Re: [gentoo-embedded] GPS board

[YoYo Siska]

On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 02:56:42PM -0400, wireless wrote:
> On 04/14/12 14:38, Peter Stuge wrote:
> > wireless wrote:
> >> I have not formally researched open source mapping efforts, so
> >> any feedback on that issue is keenly welcome.
> >
> > Start with http://openstreetmap.org/
> > //Peter
>
> EXCELLENT!
>
> OK so to help create maps, I'm think of designing (cobbling together
> initially) a gps, and a (water) depth reading output, so in a boat, I
> can begin mapping the near shore environment.
>
> How does open street map data get created and are there existing
> open source embedded boards one can buy, install in a car and help
> extend/enhance the data collected?  Or, roll your own?

Most people around openstreetmap are software / geography people, so
they mostly use what's readilly awailable (GPS loggers, JavaME phones
some time ago, smartphones now). I've seen hardware projects on the
level "how to make a bike holder for XYZ" or "how to get a PDA and
logger work together and with a large battery". There's a hardware page
on the wiki [1] (if you haven't found it already), but it seem pretty
outdated. As osm is opensource centered, there are/were  people playing
with open hardware / technologies stuff (openmoko phones, beagle/panda
board with a gps receiver etc...)

There's also a foss-gps mailing list [2], though IIRC there are mostly
software guys who talk about how to work with lower level GPS data.


> It seem they already have the land methodologies developed, what
> about near-shore marine? Any open source software efforts for that
> yet?

There are basically two distinct activities in OSM: the collection of
GPS logs/tracks and then the creation of the map/database itself based
either on those logs or any other freely available sources. For land
based information the elevation doesn't really get entered into the
database, mostly because it would be realy sparse and there is SRTM data
that's much better. I remeber some talk about an initiative to somehow
process the elevation data from the logs, but I'm not sure where it
ended.

Anyway I guess it would be different for marine data, which might be
more usefull... I guess you have to get in contact with people from
openstreet map interested in that. The OpenSeaMap page on osm wiki [3]
mentions even some mailing lists... 

yoyo


[1] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Hardware
[2] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/foss-gps
[3] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenSeaMap