Hi everyone<br><br>In order to maximise our funds for satellite imagery I'm going to ask all the Unis in our region if they'd like to host the images for us. Please have a look at the following text which is a first draft of the email I'm going to send ( I'll dress it up with a few examples, a couple of images and some URLs)<br>
<br>Regards<br><br>Brian<br><br><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CBrian%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CBrian%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CBrian%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><style>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Invite</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are inviting your department to participate in the work
of the local chapter of OpenStreetMap, which we have named mappa mercia</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OSM</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OpenStreetMap is a global voluntary project to produce a
completely new digital map of the entire planet based on opensource principles
and free of all copyrighted data. <span style=""> </span>Volunteers gather geospatial data by using
consumer-grade GPS devices and simple observation, uploading their data online
and editing it to produce maps using a variety of open source cartographic tools.
There are currently 190,000 users who have<span style="">
</span>added over 130 million GPS points and<span style="">
</span>37 million ways to the database.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Aerial Imagery</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Local mappers ( approximately 100 people ) substantially
completed the map of Birmingham and Solihull within the motorway ring in
December 2008. Current focus is on completing the Black Country and improving
the quality and detail of what was mapped in 2008.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So that we can complete the city centre where GPS traces are
highly inaccurate due to “ghosting” effects of<span style="">
</span>high rise buildings<span style=""> </span>we have
raised funds to purchase geo-referenced satellite imagery to 2 metre
resolution. This will also enable us to trace building outlines and service
roads where we cannot obtain ground access. Eventually we aim to raise
sufficient funds<span style=""> </span>to purchase satellite
imagery for the whole West Midlands county.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Server</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In order for local mappers to edit<span style=""> </span>the satellite imagery we require a server to
host the images. Whilst we could obtain<span style="">
</span>hosting services commercially, we want to maximise the area of satellite
imagery we can purchase. This is a wonderful opportunity for a local
educational institution to join a local effort which is ground-breaking in its approach
to digital mapping.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>UCL already kindly provide the core servers
for our poject.<span style=""> </span>Full specifications of what
we require are appended</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Student Projects</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our project is unique in mapping terms because we make the
data from which maps are rendered, openly available to software developers to
build applications and render maps in new and exciting ways.<span style=""> </span>Data is available for the entire planet and
there are literally hundreds of potential projects. In the West Midlands alone
we have about a dozen immediate projects. Some examples have been appended</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">We can provide further information on request and would be
pleased to present in detail the goals and methods of OpenStreetMap. We hope you
can provide local support to our project. There is a nonprofit legal entity ,
the OpenStreetMap Foundation which <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">acts as <span style=""> </span>custodian for the servers
and services necessary to host the OpenStreetMap project and the <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org">www.openstreetmap.org</a>
domain name and provides an organisational focus for donors, sponsors and
co-operating bodies</span></p>
<br>