributors, CC-by-SA.
