[OpenLayers-Users] Using OpenLayers to Map Realtime Data

[Follower/OL]

Hi...

Chris Holmes wrote:
> Awesome.  This points the way to an open source car navigation system.
On that note, have you seen this:

    <http://roadmap.digitalomaha.net/>

> Christopher Schmidt wrote:
>> Earlier today, I had the 'joy' of taking a plane trip from Boston to
>> Chicago. However, despite the cramped seat, I was able to use the time
>> to make a pretty neat demo of OpenLayers capabilities that I might not
>> otherwise have been able to.
Live updating maps are fun. :-)

Have you heard of the demo I used during a presentation I did at 
linux.conf.au in January 2006?

It was using the Mark II/III code base but (from memory) modified the 
Text layer to auto-refresh its data source. I think we intend to make 
auto-refreshing Layer functionality as a part of the main code base.

The set up for the demo was kinda cool, I had a person with a Bluetooth 
GPS unit, a Nokia 770 (at one stage alternatively an Ipaq running 
handheld Linux) and a Bluetooth cellphone walking around and then had a 
live updating map on the lecture theatre's projector. (Of course, as it 
happened the GPS unit couldn't get a satellite fix when I actually 
*gave* the demo so I had to fudge it a bit... :-/ ) (Oh, and RF 
interference is a PITA, which I learned the hard way...)

The 770 was running a Python script which used the gps.py library from 
<http://gpsd.berlios.de/> (I think) to retrieve the location information 
and then uploaded it to a web site via the phone.

John and I had talked about whether it would be possible to get OL 
running in some form on either the 770 or the phone but the browser I 
had on the 770 didn't like our JS. :-)

>> The coolest thing about this? Even if I *had* had internet, this kind of
>> activity is forbidden by the ToS of the Google-Yahoo-Microsoft. This is
>> a hack that you would not be able to do in the current mapping APIs.
Are you sure about that? I had thought that and was going to mention it 
during my talk but then I noticed that it didn't refer to live-updating 
of GPS data (because there are other examples of GMaps and this 
elsewhere) but only the situation where that data was used for 
auto-routing or automatic movement of a vehicle.

Your general point about the benefit of an open solution still stands, 
of course.

I think the various bits of the demo are scattered over my hard drive, 
our old SVN repo and the net but I could dig some out if you wanted.

Thanks for sharing... :-)

--Phil.