[OSM-talk] Imagery Offset Database

[Ilya Zverev]

Hi! I'm proud to announce the Imagery Offset Database: a centralized 
offset bookmarks and calibration geometries storage. At the moment it 
consists of:

- API: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Imagery_Offset_Database/API
- JOSM plugin: 
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Imagery_Offset_Database/Quick_Start
- Web interface: http://offsets.textual.ru/

The principles behind IODB are described on its wiki page, 
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Imagery_Offset_Database . I have been 
developing it for about a year, and I consider it the second best way to 
solve the imagery offset problem (the first best is to realign imagery 
by a provider). You just adjust an imagery layer, but instead of 
creating a local bookmark, upload it to the server. And before aligning 
imagery layer you can check whether someone did it before.

I'd like to thanks mappers from Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Finland, 
who added 364 entries to the database in the past week and helped me 
test the plugin and the data model. Right now only JOSM users can use 
the database, but I hope iD would support it, and maybe some other 
editors: the API is really simple.

While the OSM database is in read-only mode, I suggest you transfer 
your JOSM offset bookmarks to the server. You will need a 
mirrored_download plugin, to check that your bookmarks are still valid 
and fit data and traces. And don't forget to check if someone uploaded 
an offset ahead of you.

All data in the database is published hourly in XML and JSON formats 
under PDDL license.


IZ