3 ms·

Or invest $1bn in enhancing the already good openstreetmap dataset?

Aoyagi 11y ago
While I love OSM (both the map and the project), I don't think they have enough data (depth) to provide any navigation/routing. Or I'm missing something.
- Brakenshire 11y ago
  FWIW, where I am, the quality of the OSM dataset is way beyond what you need for routing. OSMAnd and Scout are my go to navigation apps. Anywhere which is vaguely rural, you really have to have confidence that all your map data, and your routing capability, are available offline. You can't beat having the map of the entire country on your phone.
- gothenburg 11y ago
  I have been using OSM on Android for a while (through OSMAnd) and I disagree with you. OSM has the most complete and updated maps I have ever seen compared to Google Maps and Nokia HERE. And it has much more POI registered as well. My only issue is that the UI of the Android app is not that good and efficient when compared to HERE.
  - ce4 11y ago
    The UI got a major overhaul recently (switched to material design) which made some things nicer. I also saw/see the UI as a problematic part of OsmAnd however I recognize it's not easy to pack all the features OsmAnd offers into a GUI and both please beginners and expert users.
- detaro 11y ago
  Biggest problem with OSM is that quality is varying wildly. Awesome in many cities, but then in rural areas it can be missing half a town. And large differences between countries. A lot of money could possibly help to get good base maps into it (by paying enough that their producers accept OSM licensing), which could help that situation...
  - rmc 11y ago
    > A lot of money could possibly help to get good base maps into it (by paying enough that their producers accept OSM licensing), which could help that situation... Possibily. But a mass import is often not a good idea. You need mappers to map (possibly from the base map).
  - matt4077 11y ago
    Or, alternatively, getting more people to help with the data. I once did help a bit when I took a bike ride through Albania and for some reason I still get warm fuzzy feelings when I think back to those "mapmaking days". For some reason it feels more meaningful than my wikipedia contributions. Unfortunately, I live in the center of The Left Wing of the Internet^tm (Berlin) and every anthill is already mapped around here.
- rmc 11y ago
  Where abouts are you looking at? The OSM community in the USA is a bit weak, so the data there isn't great. In many European countries, the data is great. (A part of me likes the schaudenfreude, how there's this big tech/open source thing, and for once USA isn't #1 for availablility)
  - Aoyagi 11y ago
    At Europe, heh. There was a number of incomplete spots on the map last I checked. And coming from the web interface, I honestly thought the map is just that, a map, with no data regarding traffic other than maybe one-way streets. And that it simply doesn't support routing.
    - rmc 11y ago
      "OpenStreetDatabase" is probably a more accurate name, since it's more of a Database than a Map. But there you go. OSM doesn't have much (anything?) about traffic. But it has lots of stuff for routing, and POIs and so forth.
- collyw 11y ago
  I used to use Navfree (which uses OSM) when I had an Android phone. It was as good as Google maps. Neither were perfect, and made errors every so often, but neither drastically more than the other. I am in Spain, so I don't know if that makes a difference.
mseebach 11y ago
$1B + R&D + uncertainty + sometime in the future + handing your competitors all your work for free << a $3B product of known high quality, delivered in full today with minimal uncertainty. It's not even a contest. Especially when $3B isn't, whatchamacallit, a huge drain on your liquidity.
- rmc 11y ago
  > handing your competitors all your work for free Yes and No. The OSM licence is similar to the GPL. If you make a derived work, you have to share your changes back. If OSM got a big cash bump, and was improved, then if (say) Google wants to put that improvement in Google Maps, they would be forced to release all the data that's in Google Maps. Unlikely to happen.
  - mseebach 11y ago
    No, but if OSM becomes good, then, say, Ford, can just grab it and use it in their cars for free. They're just going to use it, not improve it, so there's nothing to contribute back. Then Audi, BMW and Mercedes spent $1b, and at the end of the day, their maps are the exact same as Ford's (who spend $0).
rmc 11y ago
Already happening. BMW et al. sponsor OSM conferences ( http://sotm-eu.org/ http://sotm-eu.org/ )
kuschku 11y ago
Well, the HERE data also contains 3D-scans of every single street in Europe. Very useful for self-driving cars.

