Are you a student in full-time education? Fancy getting paid to work on Humanitarian Mapping over the summer? Sign up for a Google Summer of Code project with Sahana :)
Yes, Sahana have again been accepted as a Google Summer of Code Mentoring Organisation. There are a few ideas relating to mapping which could make 1 or more GSoC projects: http://wiki.sahanafoundation.org/doku.php/community:gsoc:gsoc2011_ideas#eden-based_projects The one which I think is most relevant to this community is: http://eden.sahanafoundation.org/wiki/BluePrintGISGPSSharing I envisage a system where an NGO field worker loads up their GPS with the latest OSM base map (with Contours) for the area then heads out & gathers a number of waypoints - some relating directly to their work (locations of camps, wells, warehouses, etc) & some which are just to help find their way around: Offices, key Suppliers, Landmarks & maybe a Track too (hopefully!). When they get back to the office they upload all of this quickly to their local server (can we get a Flash application to talk to the USB cable?) Then someone (not necessarily themselves) goes through this collected data & sorts it out - creating resources in the local Sahana database for Camps, Offices, Warehouses, Project Activity sites & uploading some of them to OpenStreetMap (we integrate Potlatch2, but it could use a tighter integration) - tracing over tracks & maybe doing a direct upload of some PoIs (we can export to .osm format from our database easily). Then in the morning the original worker plugs their GPS back into the system & downloads - both an updated Base Map & the current collection of Organisational WayPoints for this location (again a Flash app?). Obviously the Waypoints need to include a unique ID in order to not nbe seen as a new one when re-uploading. Ideally the user would want to have some 'personal' waypoints too? Assumptions: * We can probably assume Garmin GPS units (although Smartphones are becoming increasingly common too) * Most users are relatively non-technical & don't really want to understand OSM (we would expect to train up 1 person/office who would be the link between the office & OSM) Another OSM aspect that we've been working on, but which could use some love is Importing PoIs from OpenStreetMap. We've put most effort so far into Hospitals & Clinics. Increasingly, the OSM database provides a great start on where the hospitals are for a country. Making it easier to do this import would be great - ideally the user would simply select a Rectangle/Polygon for where they are interested (or upload a Polygon), select the features that they're interested in & this would then import these into the local Sahana database. If anyone is interested, in working with Sahana then please do get in touch :) Best Wishes, Fran. _______________________________________________ HOT mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/hot
