Latest news with #OpenStreetMap
Arabian Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
Organic Maps Fork Spurs Governance Debate
A schism within the Organic Maps community has led to the creation of CoMaps, a forked project driven by governance and trust concerns. The decision to diverge from Organic Maps, an open-source navigation app, reflects deeper tensions about project management, decision-making transparency, and community engagement, issues that have become increasingly relevant in open-source ecosystems worldwide. Organic Maps has gained a loyal following for its offline map capabilities, privacy focus, and open data approach, positioning itself as a strong alternative to proprietary navigation services. The app leverages OpenStreetMap data, offering users detailed maps without compromising personal data. However, the governance structure behind Organic Maps has sparked debate among contributors and users who feel decision-making processes lacked inclusivity and clarity. The split emerged after key contributors voiced dissatisfaction with the project's leadership style and its approach to community input. Many felt that critical decisions were made unilaterally by a small core team, sidelining the wider contributor base. This sense of exclusion culminated in the creation of CoMaps, intended to uphold more democratic principles and foster a governance model with greater accountability. ADVERTISEMENT CoMaps sets out to address perceived shortcomings by adopting a formal governance framework aimed at increasing transparency. It envisions a community-driven development path where contributors have equal say in project direction, code merges, and feature prioritisation. The fork aims to strengthen trust by ensuring all voices are heard, contrasting with what some described as an opaque and top-down approach within Organic Maps. The debate over governance highlights broader challenges faced by open-source projects as they scale. While initial development often involves small, tight-knit groups, growth can bring friction as differing priorities and visions emerge. Without clear governance, projects risk fragmenting or losing momentum. The CoMaps initiative underscores how vital governance structures are to sustaining open-source communities and balancing individual initiative with collective responsibility. This episode also throws light on the fragility of trust in collaborative software development. Trust operates not only in code quality and reliability but also in leadership integrity and openness. Contributors willing to invest time and expertise require assurance their contributions are respected and that project decisions reflect collective interests rather than narrow leadership agendas. Organic Maps' original team maintains that their leadership style, while perhaps more centralized, was driven by efficiency and a desire to maintain consistent quality control. They argue that decentralising governance can introduce delays, conflicts, and fragmentation that ultimately harm users and developers alike. Their perspective illustrates the difficult trade-offs between open participation and maintaining a coherent vision and stable codebase. Market dynamics in the mapping and navigation sector add another layer to the discussion. Open-source projects like Organic Maps compete against well-funded commercial apps from tech giants. Strong, unified communities with clear governance can be an asset in sustaining innovation and responsiveness. Fragmentation risks diluting effort and confusing users, undermining the competitive edge that open-source alternatives seek to build. Emerging governance models in other open-source projects offer examples of how to navigate these tensions. Some adopt meritocratic approaches, where decision rights correlate with contribution levels, while others implement formal councils or elected committees to balance leadership and community input. CoMaps' governance experiments may contribute valuable insights into the efficacy of more democratic frameworks for software stewardship. The impact on the user base will depend on how quickly CoMaps can build momentum and deliver feature parity or improvements. Early feedback indicates interest among privacy-conscious users keen on supporting projects that embody collaborative values. However, the fork must also address technical challenges such as synchronising map data updates and ensuring compatibility with popular devices and platforms. The split raises questions about sustainability in volunteer-driven software projects. Reliance on unpaid contributors, passion, and goodwill can be fragile when interpersonal conflicts arise or when strategic visions diverge. Establishing governance norms early in a project's lifecycle can mitigate risks of fragmentation and promote long-term stability, a lesson reaffirmed by this development.
