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Digital Planet: BBC World Service

Let us guide you through a world of digital revolutions around this Digital Planet.

Once the realm of national geographical surveys, the increasing availability of affordable GPS devices means that it is increasingly possible to 'crowdsource' cartographic information (that is, map information) and generate maps that rival professional maps from user uploaded data. Where local infrastructure is such that you are more likely to find a dirt track than a recently laid motorway, local maps produced by tracking the daily movement of local travellers means that crowdsourced maps may in fact be more accurate than formally surveyed ones.

OpenStreetMap, or OSM, is the result of an international collaborative effort in which individuals can view, edit and maintain an increasingly accurate map of the world as it is today. In the same way the Wikipedia relies on the activity of volunteers, so too does OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMap follows a five step process in the production of its maps. First, data is collected using GPS devices; the GPS traces are then uploaded to the OSM website, and transformed into the representation used by OSM. The next step is to label the routes so that they can be rendered correctly. The final step is to generate the actual graphical map tiles.

Other approaches to collaboarative mapping, such as Google's MapMaker, allow you to edit maps directly without the need to upload GPS data.

The following video shows how OSM maps can become increasingly detailed over time; in this case, we see how the Dutch port of Antwerp was mapped over a period from 2007 to 2009.

A second key feature that distinguishes OSM from commercial maps is that the data used to generate the maps is available under an open license. What this means, among other things, is that it is far easier for you to use the data for your own purposes. So for example, one service that I particularly like is called CloudMade, that makes it possible to add you own 'skin' (that is, your own colour theme or design style) to a map and share it as well. (So if you create your own Digital Planet for CloudMade/OSM, why not share a link to it on Twitter, using the #digitalplanet and #open2 hashtags?!:-).

So, wherever you are in the world, why not check out OpenStreetMap. And if you notice that the map isn't quite as accurate as it could be where you live, if you have a GPS device, why not consider uploading some of your own data to the map? Alternatively, why not try out Google MapMaker - it's currently open for editing locations in much of the southern hemisphere.

Or if you're looking for an even easier way in, why not try Google MyMaps? Google MyMaps let you annotate a Google map on your own map overlay with markers that identify points of interest to you. If you're fortunate enough to have an Android phone, the Google MyMaps app makes it one-click asy to add markers corresponding to your current location. But even without such a device, it;s possible to edit your own MyMap through any modern web browser. Even if you only add one or two points a day, it's amazing how quickly you can create a richly annotated map.

About the author

Tony Hirst is co-founder of the OU Robotics Outreach Group and a lecturer in artificial intelligence at the Open University. Far too much of his time is spent playing with web technologies, developing tools and applications that he claims will be OUseful, one day...

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Blogging about

Digital Planet: BBC World Service

Let us guide you through a world of digital revolutions around this Digital Planet.

Way back when, I did electronics as my undergraduate degree. Looking back it now, I remember that some of the most pleasurable times were spent in the lab, soldering iron in hand, working on one electronics project or another. Which is why DIY initiatives like Arduino are so exciting. So what is Arduino, exactly?

To all intents and purposes, it's a "get you started" kit for playing with simple (and not so simple) electronics projects. Built on an open source platform - which is to say, the rights to the design and its reproduction allow people to work with the board without having to pay royalties or patent fees to anyone else - the Arduino is small, programmable electronics board that can talk to a computer and control devices in the real world.

The Arduino Diecimilla.
[image by Randomskk, some rights reserved]

The board contains a microcontroller, a clever device that combines a microprocessor (so it can run programmes you download to it) and a set of electronic inputs and outputs. The inputs allow it to monitor the real world - for example, using a light sensor or a microphone (sound sensor), as well as controlling things in the real world (for example, switching lights or electical motors on and off, controlling an audio speaker, or even driving a small printer).

Arduinos were very much in evidence at the UK's first Maker Faire, held in Newcastle in the North of England in March 2009. Originating in the United States, Maker Faires are celebrations of technological tinkering, a place to share tips and ideas about how to get involved with DIY technology. As part of a special co-production of the BBC World Service IT programme Digital Planet, reporter Angela Saini went along - here's what she found out Arduinos:

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You can read about more about the other features included in the Open University/Digital Planet special on DIY Technology.

