OpenStreetMap relies on constant peer review, but what if nobody does a second check? Although I took care to mark my field map as accurately as possible, I realized as I was recording my features to OSM that there is a great deal of room for error. My field map differs from OSM both in scale and degree of generalization. Many of the points I added have a margin of error of at least five feet.

I was not able to connect with a fellow student while doing my survey. This is why I chose to record multiple types of features. To increase the accuracy of my additions, I could do a second survey and make notations on an OSM printout. I would have done this if some of my additons were made before today (2/18).

I have done some mapping in the field with a gps and with survey equipment. This is different because you can’t be sure your features will be accurate.

I did have an Idea that would certainly increase accuracy. I know that there are apps which take gps data from a cell phone, and I think some of them may output to a shapefile format. I think that using this sort of app along with OSM could be really cool. I could take a point with my phone, take a picture of the point I just took, and upload it to arcmap as a reference. The downside of this is that you would have to have a georefferenced image or some way of matching the shapefile with the campus.

I would like to develop a web map that could take a point (in the projection that OSM uses) and saves it to a shapefile, or better yet, a format which OSM could somehow understand. I have a basic idea of the structure, but I don’t know if OSM has that sort of capability… yet.

p.s. Damon and Stephanie - I could’nt figure out how to link images in time so I’ll email my fieldmap.

I had never heard of OpenStreetMap until a few weeks ago, but I can see that I will be frequenting this site. This sort of user interface is exactly what I had in mind when I imagined what an open street map would look like.

The very first things I added when I first created my profile were all from memory. This included places that I was familiar with at SFSU like Cafe Rosso and “The Fairy Circle”. I also added Mary Ward, and a number of minor points (mostly restauraunts). I found it easy to drift away from the campus. I was soon adding features at Lake Merced (paths, lookout points) and Sloat Shopping Center (more businesses).

For my second round of adding features, I walked around campus and recorded ever fire hydrant, informational sign (gardens, welcome maps etc), and set of trash bins I could find. The resulting field map was used as a reference when digitizing these features.

I had few difficulties, although I found myself hesitating every time I went to edit a feature somebody else had created. Any difficulties I encountered were soon overcome as I became familiar with the interface.

I have done a small amount of digitization using ArcMaps and Illustrator. This is by far the most “loose” digitizing experience I have had. It was more comparable to interacting with googlemaps, and it was pretty informal for such a powerful tool.

I wonder if anybody has thought about integrating some sort of program that would capture points from gps data? With the widespread use of smartphones, a mobile app that performed this function could be an interesting addition to OpenStreetMaps.

Changes made based on field map Changes made from memory/image Changes made from memory/image Changes made from memory/image