Two years ago OpenStreetMap (OSM) was completely unknown in the german-speaking community and central Europe. Today several places in the world have already very detailed and sophisticated maps, produced by volunteers. People uses GPS devices or local knowledge to make existing maps more detailed.

Frustration about the high prices for geospatial data was the motivation for Steve Coast to start the OpenStreetMap project in 2004. Four years later the project developed from an idea to a world-wide map, where thousands of people are participating. Everyone can use the map for free, to embed it on the own web site.

In the past every five months the user doubled, and in the end of 2009 there should be ten times more users than today. And these users will add 200.000 km per day, so the estimations. Indeed, OpenStreetMap is more than a simple streetmap. The map includes information about roads and their environment as well as Points Of Interest (POIs). Questions like, “Where is the next postal office?”, “Where is the next toilette?”, or “Where can I find the next WiFi Access Point?” can be answered. How this can look like shows the POI Control. This web site used OpenStreetMap and analyzes stored POIs.

Of courses some places, especially important towns, are very detailed while other parts are more or less empty. If inhabitants didnt know about OpenStreetMap this can also be seen on the map. For example parts of Spain are not collected. In the USA freely available TIGER data was integrated in OpenStreetMap.

This picture shows a comparison of the city Villach, Austria (pop. 58000) in Google Maps and OSM.

One other important service is routing. An important service which uses OpenStreetMap data is OpenRouteService.org as reported in June.

Following I have summarized important issues form an interview with Frederik Ramm about OSM:

Q: There is Google Maps. Why is there also OpenStreetMaps?

Ramm: Google Maps doesn’t offer their data. You can view their maps, but you can not render maps in your own style. You also cannot put your own routing algorithms on to of the map or calculate the density of letter-boxes for German towns. Google has maps - OpenStreetmap has geodata. That’s an enormous difference. Everyone can participate; a corrected error, a new build road can be found within hours on the map. And finally OpenStreetMap has a free licence, you can use the data for all of your own projects. With Google Maps you cannot do this.

Q: Google has introduced Map Maker and Pedestrian routing recently. Is this a reaction to the OpenStreetMap project, which does not only concentrate on vehicles? Or only a logical improvement?

Ramm: Map Maker a Google services which is based on a technique, that was used for internal data acquisition in India. Google would like to buy map data simply form agencies but for a lot of areas there are simple no useful data available. With Map Maker Google tries to fill these gaps. But we see it relaxed. Google will encourage a lot of people for this project and OpenstreetMap will also benefit. For pedestrian routing it is similar.

Q: Where are the strenghts of the OpenStreetMap project?

Ramm: Free accessibility of data is an enormous potential for creativity. Every few weeks there is somebody who has worked on a software fir OSM. One further strength is that everyone can participate and provide her/his expert knowledge about a local region. The community is the core of the project. Competitors are driving their surveying vehicles. With this technique you cannot get the secret paths between two house blocks.

Q: And where are the weaknesses?

Ramm: There is no complete worldwide coverage. Yet. Further, the community is fixed on map visualisation. This leads to missing Information. There is also no mechanism which can evaluate the completeness and correctness of the data.

Q: What’s about mobile devices?

Ramm: At this years ‘State of the Map’-Konferenz Nick Whitelegg has introduced Freemap Mobile, a J2ME-application for hikers. A complete editor for a mobile platform is not available but moving map and routing works for a lot of applications. Navit is one example which works with the Nokia N810, but also with other Windows mobile devices. Definitively, there is potential.

[via Golem.de]

Written and submitted from Home, using my 802.11g WiFi network.