Re: [Talk-GB] Fwd: OSMTracker for Android - detailed survey of paths & tracks layout

[Nick Allen]

Hi,
I've added a set of buttons into the layout which should assist in
making notes if you come across a building with solar panels whilst
surveying. The buttons are * Roof_PV-L if the building with panels is
on your left as survey,* Roof-PV-R
*   PV_315-44
* PV_225-314,   PV_45-134,
*   PV_135-224
As you move, OSMTracker displays your direction of travel, in degrees
(North is 0 or 360) .
My suggestion is that you touch a button to indicate if you have seen
panels on your left or right, and then touch a button to indicate which
way the panel is facing (most, but not all, are facing South). If you
want to further refine this, touch two buttons to indicate to yourself
when editing that the panels were facing, for instance South East.
Obviously not as good for volume updates, but it all helps.
At the moment the set is available using the settings for my
repository;
Github username = Nick-TallguyRepository Name = osmtracker-android-
layoutsBranch name = detailed-tracks
Any problems or suggestions, please get back to me.
I've submitted a pull request for the set to be included within the
standard list as I think they are now complete, but I'm always open to
suggestions.
Regards
NickOSM = Tallguy
On Sun, 2019-08-18 at 20:33 +0100, Nick Allen wrote:
> Hi - for Mark and anyone else who was having problems with the
> displayed icons.
> 
> I've created another layout set, this time with icons 300 pixels in
> size - previous set had 500px. This set is visible when you carry out
> the search for layouts from the app (settings / button presets /
> green cross top right). Having tried it on my phone I think it
> displays better than the original 500px set, and it will probably be
> the set that I go with when I set as standard.
> 
> If possible I'd like to end up with only one icon size and one set
> published, otherwise I'm in danger of making a mistake and having
> slightly different buttons on each - but if there is a reason for
> more than one set, I'll do my best.
> 
> Please get back to me Mark, and anyone else having problems with the
> icon size - I'm no programmer, but I do have a couple of things more
> that I could try that might help.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Nick 
> OSM = Tallguy
> 
> & Rob - I'd been using the old deprecated version for years, and only
> stumbled across the new version by accident - it seems very strange
> to have the two.
> 
> 
> -- Forwarded message -
> From: Rob Nickerson 
> Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2019 at 23:33
> Subject: Re: [Talk-GB] OSMTracker for Android - detailed survey of
> paths & tracks layout
> To: Andy Townsend 
> Cc: Talk-GB 
> 
> 
> Sure I get that from a code point of view, although I was surprised
> Google allowed 2 almost identical versions (name and logo) on the
> store. Personally I was coming from a marketing and user friendliness
> point of view. It's confusing for users and will probably cost the
> new developer time in the long run as he/she will probably get some
> issues raised on GitHub that relate to the "other" OSM Tracker. 
> 
> Would have thought a rebrand would have been useful if no way to get
> the old app down. Likewise I would have thought a few minutes to make
> the app look more maintained on the OSM wiki (e.g. update
> screenshots, removal of PDA survey) would of been a help to attract
> new users.
> 
> Anyway, not an issue for me (as I don't use it) so I won't loose any
> sleep over this one. Certainly not "upset" just confused by the
> situation.
> 
> Rob
> 
> 
> On Sat, 17 Aug 2019 at 12:45, Andy Townsend 
> wrote:
> >  > Why on earth are there 2 versions of OSMTracker for Android on
> > the Play store?! 
> > 
> > It's open source software, so it's fairly technically
> > straightforward to "clone, modify and resubmit".  What restrictions
> > Google put on this sort of thing currently I don't know, but I
> > suspect they're mostly limited to an API usage check and a " dodgy
> > code behaviour" check (that'd be the case for an Enterprise Play
> > Store submission).
> > 
> > > Which is the right one and how to get an old one removed?
> >
> >
> >  
> > Maybe there isn't one "right one" ?  My recollection was that there
> > was a problem with OSM-hosted tile usage in one of the versions
> > (which may have been since resolved) and there was a bit of a delay
> > getting it fxed.  Perhaps someone fixed it in "another" version in
> > the meantime?
> > 
> > Whatever it is, I'd suggest that the best place to ask the question
> > would be to the relevant app authors via the Play Store support
> > link, or github (at least one of them has a public issues list
> > there).
> > 
> > Best Regards,
> > 
> > Andy
> > 
> > 
> >
> 
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> 
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> 
> Talk-GB@openstreetmap.org
> 
> 

