OpenStreetMap: Free GPS Maps

[stampeder]

Has anyone tried this rather than pay map update fees: OpenStreetMap is a free, open GPS mapping service/provider that is growing rapidly and is available under the Creative Commons license. Certain commercially available data has been donated by Yahoo!, Automotive Navigation Data, and Microsoft Bing but most of the data is input from public sources and local, personal GPS tracking.

It looks good for Canada and the U.S. from what I can see. I'll be uploading some GPS tracks of my own if I come across outdated info.

[hugh]

Interesting but frankly I would be very concerned about the accuracy of the information. We've all read the horror stories of incorrect GPS maps.

I don't know how Navteq and other map providers derive their data but I have to assume its from official sources.

Somethings are worth paying for.

[stampeder]

Commercial providers are the ones getting the lawsuits and bad press over inaccurate data and trip advice...

[hugh]

And that is happening with maps from official sources.

With open source maps, there is no reference to check against, potentially no maps and potentially inaccurate maps. My guess is that user generated maps are not as complete nor as accurate.

Is saving a few dollars a year worth the added risk?

For me, its not.

[stampeder]

The linked article discusses the official and other sources on which OpenStreetMap is based. I intend to try it first before making any judgements, and if it isn't good enough I'll still have my usual source.

[hugh]

Hey I love wikipedia and find it a great resource, but I don't treat as gospel. I hope this initiative takes off, however, I am just saying that I would be worried about the accuracy outside the mainstream.

[audacity]

I'm impressed. I just looked up where I live now and where I previously lived. Both are very new neighborhoods (houses built in 2007, 2008). They got all the streets correct; even a street that was renamed last year. They even show the in-progress Rabbit Hill Road overpass near Terwillegar (in Edmonton) as a future overpass. Not even Google Maps (roads) has that - although their satellite imagery does show the construction happening.

So, there were a bunch of things that I thought that they wouldn't have (or that would be out of date), and the only thing that is missing in my area is a residential street that was finished a couple weeks ago. But none of the other map services have that either.

[scotta]

Originally Posted by DancesWithLysol

[...] and the only thing that is missing in my area is a residential street that was finished a couple weeks ago.

Feel free to add that street to OpenStreetMap yourself.

[digme]

I like the ramifications on this, not only do people get low cost maps , the various governments lose total control of the mapping of places. ( for those who don't know , the original GPS systems were still military and intentionally wrong by a small distance)

[Jake]

Color me impressed. They have the street and civic numbering correct at a few places I checked. They beat Google Maps in those places. A good test would be dirt roads. Especially seasonal ones.

GPS has been valid for street mapping for over 20 years. What the previous poster is referring to was the intentional degrading of the GPS signal called selective availability. This ended in 2000. Previously it could still put you within 100m which for most road maps was fine. Today you can expect 10 m and if you are using WAAS (most do) then 2 m. So most public GPS data (the bulk from the last decade) is perfectly fine when it come to positional accuracy. Its completeness though cannot be trusted.

[e268]

My NavFree GPS on iphone4 uses OpenStreet Maps. As the name implies, it is a free app on the app store, and best of all, it does not require a service provider, only depend of the GPS sensor (or whatever it is called) in ipone4.

I compared the map in cottage country to Google maps. The map on my NavFree have the cottage streets, but some of them do not have names, and some of them are outdated.

I have this just for fun, since it is free. I use good old Garmin 255, but I will use it if my Garmin is dead.

[stampeder]

I can't find any major stuff missing from here in the Metro Vancouver area after only just a day of use (so it is way too early) but I'm impressed. I have an app on my N900 called GPSJinni that allows me to save GPS tracks, so I'll upload any that don't seem to be in their system.