Geomob

This week the spotlight is on the new Executive Director of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), Rebecca Firth. Chatting with Steven, Rebecca recalls how she got involved with HOT, what the volunteer run organisation has achieved, and what you can expect as she moves forward with her new role. The main goal is to map under mapped places in an area home to a billion people across 94 countries. HOT aims to address community needs through mapping, make mapping accessible for everyone, and make data usable for as many people as possible. Tune in to find out what’s in store for HOT with Rebecca at the helm, the role of AI in mapping, and how you can get involved. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is 19 years old! As the global project completes its ‘teen years’, Ed reflects back on the early days along with OSM veteran Andy Allan. Going back to the early days when there were only 20 streets mapped, Ed and Andy discuss what was and what is to come for OSM in the next twenty years. You’ll hear all about the slow but satisfying process or early virtual mapping days. Whether you're a long-time OSMer or just joining the community, tune in to the discussion of how far OpenStreetMap has come but also whether fundamental changes are needed to continue the growth. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This week we hear from Akansha Saklani from the World Resources Institute. If you haven’t heard of the WRI before you’re not alone, the program was news to Steven. Listen in as Steven chats with Akansha about the very important work she is doing through the Energy Access Exlorer Program at WRI. Akansha leads the creation of energy access maps that show electrical data in India, and other parts of the world, with the aim of improving the service delivery outcomes and reach UN sustainable development goals. Learn how the WRI works with municipalities and communities to bring electricity to the billions who do not have stable access. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Turning words into maps is no easy feat, but that’s exactly what our guest this week does. Joining Ed for a chat is Dario Raijman of Textomap, an easy map making tool that works with natural text (in many different languages) to instantly create interactive maps. Dario explains how Textomap differs from other map creation websites/apps: there is no need for app or tool downloads and there are several ways to turn text into a map, even using an AI prompt. To put it simply, it’s fast, easy and helpful for travellers, content creators, teachers and anyone who may need a quick map. Tune in to find out how a two-person, husband and wife team manages this major task.   Textomap will be presented at the next Geomob Berlin on September 27th. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

OpenStreetMap is well known by the geospatial community, but does the average person use it? To help answer this question this week Ed welcomes Roman Tsisyk to the podcast. Roman, a co-founder of Organic Maps, the most widely used consumer-facing, OSM-based mapping service. In their discussion, Ed and Roman explain the differences users experience with Google Maps vs OSM and discuss how the two can work together. Organic Maps is a privacy-focused, open-source fork of Maps.me app. The offline feature makes it particularly convenient for travellers, hikers, and cyclists. Listen as Roman explains how he and his team use the power of community to keep evolving their maps, and why having "regular people" contribute to mapping is so important. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.  

Steven and Ed discuss Florian Ledermann's geospatial Mastodon list before looking back on the recent Geomob events in Tel Aviv and London. Have a great summer everyone.   Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This week tune in to hear what it’s like to volunteer at MapAction. Steven chats with an old friend: Ant Scott. MapAction is "the bridge which enables geospatial experts and professionals to contribute their services to helps with global humanitarian needs" - a non-profit that partners with organisations all over the world to help prepare and respond to humanitarian emergencies. In this episode Steven dives deep into the day to day of MapAction activities. Ant explains the response process step-by-step with anecdotes from his own experiences. Join in for this enlightening chat and shout out to the amazing volunteers. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This week Ed chats with the winner of the best speaker prize at the April 2023 Geomob Finland. Juha Koponen is the COO of CollectiveCrunch. To put it simply, CollectiveCrunch counts and analyzes the trees in the forest using remote sensing. Juha and his team combine the latest tech in geospatial including earth observation, machine learning, and AI, to assess forestry needs quickly and accurately. Tackling problems like forest density and bark beetles activity, CollectiveCrunch is able to monitor what goes on in the forest without always needing to travel long distances and measure manually. Listen in as Ed and Juha deep dive into the mechanics of machine learning and AI specifically for forestry and learn about the benefits of this technology for other applications. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Joining Ed for an interesting chat this week is Dr. Merve Keskin, a geomatics engineer and cartographer who works for the National Land Survey of Finland and the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute. Merve studies how people use maps with a focus on eye tracking. With the rise of mobile maps and mapping apps there is an assumption that getting around is simpler, but is it? Do the navigation tools affect our spatial cognition positively or negatively?  Merve explains in detail what you can learn by studying how people use maps and gives some advice to cartographers who want to create maps that people will actually use. Tune in for this informative conversation. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

A catch up episodes with our hosts Ed and Steven.  Ed recounts the second Geomob Berlin (summary thread). Steven is already on the ground in Tel Aviv where Ed will soon join him for the June 20th GeomobTLV. In other news OpenCage is again mentoring an OpenStreetMap Google Summer of Code project, while Mappery once again grapples with the technical snafu of publishing to Twitter.  Finally the discussion turns to Lyft's recent announcement that they will begin relying on OpenStreetMap for their maps. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.