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OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

eng.lyft.com

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Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#61

Post by flukus »

dawnerd wrote: post #46

Now if only there was a sensible way to self-host OSM data. From what I've found you either have to build a dedicated server to continuously building the tiles (which takes a ton of storage and processing power) or pay for it at an insane monthly price. I wish OSM would directly make their tiles available to mirror. (Maybe they do, but I haven't found it yet)

It really depends on your requirements, but if you only need one city then you're hardware requirements are in the raspberry pi territory: https://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/

The site linked already provides docker images, I'm tempted to build a pi one.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#62

Post by not2b »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #16
grecy wrote: post #7

I used OSM as turn-by turn loaded into my Garmin [1] for my three year drive around Africa, and then to cross North America six times in 2019. I have been utterly staggered how accurate and complete it is in every conceivable scenario - dirt street villages in Sudan and Mali, capital cities in same, capital cities in South Africa and all over the US and Canada. I also used it to drive down through Southern Europe, to…

I am glad to hear that you found it accurate and complete. I know a lot of mapping of sub-Saharan Africa has been done by foreign armchair mappers working from aerial imagery for e.g. a HOT effort. I myself did a great deal of aerial mapping West African villages in preparation for a trip through the region that I ultimately had to cancel, and I was nervous that without being able to actually verify my edits firsthan…

I used an OSM-based map on my Garmin on trips to India; did five trips to Bangalore and often played tourists on weekends; I had a particular interest in the ancient temples of Karnataka. I used a driver who knew the sites well, but not always perfectly, and the map was a huge help; coverage of roads in rural areas was quite good, not perfect but several times got us around closed roads the driver was familiar with and onto good alternate routes.

Not sure how much of the mapping was done from aerial imagery and how much was actual GPS tracking, but it was better than I expected. And this was about 5 years ago.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#63

Post by not2b »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #31
jqpabc123 wrote: post #8

Apparently, I'm not in the 30 cities that are accurate. Used Magic Earth on my phone which is based on OSM. The very first address I input was off by about a mile. Didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence.

Address search (geocoding) isn’t what this article is about. OSM by common agreement has a long way to go on that.

Right, but if you're Lyft you have to find people and locations from their addresses.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#64

Post by spurgu »

einpoklum wrote: post #42
CivBase wrote: post #26

I've been looking to replace Google Maps with OSM on my smartphone. OSM itself is great, but I've been having a harder time finding a good app to use it with. Is anyone familiar with a good option? I mostly use a maps app for location searches and real-time GPS navigation, but offline maps and location sharing are nice-to-have features. I've been using OsmAnd and it's okay. The interface is pretty good. It supports o…

I'm using an app called Maps.Me, which seems to be OSM-based. It's kind of commercialized, which I don't like, but it's usable. I'd be interested in something more FOSSy, myself.

Maps.me was on HN a couple of weeks back.

MAPS.ME is gone. We must bring it back: https://telegra.ph/What-happened-to-the-old-MAPSME-12-20

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25515004

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#65

Post by simonw »

dawnerd wrote: post #46

Now if only there was a sensible way to self-host OSM data. From what I've found you either have to build a dedicated server to continuously building the tiles (which takes a ton of storage and processing power) or pay for it at an insane monthly price. I wish OSM would directly make their tiles available to mirror. (Maybe they do, but I haven't found it yet)

I built a tool for downloading tiles last week - but with a warning in the README to make sure you are following the OpenStreetMap tile downloading policies.

https://simonwillison.net/2021/Feb/4/datasette-tiles/

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#66

Post by qwerty456127 »

I've just checked (some years have passes since the last time) and it seems improved a lot for Europe too.

I personally am not really interested in geospatial precision, I mostly use public transport so I need all the bus/tram/etc stops placed and named accurately.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#67

Post by dawnerd »

simonw wrote: post #65
dawnerd wrote: post #46

Now if only there was a sensible way to self-host OSM data. From what I've found you either have to build a dedicated server to continuously building the tiles (which takes a ton of storage and processing power) or pay for it at an insane monthly price. I wish OSM would directly make their tiles available to mirror. (Maybe they do, but I haven't found it yet)

I built a tool for downloading tiles last week - but with a warning in the README to make sure you are following the OpenStreetMap tile downloading policies. https://simonwillison.net/2021/Feb/4/datasette-tiles/

That actually looks pretty close to what I've been looking for. I'll have to look into it more when I get time.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#68

Post by stirlo »

reaperducer wrote: post #60
thitcanh wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there an easy way to contribute from my phone? If I could just turn the GPS on and let it track my path I’d be able to contribute all of my random hikes that might not be on OSM.

Interesting thought. I have GPS traces for a number of Amtrak routes across America. I wonder if those would be useful.

I imagine something as large as a railway is already covered (especially with the railfan community). In fact in most locations they actually include the number of tracks, passing loops and other features that a simple GPS track will not have.

Re: OpenStreetMap proven to be a highly accurate map in top US cities

#69

Post by lqet »

Ayesh wrote: post #4

Good that OSM is accurate in cities as well, because in hiking, skiing, or even some ferry routes, OSM simply wins because that's often the only mapping provider to even have _any_ data. Some of my first hand experiences: - French GR-20 routes. Google maps are laughably empty, while OSM has you covered with almost the same information as the hiking maps you can buy on the trail. - Anapurna - similar to GR-20 situatio…

While I agree that OSM is great and highly accurate, I would be careful using it in remote locations where your life may depend on a correct trail. It is very easy to edit OSM (changes are propagated into map tiles after a few minutes), and malicious intent is not immediately spotted. The latter is especially true in remote locations.
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