GIS user technology news

Mobile, Technology, and Business news

  • PRESS
    • Submit PR
    • Top Press
    • Business
    • Software
    • Hardware
    • UAV News
    • Mobile Technology
  • FEATURES
    • Around the Web
    • Social Media Features
    • EXPERTS & Guests
    • Tips
    • Infographics
  • Events
  • CAREERS
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Meet the Editor
    • Submit Press
  • Shop
  • Tradepubs
  • facebook
  • Around the Web
You are here: Home / * PRESS / Business / Where are You Running Off To? Open Source GIS and Fitness Route Tracking

Where are You Running Off To? Open Source GIS and Fitness Route Tracking

August 16, 2017 By Troy Lambert

Mapping is becoming more relevant to the average person’s every day activities than ever before. From fitness trackers like Fitbit to the Apple Watch and the activity and workout apps available for iOS to cycling and running apps like Strava and Map my Run, people are using maps to visualize their fitness, and share those visualizations with others. Since 2014, Strava has slowly made the move from Google Maps to OpenStreetMap (OSM) for route tracking. The exception is on iOS apps, which continue to use Apple Maps. What does that mean to users and GIS professionals alike?

ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap

One of the reasons for this move is that Open Source GIS is much more useful to cyclists, mountain bikers, and hikers. Google Maps and other navigation mapping is motor vehicle and roadway focused, areas these groups are often not interested in.

Support for open source GIS is broad, and OpenStreetMap is popular worldwide. It is fairly easy to add data like local trails (and their names), the safest cycling or running routes, and other landmarks that can be useful to someone unfamiliar with an area.

Open Source Support

ESRI and other GIS companies offer support to the open source GIS community. ESRI even offers an ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap. Maptitude also supports OpenStreetMap and other open source formats, and can import and export data into most GIS software.

The result of this is that Open Source mapping has made its way into the mainstream. You still need some knowledge and training to use these programs: the average user finds them very confusing. However, many offer the option to leave a note in the software where you think there should be changes (via a drag and drop feature) so that other users can investigate and add appropriate data.

Mapping Choices

Users like the familiarity of Google Maps, especially when driving. The Google street view was a favorite of many Strava users who used it to determine if a road had a bike lane, or if the surface was appropriate for a road, cyclecross, or mountain bike. Runners used it to see what the area looked like, and even to find landmarks they might otherwise miss.

However, the trade off with open source mapping is accuracy. Names and notes about landmarks and other important information can be added, including many “off the beaten path” descriptions. These can include trail difficulty, potential foot or cycling traffic, and specific cautions.

Due to the often unreliability of Apple Maps or Google Maps in outlying areas and on trails, users would often run other mapping programs in parallel to Strava or other trackers just in case they needed more detail.

This is one reason for the Strava switch: the use of open source software on their website aids the creation of segments, routes, and personal heat maps that are more meaningful.

User Friendly?

There have been mixed reactions to changes in mapping software. Some think the change was the one of the best Strava ever made, some moan the loss of Google Maps and are even more disappointed by the continued use of Apple Maps in iOS applications. “This is the reason I will never switch to an iPhone,” one user says. “In rural areas, Apple maps shows nothing but a big field of green. No map at all.”

The only way Apple lets users currently edit their maps is that a business can edit their listing: location, name, phone number, and more. This information is linked to Apple Maps Connect. It’s wouldn’t bet on Apple moving to an open source mapping program, largely due to security concerns.

Filed Under: Business, Features of the Month, Top Features, Top Press Tagged With: Fitness Route Tracking, Open Source GIS






Editor’s Picks

JavaScript: Best Practice

JavaScript: Best Practices

HxGN LIVE 2015 – Great Stories Continue with the Hexagon Geosystems Track

Global Mapper 17.2 Released with New Map Book Creation Tool and Cutaway Terrain View

Feature – GIS and the NFL: Sustainability and Millennial Fans

See More Editor's Picks...


GIS jobs


Recent Features

Photographer Touch Reveal the Top Cameras, Lenses, and Photo Editing Tools of 2022

Digitalization and Simulation at the North Pole

Natural Gas District & GIS-Centric Asset Management

5 Ways Technology Is Affecting The Sharing Economy

Spotlight – Township Canada: Explore Canadian Legal Land Descriptions on a Map

More Posts from this Category



Post your link here!

Categories

Recent Posts

  • March is National Kidney Month and April is National Organ Transplant Month
  • Spirit AeroSystems, Astraius join forces to boost UK launch ambitions
  • How Do You Negotiate Equity With A Startup?
  • Best Trading Journals for the Digital World
  • Best Prop Trading Firms In 2023

RSS Career Tips

  • Four Characteristics of the Best Virtual Employees
  • 28 Tools to Conquer the Social Media Recruiting World
  • 8 Questions Employers Should Ask About Coronavirus
  • Jobcase Launches Free Unemployment Resource Center for Workers Impacted by COVID-19
  • Must-Have Gadgets and Technology for the Remote Office Worker


shop for geogeek swag






RSS Tech pubs

  • ChatGPT for Finance Pro's: Tips & Tricks Guide
  • ChatGPT for IT Pro's: Tips & Tricks Guide
  • ChatGPT for HR Pro's: 5 Key Takeaways

RSS Computers

  • How the Cloud is Reshaping Virtual Desktops
  • Millennials as Brand Advocates - New Research Study Results
  • Vehicles Best Practices Installation Guide

RSS HR Tips

  • ChatGPT for HR Pro's: 5 Key Takeaways
  • Job Offer Negotiation - How To Get Paid What You Deserve
  • How To Dress For a Job Interview

RSS Gov Tech

  • Government Procurement: Build Back Green
  • How to Overcome the Skills Shortage
  • The 11 Habits of Highly Successful Law Firms

RSS UAV news

  • Esri Partner Pollen Systems Provides Advanced Agriculture Analytics to Farms using PrecisionView™ Mobile
  • Draganfly Fulfills Delivery of First Situational Assessment Drone for DSNS Emergency Services Department Ukraine
  • TOPODRONE synchronized LiDAR and bathymetric surveying methods to study a floating solar farm in Israel

RSS Geojobs

  • IT Junior Endpoint Technician
  • Systems Administrator
  • Senior Systems Administrator
Copyright gletham Communications 2011-2022

Go to mobile version