User:Sebastiaan
Who am I?
I started working for a consulting firm August 2007. I live in Gent, and thus will mainly map there. I also welcome anyone who wants to map in the same region to contact me, so that we can coordinate our efforts and work together. People without a GPS can also help, as i can do that part.
How did I find this project?
I was looking for software which could take actions based on the location I was. An example of this is miniGPS by Psiloc. This works by tracking cell tower ID's, not by gps though. On the search for a better program I came across OSM and got hooked..
What do I intend to contribute?
Map
I intend to focus on Gent only, as the area where I work, usually Antwerp, is mostly done already. In Gent I started out with the area around the railway station, and some streets towards the highway. Some segments are already available from another user, so I try to correct if necessary and subsequently label them. I hope to have the railway station area mapped by the end of 2007.
- I met this goal, and set my target now broader. I'm expanding south and east, within the boundaries of the R4 highway. On occasion, when there is a traffic jam or I feel like exploring countryside, I take an alternative route and map it too. If you didn't do so yet, please have a look at the map of Ghent.
Mapping software
I used to use an open-source program to log GPS tracks. It's called GPSTrack (how original :-)) and works on my mobile phone nokia E65 with a BT-308 GPS receiver. This program is not perfect though for OSM. It misses some functionality for GPX files such as logging elevation and time data. Especially time data makes it difficult, as OSM then refuses the produced GPX file. Another limitation is that it only logs position every 2 seconds, which can not be reduced further. 2 seconds by car means that i have usually turned into the next street with only 2 points mapped. All small turns and such are thus lost. I intend to correct these little problems and make this program available under the same licence for OSM logging by mobile phones / PDA'S with java capability.
I've been testing TrekBuddy, as it was mentioned on these pages, but found it totally unusable. It does way too much, with all the cards and stuff, has terrible trouble to find a location to write the GPX file. It seems a good program, but for trekking, not for OSM mapping.
DONE: As of today, an adapted version of GPStrack v1.1, made originally by Dana Peters (to whom all credit goes) is available.
Added:
- option to log at a rate of 2 positions per second instead of 1 every 2 seconds.
- option to log positions with minimum distance of 5 meters (15 feet) instead of 10 meters (30 feet)
In short: now you can drive through a city or curvy road by car and still catch all the details.
How to get this changed version: contact me through the wiki or leave a note on my talk page. I'll send you the .jar file by email, as I cannot upload it as a file here.
I moved on to a new GPS unit, now own a GPS logger with a solar cell. My home town area, Gent has been improved a lot. I moved from one side of the town to the next, which helps with the mapping. :) --Sebastiaan 12:46, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
The next step, in the far future, is to develop a navigation solution based on OSM data for the same platform, being mobile phones/PDA's with java support. I'll definitely need help here, as this is a massive project. I'll need testers too, who have a java enabled device to test it in their own area. Testing the GPS may also reveal errors in OSM, so it's a two way process.
- These plans are currently in the frigde, as I have a serious lack of time to develop such a program. Instead, I joined the We-Travel testing base. I really enjoy this program and it's fun to find the bugs in it :)