And if the idea of Arduinos intrigues you, they could well be part of home experiment kit in a forthcoming OU course. Stay tuned for more, as we have it...

About the author

Tony Hirst is co-founder of the OU Robotics Outreach Group and a lecturer in artificial intelligence at the Open University. Far too much of his time is spent playing with web technologies, developing tools and applications that he claims will be OUseful, one day...

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Over the weekend, some family and friends came down to visit us on the Isle of Wight, and stopped a mile or so away in a hotel in Seaview overlooking the Solent. With binoculars in hand, the sea view rooms looked out onto the passing sea traffic - ferries to France, cruise liners going in to Southampton, warships heading for Portsmouth and all manner of freightliners heading for who knows where.

To add to the seaside experience, the hotel menu also posts times of when the cruise ships are passing by so you can look out for them over dinner! These details are also posted in the Island's local newspaper and are presumably "public information".

Now one of the things that I love about the way the web is going is that it's getting easier to access "live data". From traintimes, to what's on the telly now, from roadworks on the M1, to the latest share prices, I can increasingly find out "what's happening now". So I had a look around to see if live shipping data is available from anywhere.

Now it turns out that it is, and it's provided by a system called AIS, the Automatic Identification System. It apparently works like this: each AIS enabled ship has an AIS transponder that incorporates: VHF receivers for receiving AIS information from other ships; a unit that provides integratoin with other shipboard systems (such as GPS and navigation systems); and a transmitter that transmits AIS data. (For a more technical description, there's a "how it works" explanation on the US Coastguard website.)

The transmitted AIS data includes at least a unique identifier for the vessel, location information, and the heading, course and speed information. This information can then be displayed on a map or other location revealing display.

Anyone with an appropriate receiver can receive the AIS data, and with a little bit of tinkering they can then display this information on a map. And it turns out that some enterprising folks around the Solent have done just that: Solent Area Ship Tracking.

Each balloon represents a separate vessel, as identified from its AIS data. So next time family and friends are down, and staying in Seaview, I can point them to the live shipping data map and they can find out a little bit more about each ship as it passes by :-)

Just a note of warning though - checking ship locations using a web based service like this should not be relied on if you're out sailing - the data may be stale (that is, out-of-date) or cached by your browser. The only guaranteed true picture will be one where you have grabbed the AIS data yourself from over the airwaves and then plotted it out, at the time, yourself...

The story isn't quite finished though. Firstly, there's a prequel as to how I found the map - rather than doing a badly specified websearch, (I didn't know AIS existed a week ago!) I asked a question on Twitter. Twitter? A web based short messaging service that sits somewhere between instant messaging, email and SMS text messaging! (For a quick tutorial, see this CommonCraft video: Twitter in Plain English.)

[video by Commoncraft]

As with many other social networking sites, Twitter supports "friending", in the sense of following the posts that other people make. So I posted a question in the hope that some of the people from the Isle of Wight I follow (and who follow me) would know whether such a map exists. And they did, and so that's how I got the link to the map shown above!

And secondly? Secondly there's a wishlist item for something I'd like to be able to see (and do). A way of uploading a photograph of each a ship to the web, tagging it in some way, and then being able to click on the marker for that vessel and see the photos of it (ideally along with a timestamp and location data from where the boat was when the picture was taken). Then it would be possible to 'anecdotally' start plotting out the route taken by each ship, and for the container ships, maybe even how laden it was entering and leaving each port!

PS the thought of tracking a ship as it circumnavigates the globe reminded me of an 'experiment' being run by the BBC at the moment to track a shipping container over the course of a year - you can find out more here: The Box.

About the author

Tony Hirst is co-founder of the OU Robotics Outreach Group and a lecturer in artificial intelligence at the Open University. Far too much of his time is spent playing with web technologies, developing tools and applications that he claims will be OUseful, one day...

Subscribe to Tony Hirst's posts