Talk:Google Summer of Code

From OpenStreetMap

Discuss Google Summer of Code here:

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Nokia N800

Regarding the "GPX+Photo+Audio Mobile Capture App": the Nokia N800 has all the necessary hardware (if you count GPS via Bluetooth), and the Maemo Mapper application could be a good foundation to build on. I use a N800, Maemo Mapper, and a $30 GPS-Bluetooth receiver for generating GPX tracks. I haven't used the camera as I don't believe there is any official software to take pictures with yet. —raf 03:54, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Any Nokia series 60 phone should also do the job :) Gagravarr 10:12, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Coherant separate nugget of work

The project presumably needs to be a coherant separate nugget of work which will keep someone busy for a whole summer. But OSM development is such a nebulous chaotic thing, taking place in so many directions. I'm wondering how it will work.

Occasionally it seems like development does take place in the form of a 'project', because one person arrives with a pet project they've been working on for a while. This then lives or dies by the usage and acceptance it gains from the rest of the group. But they tend to be new external bits and bobs, making use of planet dumps to do something interesting outside of the main mapping workflow.

For more core things like API development (people often mention the idea of wiki functionality for example) this would probably have to be implemented cautiously, gradually and with a lot of consultation with the rest of the community. The page says the student should Provide a weekly summary to the dev list of their progress, so it could be done. But maybe the feedback loop will mean other developers would interfere or even take over the work, and it would end up not really being their project.

I suppose ideally we'd rope in a student to spend the summer just mucking in with whatever developments are taking place at the SVN head at the time, but unfortunately that doesn't make for a coherant project definition.

Just some thoughts. I'm sure it will work out one way or another, provided we do get around to picking/defining a project. -- Harry Wood 15:58, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

iPhone / iPod Touch

Both iPhone and iPod Touch have serial port pins on their docking station connector (http://www.hackint0sh.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18904, older revisions need to initialize communication with a handshake sequence, new revisions don't). The wires have 3.3V level, so every GPS module with 3.3V UART can get attached directly, other serial GPS receivers with level converter.

Bluetooth seems not yet fully supported for other devices than headsets (is this correct?), so the serial port is a ready-to-use option, and has the advantage of extremely low power consumption.

There are plenty matching low-power receivers available for 50-100$ in single or low quantities, see e.g. http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=4_17, DIP-socketed modules or eval kits may be easier for some people since they don't require sophisticated soldering skills (some examples on http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=4_86). So the iPhone/iPodTouch could become a nice device for track logging, GPS-annotated picture and video documentation with a single home-made GPS-cable for the docking station connector.

Both the free toolchain and the Apple SDK could get used for development (note: the latter requires registration). The APIs are similar to the Apple APIs of OS-X, but OpenGL/ES is used instead of full-featured OpenGL (should be no problem for a mapping application, all required functionality is contained in OpenGL/ES, too).

What is needed (despite the hardware), is a mapping/logging/editing application.

What do you think?

-- Soc-proposal 10:35, 31 March 2008 (BST)

Looks like you've thought about it. Persnally I'm not enough of an expert in these matters to comment really (Does the JOSM java app run on a device like an iPhone? not sure)

...But what I do know is, you have until midnight tonight to submit your project proposal to google!

Can anyone else offer more technical pointers? You will get a faster response if you fire this at the dev mailing list, or ask on IRC

-- Harry Wood 12:41, 31 March 2008 (BST)

No, the iPhone doesn't have Java (one of its many plus points ;) ).

Sounds like a good idea to me. In my very limited knowledge the best way would be to write the app to get locations either from an attached GPS, or from CoreLocation, the Apple framework that currently gives you an approximate fix (not good enough for mapping) but may well be upgraded to give full GPS functionality in the future. --Richard

hi

i am nambrot the developer of Maps Offline mapsoffline.nambrot.com i'd like to port it and Openstreetmap to the iphone/iPod touch if sb is interested then contact me --nambrot