Business Mayor
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
Real-world map data is helping make better games about farms and transportation
I'm feeling a strange sense of pressure as I set up my first bus route in City Bus Manager . I want to get things right for the public transportation users of this city, probably because it's the city I actually live in. City Bus Manager uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to populate its maps, so I can see all the familiar streets and points of interest laid out in front of me. These are my neighbors, who, like me, want an efficient transit service. I want to be able to provide it to them — even if only in a simulation. City Bus Manager is part of a small group of management sims that are using OSM's community-generated database to make the whole world their game setting. Other examples include Global Farmer , NIMBY Rails , and Logistical: Earth . In these games, players can build farms, railways, or delivery networks all over the globe, using data about real fields, settlements, and infrastructure to inform their decisions. When the idea of using OSM was first raised at PeDePe, the studio behind City Bus Manager , 'we had no idea if it would be technically feasible,' says Niklas Polster, the studio's co-founder. But once established, the license gave them access to an entire world of streets, buildings, and even real bus stops. And these do more than just form the game's world. They're also used for gameplay elements like simulating passenger behavior. 'Schools generate traffic in the mornings on weekdays, while nightlife areas such as bars and clubs tend to attract more passengers in the evenings on weekends,' ' Polster says. Typically, Polster says, people are drawn to playing City Bus Manager in their local areas. (This seems to be confirmed by looking at YouTube playthroughs of the game, where creators often begin by saying they're going to dive into their own city or town.) That personal connection appears almost hardwired into people, says Thorsten Feldmann, CEO of Global Farmer developer Thera Bytes. When they showcased the game at Gamescom in 2024, 'every single booth visitor' wanted to input their own postal code and look at their own house. Global Farmer. Image: Thera Bytes There's a specific fantasy about being able to transform a space you know so well, Feldmann says. In addition to your own home or town, the marketing for Global Farmer suggests using famous tourist locations, such as Buckingham Palace, as the beginning of your new agricultural life. '[Players creating their] own stories around those places can be even more impactful than in purely fictional environments,' Feldmann says. There is something inherently fun about being in control of a place you see every day or one that is deeply iconic. In particular, tearing down a perfectly manicured gated garden from which the British royal family takes £510 million per year and turning it into land to grow food for a country where 4.5 million children live in poverty might not be a one-to-one political solution, but it is emotionally compelling. 'We've heard stories of players who became interested in public transport as a career thanks to the game.' The quality — or lack thereof — of public transportation is another key political topic where I live. The local buses are currently in the process of being nationalized again after what South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard calls a 'failed experiment' in privatization. Maybe that's why, even though these might just be pixels on a screen, I want to do it right. That's a feeling many players seem to experience. 'Our Discord community is full of players who are passionate about public transport,' Polster says. 'We've heard stories of players who became interested in public transport as a career thanks to the game.' Read More Topgolf launches a golfing experience on Fortnite's UEFN platform Of course, game developers using OSM data are still making games, rather than exact simulations. The real world is not always a well-balanced game design space. 'In smaller towns and villages, routes can be unprofitable with realistic numbers,' Polster says. City Bus Manager compensates for this by giving players more financial support, which is a straightforward and useful bit of game design. But when it comes to treating the games as direct representations of the world, it elides some complexity. For example, according to Polster, some players have reached out to their local transportation agencies with data they've gathered from playing in their local areas — despite the fact that the game is not actually designed as a faithful recreation of the real world, even if its map is. NIMBY Rails. Image: Weird and Wry Another challenge is that OSM data isn't always fully reliable. Polster explains that there can be errors or missing data that break very specific areas in the game, requiring PeDePe to manually find the issues and fix them. But OSM is also a volunteer-run program, meaning players can correct the data at the source. 'Many of our players contribute directly to OpenStreetMap,' if they find errors in their local area, Polster says, which improves the dataset for everybody, no matter what they're using it for. Density of data is also a particular issue for the Global Farmer developers, who found that OSM has a lot more information about roads than field systems. There are plenty of areas where individual field boundaries aren't mapped, making 'total grey areas where gameplay actually couldn't happen.' The developers compensated for this by making a map editor, where players can copy satellite images from other sources to correct the data, but it means that those who don't want to build their own maps are limited to the places where OSM has detailed data or where other players have shared their creations. Read More The best split-screen PS5 games Management sims have often reached for a sense of realism, and OSM data is a useful tool in that toolbox. It also allows players to control environments they know well and can connect with. But it is not a perfect recreation of the world, and even if it was, that isn't always what games need. According to Feldmann, navigating these factors 'can be very frustrating.' But, just like players, developers are drawn to the idea of blurring the lines between places they know and places they simulate. 'It is also super rewarding whenever you manage to find a solution and get great results that are connected to the real world,' Feldmann says.
