Tech Articles

These are a few documents I've written recently about field mapping for OpenStreetMap (OSM), primarily using OpenDataKit (ODK). I've used ODK for years, and HOT is also a very heavy user of ODK. I've been heavily into field mapping for emergency response on my own time for many years, so often test my tech ideas with my own mapping projects. My presentation at SOTM-US 2022 on "OSM For Firefighting" dicusses this project, but only briefly mentions the tech behind it. These documents are more about the tech details that support the project. Luckily HOT pays me to make the tech part work better.

The ODK to OSM conversion software I'm working on, and the slowly growing library of XLSForms is here: https://github.com/hotosm/odkconvert. This is a work in progress, everyone is welcome to contribute.

Trip Preparations (PDF, HTML): How I prepare to be able to work fully offline.
Camping With ODK (PDF, HTML): A field mapping trip, Fall 2022, focused on testing some XLSXForm design ideas. Photos from this trip are here.
Highway Mapping With ODK (PDF, HTML): A field trip collecting data on remote highways using ODK, Fall 2021. Photos from this trip are here.
Mapping Offline (PDF, HTML): How I work fully offline for extended periods.
Improve XLSForms (PDF, HTML): This is a doc on creating XLSForms with better mapper data flow and other advanced functionality.
External Datasets (PDF, HTML): This is a document on how to use OpenStreetMap data in ODK Collect. Here's a really simple Example project that uses this functionality.
Mapping Amenities (PDF), (HTML): Preparations for another field mapping trips to a remote part of Colorado with close to zero data in OpenStreetMap. Camping and offline of course.

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