While I love OSM (both the map and the project), I don't think they have enough data (depth) to provide any navigation/routing. Or I'm missing something.

Brakenshire 11y ago
FWIW, where I am, the quality of the OSM dataset is way beyond what you need for routing. OSMAnd and Scout are my go to navigation apps. Anywhere which is vaguely rural, you really have to have confidence that all your map data, and your routing capability, are available offline. You can't beat having the map of the entire country on your phone.
gothenburg 11y ago
I have been using OSM on Android for a while (through OSMAnd) and I disagree with you. OSM has the most complete and updated maps I have ever seen compared to Google Maps and Nokia HERE. And it has much more POI registered as well. My only issue is that the UI of the Android app is not that good and efficient when compared to HERE.
- ce4 11y ago
  The UI got a major overhaul recently (switched to material design) which made some things nicer. I also saw/see the UI as a problematic part of OsmAnd however I recognize it's not easy to pack all the features OsmAnd offers into a GUI and both please beginners and expert users.
detaro 11y ago
Biggest problem with OSM is that quality is varying wildly. Awesome in many cities, but then in rural areas it can be missing half a town. And large differences between countries. A lot of money could possibly help to get good base maps into it (by paying enough that their producers accept OSM licensing), which could help that situation...
- rmc 11y ago
  > A lot of money could possibly help to get good base maps into it (by paying enough that their producers accept OSM licensing), which could help that situation... Possibily. But a mass import is often not a good idea. You need mappers to map (possibly from the base map).
- matt4077 11y ago
  Or, alternatively, getting more people to help with the data. I once did help a bit when I took a bike ride through Albania and for some reason I still get warm fuzzy feelings when I think back to those "mapmaking days". For some reason it feels more meaningful than my wikipedia contributions. Unfortunately, I live in the center of The Left Wing of the Internet^tm (Berlin) and every anthill is already mapped around here.
rmc 11y ago
Where abouts are you looking at? The OSM community in the USA is a bit weak, so the data there isn't great. In many European countries, the data is great. (A part of me likes the schaudenfreude, how there's this big tech/open source thing, and for once USA isn't #1 for availablility)
- Aoyagi 11y ago
  At Europe, heh. There was a number of incomplete spots on the map last I checked. And coming from the web interface, I honestly thought the map is just that, a map, with no data regarding traffic other than maybe one-way streets. And that it simply doesn't support routing.
  - rmc 11y ago
    "OpenStreetDatabase" is probably a more accurate name, since it's more of a Database than a Map. But there you go. OSM doesn't have much (anything?) about traffic. But it has lots of stuff for routing, and POIs and so forth.
collyw 11y ago
I used to use Navfree (which uses OSM) when I had an Android phone. It was as good as Google maps. Neither were perfect, and made errors every so often, but neither drastically more than the other. I am in Spain, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

mseebach 11y ago

$1B + R&D + uncertainty + sometime in the future + handing your competitors all your work for free << a $3B product of known high quality, delivered in full today with minimal uncertainty. It's not even a contest. Especially when $3B isn't, whatchamacallit, a huge drain on your liquidity.

rmc 11y ago
> handing your competitors all your work for free Yes and No. The OSM licence is similar to the GPL. If you make a derived work, you have to share your changes back. If OSM got a big cash bump, and was improved, then if (say) Google wants to put that improvement in Google Maps, they would be forced to release all the data that's in Google Maps. Unlikely to happen.
- mseebach 11y ago
  No, but if OSM becomes good, then, say, Ford, can just grab it and use it in their cars for free. They're just going to use it, not improve it, so there's nothing to contribute back. Then Audi, BMW and Mercedes spent $1b, and at the end of the day, their maps are the exact same as Ford's (who spend $0).

rmc 11y ago

Already happening. BMW et al. sponsor OSM conferences ( http://sotm-eu.org/ http://sotm-eu.org/ )

kuschku 11y ago

Well, the HERE data also contains 3D-scans of every single street in Europe. Very useful for self-driving cars.