The Verge
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Real-world map data is helping make better games about farms and transportation
I'm feeling a strange sense of pressure as I set up my first bus route in City Bus Manager. I want to get things right for the public transportation users of this city, probably because it's the city I actually live in. City Bus Manager uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to populate its maps, so I can see all the familiar streets and points of interest laid out in front of me. These are my neighbors, who, like me, want an efficient transit service. I want to be able to provide it to them — even if only in a simulation. City Bus Manager is part of a small group of management sims that are using OSM's community-generated database to make the whole world their game setting. Other examples include Global Farmer, NIMBY Rails, and Logistical: Earth. In these games, players can build farms, railways, or delivery networks all over the globe, using data about real fields, settlements, and infrastructure to inform their decisions. When the idea of using OSM was first raised at PeDePe, the studio behind City Bus Manager, 'we had no idea if it would be technically feasible,' says Niklas Polster, the studio's co-founder. But once established, the license gave them access to an entire world of streets, buildings, and even real bus stops. And these do more than just form the game's world. They're also used for gameplay elements like simulating passenger behavior. 'Schools generate traffic in the mornings on weekdays, while nightlife areas such as bars and clubs tend to attract more passengers in the evenings on weekends,' ' Polster says. Typically, Polster says, people are drawn to playing City Bus Manager in their local areas. (This seems to be confirmed by looking at YouTube playthroughs of the game, where creators often begin by saying they're going to dive into their own city or town.) That personal connection appears almost hardwired into people, says Thorsten Feldmann, CEO of Global Farmer developer Thera Bytes. When they showcased the game at Gamescom in 2024, 'every single booth visitor' wanted to input their own postal code and look at their own house. There's a specific fantasy about being able to transform a space you know so well, Feldmann says. In addition to your own home or town, the marketing for Global Farmer suggests using famous tourist locations, such as Buckingham Palace, as the beginning of your new agricultural life. '[Players creating their] own stories around those places can be even more impactful than in purely fictional environments,' Feldmann says. There is something inherently fun about being in control of a place you see every day or one that is deeply iconic. In particular, tearing down a perfectly manicured gated garden from which the British royal family takes £510 million per year and turning it into land to grow food for a country where 4.5 million children live in poverty might not be a one-to-one political solution, but it is emotionally compelling. 'We've heard stories of players who became interested in public transport as a career thanks to the game.' The quality — or lack thereof — of public transportation is another key political topic where I live. The local buses are currently in the process of being nationalized again after what South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard calls a 'failed experiment' in privatization. Maybe that's why, even though these might just be pixels on a screen, I want to do it right. That's a feeling many players seem to experience. 'Our Discord community is full of players who are passionate about public transport,' Polster says. 'We've heard stories of players who became interested in public transport as a career thanks to the game.' Of course, game developers using OSM data are still making games, rather than exact simulations. The real world is not always a well-balanced game design space. 'In smaller towns and villages, routes can be unprofitable with realistic numbers,' Polster says. City Bus Manager compensates for this by giving players more financial support, which is a straightforward and useful bit of game design. But when it comes to treating the games as direct representations of the world, it elides some complexity. For example, according to Polster, some players have reached out to their local transportation agencies with data they've gathered from playing in their local areas — despite the fact that the game is not actually designed as a faithful recreation of the real world, even if its map is. Another challenge is that OSM data isn't always fully reliable. Polster explains that there can be errors or missing data that break very specific areas in the game, requiring PeDePe to manually find the issues and fix them. But OSM is also a volunteer-run program, meaning players can correct the data at the source. 'Many of our players contribute directly to OpenStreetMap,' if they find errors in their local area, Polster says, which improves the dataset for everybody, no matter what they're using it for. Density of data is also a particular issue for the Global Farmer developers, who found that OSM has a lot more information about roads than field systems. There are plenty of areas where individual field boundaries aren't mapped, making 'total grey areas where gameplay actually couldn't happen.' The developers compensated for this by making a map editor, where players can copy satellite images from other sources to correct the data, but it means that those who don't want to build their own maps are limited to the places where OSM has detailed data or where other players have shared their creations. Management sims have often reached for a sense of realism, and OSM data is a useful tool in that toolbox. It also allows players to control environments they know well and can connect with. But it is not a perfect recreation of the world, and even if it was, that isn't always what games need. According to Feldmann, navigating these factors 'can be very frustrating.' But, just like players, developers are drawn to the idea of blurring the lines between places they know and places they simulate. 'It is also super rewarding whenever you manage to find a solution and get great results that are connected to the real world,' Feldmann says.
