OpenScienceMap 0.5

OpenScienceMap 0.5 is here! And it is more than a small update, it is a huge step forward. There are many new things you can experience:

  • 3D Buildings: all buildings of OSM are now in OpenScienceMap! Touch ground and tilt the map!
  • Satellite imagery: find satellite imagery in the “Layers” menu
  • Compass: we now have a compass rose in the map view
  • Compass click-thru: click on the rose to jump through position & compass settings
  • 3D Compass: tilt your device to tilt the map
  • Position viewshed: the position indicator shows the direction you are facing and the accuracy of your positioning
  • Offscreen positioning: the blurry animated indicator shows the direction of your current position
  • POIs: we have a large number of POIs in the map
  • Better data: we worked on some of the data and improved a lot.

Of course, all the previous features like DistanceTouch are still in!
Download, use, and spread the word!


3D Buildings, Position Indicator, Viewshed, Offscreen-Positioning

The blue circle indicates the current position, the size reflects the positioning accuracy, and the light blue tart slice indicates the direction towards you are facing. Whenever you move the map, your position can get shifted off-screen. The blurry blue dot indicates where you can find your position (right screenshot).


Satellite Imagery

Enjoy our colorful world with satellite imagery (not available on all zoom levels).

QR Code to v0.5 [wpfilebase tag=file id=11/]

To get the latest version of OpenScienceMap just scan the QR-Code above or click the “OpenScienceMap” link next to it to get the .apk file. To use OpenScienceMap on your device you will have to allow the installation of applications NOT coming from Google’s PlayStore (if you run one of our previous versions you need to uninstall it first):

  • 1. Open the “Settings” menu
  • 2. Click “Security”
  • 3. Tick “Unkown Sources”

That’s it! Installing and running OpenScienceMap is 100% safe!

OpenScienceMap Goes Web

Do you already wonder how the next OpenScienceMap will look like? Navigate to http://opensciencemap.org/map/ and check some of the new features!

Thanks to incredible Hannes and libGDX OpenScienceMap is now also available for browsers that support WebGL, even on your smartphone.

Click right with your mouse to rotate and tilt the map. Zoom in and out to see 3D buildings, POIs, etc. However, some features like interactive route- and POI layers are not yet ported. OpenScienceMap is still primarily a mobile map.

Some screenshots from Bremen:

 

MapInteract@ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS 2013

I am happy to announce our workshop on map interaction to be held at ACM GIS on November 5 in Orlando, Florida, US!

MapInteract 2013

Are you passionate about maps? Are you surprised by the awkward interaction offered by map-based services? Do you think you can do it better? Then this workshop is for you!

We are looking for inspiring research papers and demos related to map interaction coming from any domain and perspective. Please submit your contribution to MapInteract 2013 and show us your vision of future maps! Why not using OpenScienceMap for it?

Important Dates
Aug. 15, 2013 Submission Deadline
Sep. 15, 2013 Notification of Acceptance
Oct. 1, 2013Â Â Camera-ready Version due
Nov. 05, 2013 Workshop at ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS 2013

We are looking forward to receive your contribution! See you at ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS 2013!

 

OpenScienceMap 0.4.1 is here!

We are happy to announce the release of OpenScienceMap 0.4.1!
Version 0.4 has significant improvements:

  • Caching: OpenScienceMap has now a client-side cache! Once you visited a place on the map it will be available on your device without internet connection.
  • DistanceTouch: We often - in fact very often - want to know the distance between two places. With DistanceTouch we made answering this question easy and instant: just touch the screen with two fingers and hold for a moment. You will get the direct (spherical) distance between the two selected places, the shortest driving route, and the estimated travel time (routing is provided by OSRM; it does not always work at country borders, sometimes the server is down).Warning: although it is not a game, it can be addictive.
    Have fun and spread the word!

Download OpenScienceMap 0.4.1 now!

distance touch gesturedistance touch - gesture result

OpenScienceMap 0.3.2 Released!

We just released our new version of OpenScienceMap. Version 0.3.2. now has overlays, we implemented routing with OSRM, and geographic search for places, Wikipedia articles, FlickR images, and Foursquare places.

In addition to the new features, we also improved on the data. On lower zoom levels we have now a better high-level street network. The roads are selected by a newly developed algorithm, which we are currently writing up in a technical paper. The street network is also kept more consistent to the levels above. You will also notice some additional natural features on the high zoom levels, as well as improved label placement on the same levels.

We believe it is a great step forward and hope you will enjoy OpenScienceMap even more!

Jump to “Download” and check it out!

Poster Accepted at ACM DEV 2013

Our poster “OpenScienceMap: Open and Free Vector Maps for Low Bandwidth Applications” is accepted for presentation at ACM DEV 2013 in Bangalore/India.

In this paper we analyze the bandwidth requirements of OpenScienceMap and compare it with commercial services. Result in a nutshell: OpenScienceMap consumes significantly less bandwidth (only 10-20% compared to the best competitor) to render the same map!