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GPS and MappingThose who use GPS and mapping software can't fail to be impressed by the technology and potential for users; really only limited by your imagination. In particular, the ability to easily draw and share route information in ways that were simply not possible until recent times. Of course, there will be those who are overwhelmed with indifference and who find it difficult to stifle a yawn if the subject is ever broached. If so then best go no further and stop now.... Our Routes Archive has a growing selection of routes from far airts and pairts. We'd like to offer the facility for users to provide GPS and/or mapping data. There are, however a few issues to tease out and this is not an area that's always easy to follow. There are three areas that we'll look at: GPS and mapping software, Google Maps and Google Earth. STOP PRESS: it seems that Ordnance Survey is developing its own system which is in beta at the moment - thanks to John Carlile for pointing at this - and we've added a separate section below...
1. GPS and mapping software There are a good many flavours of mapping software that you can buy for your PC. Not cheap, but then neither are maps. Likewise, there is a wide variety of GPS units with an equally wide price range. Of course, what you really need - if you have a GPS unit - is one that can communicate with your mapping software. GPS route data can be generated in a number of different formats and this is really a curse, rather than a blessing. There is one file format, however, that seems to have found wide support and we've taken an executive decision to adopt it; namely the GPX format If your mapping software can't import or export in GPX format, all is not lost and you might want to check out GPSBabel, free software which can convert to/from a whole bucketload of formats. (If, like me, you're saddled with an older version of Fugawi v3 then life isn't so easy but there is a workaround ) Most people who use GPS to design and navigate routes will be aware that there are really two ways to draw the route. One method puts waypoints in places which show where the route goes; at road junctions and so on. This is fine for sharing the route with others, discussing improvements or whatever. And if that sounds like it's stating the bleedin' obvious, well it isn't quite as simple as that... ...and most people soon get wise to the fact that you don't actually want waypoints at junctions, but rather, you want one waypoint just before a junction and another just after - this makes for less confusion when you're following it on the ground. In other words, ideally you'd like one route for demo purposes and another as a more useful working model...;-) In any event, route descriptions accompanied by photos - as per normal - and an additional GPX file are welcome and this can be downloaded for use as necessary. There are pros and cons to this type of file sharing: advantages:
disadvantages:
It's perhaps worth noting that it is possible to validate GPX files using the free Xerces XML parser which is available for download from the Apache website though it should be said that this is a command line utility and so not really for the faint hearted...;-(
2. Google Maps Google Maps offers a way for anyone to draw a map and add comments and/or photos. The maps can be kept private or they can be shared so that anyone can view them. There's a much more detailed discussion and a worked example showing how to draw and share your route can be found here Again, there are pros and cons: advantages:
disadvantages:
So if you'd like to contribute a route as outlined then please feel free. We can host any photos on our website as described.
3. Google Earth Google Earth is a truly awesome piece of kit in its own right. It can also be used to draw routes and add notes, photos etc in a similar way to Google Maps but perhaps with a slightly steeper learning curve. The routes drawn can be saved in Google's KML file format and distributed via email or a website for users to view using their own copy of Google Earth. We're not going to go into further details here other than to say that we're happy to offer KML files for download if you want to take the time to create them.
4. Ordnance Survey OS is developing a system called Explore which allows users to draw routes for all sorts of purposes - walking, cycling, climbing and so on. It seems to be in an early stage and unfortunately will not currently work with the latest versions of Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer. No doubt this will change soon. To use it, you need to register an account (it's free) and then follow the online instructions to create your route. At the moment the map window seems a tad on the small size though you can, of course, scroll round to move the map. It may not zoom in as far as you might like but let's be charitable and applaud the efforts being made! It seems fairly easy to use and you draw the map by simply clicking where you want the waypoints to be. You can then name the route, assign keywords and route type. You can also provide a text description to go with it. A further stage allows you to mark points of interest (POIs) and even upload photos to illustrate them. [NB: if you get this far DO NOT press the Back button - as I did - because you haven't yet saved anything and it will all be lost - DOH!!!] The software will calculate the length of the route and this will appear in the final version so you don't need to do that yourself. Once you have saved your work you can't later edit it. This is unfortunate, but perhaps things will change... All in all, this looks as if it could develop into a useful resource. Perhaps it'll be possible to generate GPS data and that really would be a welcome development. In the meantime, it's certainly worth a look. I put up a sample route, including a photo, at Minch Moor which may give an idea of what can be done. 5. Conclusion Sharing route information by any of the methods above is to be encouraged. There are pros and cons for each and if you're really keen there's no reason why you can't use more than one...;-)
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