[OSM-dev] Simple app for "making contributions" (not to display maps)

Bjoern Hassler bjohas+mw at gmail.com
Wed Jun 29 12:04:17 UTC 2016


Hi all,

first post to the list - hope this is of interest.

The background to my question is working is areas where map coverage is
poor (e.g. parts of Africa). Sometimes only low-res satellite/bing imagery
is available, sometimes obscured by clouds. In some low populated areas a
GPS trace could be useful to map out roads connecting settlements (despite
inaccuracies of GPS).

There are many great OSM apps out there, including apps for recording
traces (e.g. OSM tracker, etc). However, unless I've missed it, I would say
that none of those apps is suitable for the "non-technical" user. Indeed,
we've tried using various such apps, and it's been difficult in terms of
usability.

Is there interest in (or is anybody working on) creating an very
simple-to-use app that allows "non-technical" users to contribute OSM
information? E.g. a large red button for recording a trace with automatic
upload (optimised for poorly internet connected environments, e.g. wait for
wifi, upload in chunks etc; information submitted with GPS accuracy
information).

(There are of course issues with GPS traces, so perhaps automated capture
of GPS traces is not that useful.)

Many thanks!
Bjoern
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