KartaView

KartaView

Owner	Grab Holdings
URL	kartaview.org
Launched	2009
Current status	Active
Content license	CC BY-SA

KartaView, formerly called OpenStreetView and OpenStreetCam, is a project to collect crowdsourced street-level photographs for improving OpenStreetMap[1] operated by Grab Holdings.[2] Collected imagery is published under a CC BY-SA license and while some of the project's code is released as open source,[1] much of it (most notably, the mobile app) still require proprietary software to function.[3] This is one of the few alternative platforms that offer street view like Google.

Contributors gather imagery with their smartphones using an Android or iOS app.[1][4] It is also possible to upload images captured with other cameras. The KartaView app supports using an OBD-II dongle plugged into the vehicle; in concert with the mobile device's GPS, KartaView can derive more accurate image locations. The app also recognizes and processes street signs in real time while capturing imagery.[1] Once the imagery is recorded, it is uploaded, processed, and published to the website.[4]

OpenStreetMap editors can access KartaView images using the iD editor or JOSM plugin.[1]

KartaView's purpose resembles that of Mapillary. The main difference between the two is that KartaView's web and mobile apps are at least partially open-source (although no functioning open-source app can be built at least since December 2017, due to requirement of other proprietary components),[3] whereas Mapillary mobile app does not open source even that. KartaView also makes it easier for user to delete their uploaded photos in case they change their mind about contributing.[1]

History

KartaView was founded in 2009 as OpenStreetView.[1] In 2016, TeleNav took over the openstreetview.org domain and started its own service under the name.[5] The service was renamed to OpenStreetCam after an intervention by an unnamed trademark holder.[6]

On December 12, 2019, TeleNav sold OpenStreetCam to Grab Holdings for an undisclosed amount.[2]

In November 2020, OpenStreetCam became KartaView.[7]

References

1. Gilbertson, Scott (14 December 2016). "OpenStreetView? You are no longer hostage to Google's car-driven vision". The Register. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
2. Ilisei, Alex (December 12, 2019). "OpenStreetCam and ImproveOSM are moving to Grab". Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
3. ""Source code is not yet up to date"? · Issue #153 · kartaview/android". GitHub. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
4. Williams, Mike (24 December 2016). "OpenStreetCam 1.4.7 for iOS". Techworld. Archived from the original on 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
5. "OpenStreetCam - OpenStreetMap Wiki". OpenStreetMap Wiki. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
6. Exel, Martijn van (November 8, 2016). "[OSM-talk] OpenStreetView name change". OpenStreetMap. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
7. Ilisei, Alex (2020-11-24). "Hello, KartaView!". OpenStreetMap @ Grab. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-13.

External links

• Official website