Re: [Talk-GB] Solar Panels Quarterly Project: 39 days to go

[ael]

On Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 04:33:17PM +0100, Dan S wrote:
> In particular, it might be helpful for at least someone to focus on
> *Cornwall*. That's an area with a lot of solar installations, and the
> National Grid know it as an area that often gives a lot of "reverse flow",
> i.e. a large amount of small-scale generation feeding back into the grid.
> I've had a bit of a look at Cornwall and various imagery looks really nice
> and clear there.

I am often in East Cornwall, and have mapped the odd Solar Farm when out
surveying - and also wind farms.

But I haven't had time to do much armchair imagery mapping. There are
maybe around 3 fairly active mappers in East Cornwall.

ael


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Re: [Talk-GB] Solar Panels Quarterly Project: 39 days to go

[Dan S]

Hi Jerry and all,

Indeed we've over 500 solar farms - I can check the exact number this
weekend. (From the OfGEM data, I estimate that approx 1100 exist.)

Here are some comments from the point of view of a data consumer:

As I think Gregory commented - we don'tt really "need" much detail on solar
farms (e.g. the panels contained within them). In general, we have metadata
for solar farms, so we just need their outlines, plus either their output
capacity and/or their ID in the REPD dataset (repd:id=*).

Much more important is to spot the *small-scale* solar - that's a vital
piece of the puzzle that *none* of the official data sources are very good
at.

As Jerry suggests, it's good to aim for high coverage on a few chosen
regions (e.g. local authorities). This will help with the machine learning
but the more direct importance is that it will help piloting solar energy
forecasting, using those regions.
In particular, it might be helpful for at least someone to focus on
*Cornwall*. That's an area with a lot of solar installations, and the
National Grid know it as an area that often gives a lot of "reverse flow",
i.e. a large amount of small-scale generation feeding back into the grid.
I've had a bit of a look at Cornwall and various imagery looks really nice
and clear there.

Have a sunny weekend!

Cheers
Dan



Op vr 23 aug. 2019 om 13:05 schreef SK53 :

> Thought I'd write a really quick summary of progress on the quarterly
> project:
>
>- As of last night we had a total of 67,475 installations
> (solar farms
>enclosing several groups of panels are treated as one installation. At the
>time of writing another 500 have been added this morning.
>- 8 local authorities have more than 50% of the estimated total number
>(based on FIT data), in descending order : Nottingham, Ashfield, 
> Liverpool, Knowsley,
>Tameside, Wrecsam, Bassetlaw, Peterborough, and Manfield.
>- During August anywhere from 1500 to nearly 2500 panels have been
>mapped each day. Even if only average 1000 a day for the remainder of the
>project it means we should comfortably exceed 100k mapped installations
>(between 10 & 12% of the total).
>- There's no shortage of places where it is easy to add a lot of
>panels in a short time (I added nearly 500 in Worksop yesterday). Gregory's
>site has a list of candidates at the bottom of the main page.
>- As expected urban areas are easier to do than rural areas.
>- General areas with a lot of mapping are: West Midlands, North-East
>(Tyneside, Wearside etc), North-West, East Mids and Kent. I think you can
>guess who the likely suspects are.
>- I don't have any immediate stats on solar farms, but Dan pointed out
>that we have over 50%. perhaps Dan or Jex can provide an update.
>
> Apart from a general target of 100k installations some other things are
> worth focussing on for the remainder of the project:
>
>- Getting a few LAs over 75%. Ashfield
> is surprising
>because installations are widely distributed. Liverpool
> is more
>typical: two-thirds are mapped but perhaps 80% of the LSOAs have not been
>touched, and over a 1000 are in 4 LSOAs around Speke. So finding the
>additional panels may be less rewarding.
>- Searching a small number of rural LAs intensively: small ones are
>probably best: Anglesey, Isle of Wight, Rutland etc. My suspicion is that
>panels are harder to find, but also that imagery is often quite a bit 
> older.
>- Get more done in Scotland (and Northern Ireland). Gregory's site
>doesn't allow the micro-targeting by LSOA which has been so effective for
>England & Wales.
>
> The first two are because there is the possibility of using located
> rooftop solar panels as training sets for more automated identification
> using machine learning. Dan may want to say more on this.
>
> Lastly, a couple of remarks stemming from jumping around England & Wales
> about OSM mapping in general:
>
>- Buildings have been diligently mapped in all sorts of unexpected
>places. Unfortunately address data is scarcer.
>- Former council estates often lack many of the footpaths which give a
>better sense of their layout. Particularly true for the post-war Radburn
>style estates.
>- Some places were obviously mapped when OS Streetview first became
>available and the road networks could do with tidying up (I'll draw up a
>separate list at some stage).
>- MS StreetSide is really valuable particularly around Manchester.
>Although the imagery is 7 years old it allows a much more detailed
>appreciation of building types, and checking of other detail..
>
> Happy hunting,
>
> Jerry
>
> PS. I was only the 3rd OSMer to look to add the new solar plant
> 

