
Quest-driven OpenStreetMap editing for Android - krzyk
https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete
======
unicornporn
I was running on some unmapped forest roads this weekend. When I used OsmAnd
(which is my goto map app) I realized the roads where missing. I took a look
at Google Maps via my mobile browser and realized the roads were there.

What is the easiest way to contribute and map out these roads on
OpenStreetMap? Before I've edited OpenStreetMap by hand by using a satellite
imagery overlay.

Could I use a mapper app like this to automate the process, or will I be
manually editing GPX uploads in the end anyways?

EDIT: Had to try it now. Simple and polished. I don't see a way to map out new
roads, which is understandable (I don't think it's in the scope of this super
simple app). I had some trouble understanding why the inner city of my town
had no "quests". It turns out you have to go to the application menu and
manually "Scan for Quests here". Some places might seem to have few quests.
However, zooming in a lot revealed plenty of quests for most any urban area.
Kudos for making it available via F-droid!

~~~
Mathnerd314
> What is the easiest way to contribute and map out these roads on
> OpenStreetMap?

Dunno about easiest, but the most effective is probably to just buy the
detailed satellite/aerial imagery,
([http://microsites.digitalglobe.com/30cm/](http://microsites.digitalglobe.com/30cm/))
run some machine learning algorithms to identify roads, and upload that.
[https://github.com/trailbehind/DeepOSM](https://github.com/trailbehind/DeepOSM)
[https://developmentseed.org/blog/2017/01/30/machine-
learning...](https://developmentseed.org/blog/2017/01/30/machine-learning-
learnings/)

~~~
krzyk
Automated edits are discouraged in OSM, and if they are going to be done one
has to send a notice to the appropriate mailing list and create the edits
using additional username (so it will be easier to revert the changes).

See:
[http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_edits](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_edits)

~~~
77pt77
No to mention all the copyright potential problems.

~~~
Piskvorrr
That's why it's only possible to use whitelisted data sources:
[http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Aerial_imagery](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Aerial_imagery)
. Given the scope of this task, "find a license-compatible imagery" is a non-
issue.

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Semaphor
Nice :) I used osm a lot in Germany, far better data than Google. But
currently I'm in South Africa and the data for osm is usually outdated or
incorrect. This might help me help osm :)

~~~
Mediterraneo10
The inconsistency of OSM coverage from one place to another can be a bit
baffling. While cycling around South Africa four years ago, I added quite a
lot of detail to areas on the Garden Route. It’s a bit disappointing to look
at the map and see that almost nothing has been done with these particular
locations since then, even though it’s a heavily touristed area and a
developed country where you’d think at least some locals would be interested
in mapping. And yet, at the same time there are some rural areas around the
world that seem out of the way, but they show continual improvements by
successive visitors.

~~~
Semaphor
I'm living in the suburbs of Pretoria, OSM showed a Woolworth store that
according to the security guy hasn't been there in 3+ years :D

~~~
andygates
It's a wiki. You are invited to edit it! :)

~~~
Mediterraneo10
I’m reluctant to encourage people to edit OSM just like that. OSM isn’t any
more a wiki than Wikipedia is nowadays; that is, while it can be edited by the
community, there are an enormous amount of rules and caveats that contributors
should be aware of before they start editing, and it may well be that their
edits will be reverted if they aren’t clued up to how things are done.

In my own neck of the woods, there’s an OSM group with frequent meetups to
guide newbies through editing. I think the best way for interested people to
get involved is by learning in the company of experienced mappers, not just
all by themselves at home. If such a stringent perspective scares some people
away, at least the contributions of those who do stick around will be much
higher-quality.

~~~
maxerickson
If people are reverting reasonably accurate contributions, that's the problem
to fix.

There are well mapped areas where just barging in and changing things will
cause some issues, but for most of the planet the bar for improving things is
quite low.

~~~
Mediterraneo10
I strongly disagree that the bar is low. It’s not at all unusual for people
who quickly sign up for OSM to remove a defunct POI, to accidentally remove
other nodes along with it because they don’t really understand yet how editing
is done. It’s also common for newbies to trace from wildly unaligned aerial
imagery, or to use the wrong tags because they don’t know to consult the wiki
any time they use a new tag. OSM is years past the point where any additions
are welcome, and like with Wikipedia, no edits at all are often preferable to
low-quality ones.

~~~
maxerickson
The response should be to encourage them to slow down a little bit not to
chase them away entirely.

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iamlukesky
Maybe cluster objects at lower zoom levels? As it is now it's difficult to get
an overview because of the quests only showing up when you're zoomed all the
way in.

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andybak
I think the gamification of contributions is extremely interesting and this is
a great step in the right direction.

However - there needs to be more "game". I've personally witnessed the
obsessive nature of GPS-based mobile games (Ingress mainly). If we could
harness some of that towards OSM it could be amazing.

Considering the amount of energy gamers put into customizing and modding - if
the right game harnessed OSM data then you'd have a willing workforce on tap.

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andygates
That looks impressively more modern than my preferred OSMtracker, which is
really just a GPS trace with notes. I'll have to give it a try.

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habi
Does anyone know of a similar app for iOS? I'm 'addicted' to OSM and such
small quests would be awesome to kill some time at bus stops or during walks.

~~~
Piskvorrr
Well, there's Maps.Me, which has some editing capabilities - I hear it's
useful for entering e.g. opening hours or contact details for a POI (phone,
website, etc.). I don't think it supports editing everything that's in OSM
(only tried it briefly), but it could fit your use case; give it a try.

Edit: Apparently other editors exist for iOS:
[http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Apple_iOS#Editing_the_map](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Apple_iOS#Editing_the_map)

~~~
habi
I know and use Maps.me a lot, but it lacks the survey character which I
specifically find intriguing in this app. Also, there's
[http://www.pushpinosm.org/](http://www.pushpinosm.org/), but it will probably
cease to function in iOS 11...

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evolvedlight
I've done some quests this morning - and took a look at the map history around
me to see many other people also doing edits from this app. This is great! The
level of participation this is enabling is really impressive!

