New Zealand Open GPS Project
While map databases cover a larger portion of the globe with each subsequent release, a number of communities are teaming up to improve the street level maps of their area. In particular, the New Zealand Open Maps Project aims to provide street-level search for areas of the country that are not yet covered at no charge to the community.
Using a collaborative, wiki-based format, the Open Maps project constantly compiles new user generated information and updates GPS maps using 3rd party MapSource software. While the project is focused on the Garmin GPS, it is technically compatible with any device. The current edition of the database has been optimising for Garmin models ranging from the popular Nuvi, Quest and Zumo mobile devices to Garmin’s iQue smart phone software to airborne pilot maps. Newer models are generally required to implement custom mapping, as it requires over 30 MB of extra memory, more to ensure that the new maps run smoothly.
Beginning in 2004, the New Zealand community project started to produce improved country-level maps based upon user input. While these contributions improved the existing maps, it was not until late 2006 that advances in GPS software allowed for integration of new routing instructions based upon the new map entries. In 2007, the project was recognised with a New Zealand Open Source Award for the organisers efforts. Led entirely by enthusiasts, the effort has been entirely open source and non-commercial. The New Zealand Open Source Awards (NZOSA) are held annually to recognise outstanding open-source, collaborative projects. sponsored by major organisations such as Googe, Red Hat and Sun, the awards feature several categories recognising outstanding projects in education, business, government and special services. The Open GPS project won in the general Open Source Software category, a tribute to the hard work of the members.
In fact, interested users can view the entire source files of the New Zealand project online. The data itself integrates with the Zenbu open-source search engine, which has a comprehensive database of New Zealand businesses and landmarks. Zenbu is a local open-source, user contributed business search engine licensed under Creative Commons. Users can sign up to add new locations, update or improve existing entires and search for locations by name or entity type. The collaborative search model has been replicated by other search engines such as the locally-driven Yelp and the collaborative search engine Wikia. Additional data has been compiled from the LINZ natural database, combining with Zenbu to provide a comprehensive framework that contributors can build upon.
With user-led contributions, GPS-enabled devices in New Zealand now have a much richer source of map data to draw upon at the street level. Contributions from the open source project have enabled street-level directions at a high level of precision, even in remote parts of the country. As the project advances along with GPS software, the organisation expects a full model of the country within a few years, with continual refinements along the way.