[Talk-GB] Solar Panels Quarterly Project: 39 days to go

[SK53]

Thought I'd write a really quick summary of progress on the quarterly
project:

   - As of last night we had a total of 67,475 installations
    (solar farms
   enclosing several groups of panels are treated as one installation. At the
   time of writing another 500 have been added this morning.
   - 8 local authorities have more than 50% of the estimated total number
   (based on FIT data), in descending order : Nottingham, Ashfield,
Liverpool, Knowsley,
   Tameside, Wrecsam, Bassetlaw, Peterborough, and Manfield.
   - During August anywhere from 1500 to nearly 2500 panels have been
   mapped each day. Even if only average 1000 a day for the remainder of the
   project it means we should comfortably exceed 100k mapped installations
   (between 10 & 12% of the total).
   - There's no shortage of places where it is easy to add a lot of panels
   in a short time (I added nearly 500 in Worksop yesterday). Gregory's site
   has a list of candidates at the bottom of the main page.
   - As expected urban areas are easier to do than rural areas.
   - General areas with a lot of mapping are: West Midlands, North-East
   (Tyneside, Wearside etc), North-West, East Mids and Kent. I think you can
   guess who the likely suspects are.
   - I don't have any immediate stats on solar farms, but Dan pointed out
   that we have over 50%. perhaps Dan or Jex can provide an update.

Apart from a general target of 100k installations some other things are
worth focussing on for the remainder of the project:

   - Getting a few LAs over 75%. Ashfield
    is surprising
   because installations are widely distributed. Liverpool
    is more typical:
   two-thirds are mapped but perhaps 80% of the LSOAs have not been touched,
   and over a 1000 are in 4 LSOAs around Speke. So finding the additional
   panels may be less rewarding.
   - Searching a small number of rural LAs intensively: small ones are
   probably best: Anglesey, Isle of Wight, Rutland etc. My suspicion is that
   panels are harder to find, but also that imagery is often quite a bit older.
   - Get more done in Scotland (and Northern Ireland). Gregory's site
   doesn't allow the micro-targeting by LSOA which has been so effective for
   England & Wales.

The first two are because there is the possibility of using located rooftop
solar panels as training sets for more automated identification using
machine learning. Dan may want to say more on this.

Lastly, a couple of remarks stemming from jumping around England & Wales
about OSM mapping in general:

   - Buildings have been diligently mapped in all sorts of unexpected
   places. Unfortunately address data is scarcer.
   - Former council estates often lack many of the footpaths which give a
   better sense of their layout. Particularly true for the post-war Radburn
   style estates.
   - Some places were obviously mapped when OS Streetview first became
   available and the road networks could do with tidying up (I'll draw up a
   separate list at some stage).
   - MS StreetSide is really valuable particularly around Manchester.
   Although the imagery is 7 years old it allows a much more detailed
   appreciation of building types, and checking of other detail..

Happy hunting,

Jerry

PS. I was only the 3rd OSMer to look to add the new solar plant
 at Aldershot station

!
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