The Star
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Why Google Maps is still broken in South Korea: It might not be about national security anymore
SEOUL: It's 2025, and if you try to get walking directions in Seoul using Google Maps, you will still run into the same dead end: the "Can't find a way there" screen. For many tourists, it's both frustrating and baffling. Google Maps offers turn-by-turn walking directions in cities as far-flung as Pyongyang, the capital of the hermit kingdom of North Korea — yet, in Seoul, one of the most digitally advanced cities in the world, it can't guide you from your hotel to the nearest subway station? For almost two decades, the issue has been blamed on national security. South Korea has strict laws that block the export of high-precision map data, supposedly to prevent misuse by hostile actors. But in 2025, that argument is wearing thin, and a more fundamental tension is coming into focus: Should Google be allowed to freely commercialise taxpayer-funded public data without meeting the standards that domestic companies must follow? Google says it needs Korea's best map. But that's only half the story. The map at the centre of this issue is a government-built, high-resolution 1:5000 digital base map maintained by the National Geographic Information Institute. It's publicly funded, annually updated, and rich with layers like sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and road boundaries. Any Korean citizen or entity can access and use it for free. Google claims that without exporting this data to its global servers, it cannot fully enable core features like walking, biking or driving navigation. The global map giant, which relies on processing map data through its global infrastructure, has repeatedly asked the Korean government for permission to export the NGII base map. Its latest request, filed in February this year, is the third since the issue first surfaced in 2007 and again in 2016. A final decision from the government is expected this August. But experts say Google's "we can't do it without the map' argument is overstated. 'Yes, the 1:5,000 map would help, especially for pinpointing pedestrian pathways,' said Choi Jin-moo, a geographic information science professor at Kyung Hee University. 'But Google could build the necessary layers on its own, using its vast trove of satellite imagery and AI processing, just like it does in countries that don't share any base map data at all.' The evidence is all around. OpenStreetMap, a crowdsourced platform, offers walking navigation in South Korea. So does Apple Maps, despite not having access to NGII's dataset or exporting any official Korean geospatial data. Google already provides walking directions in places like Pyongyang, where mapping data is sparse, and in countries like Israel and China, which impose strict restrictions on geospatial exports. 'If Google can make it work in North Korea,' Choi said, 'then clearly the map is not the only barrier.' To be fair, this doesn't mean Apple Maps' walking routes in South Korea are actually any good. For example, it doesn't show crosswalks, stairs or underpasses. Naver Map and Kakao Map do, because it has access to the ready-made detailed data. But even then, what professor Choi posits is that, what Google gains by accessing the NGII map might not be feasibility, but convenience. "Rather than spending time and money building its own map layers, it would get a ready-made foundation that is free, publicly funded, and immediately monetizable through ads and API licensing," Choi added. Google Maps offers full walking (left) and driving (right) directions in Pyongyang, North Korea — features that remain unavailable in South Korea. - Screenshots from Google Maps S. Korea's national security argument is crumbling South Korea's longstanding concern is that exporting detailed mapping data could expose key infrastructure to hostile threats, particularly from North Korea. But experts argue that in 2025, this reasoning no longer holds up to scrutiny. 'You can already buy sub-meter commercial satellite imagery of South Korea from private providers,' said Choi Ki-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University. In its latest proposal, Google offered to blur sensitive sites if the government supplies coordinates. But even that sparked legal concerns. Under Korea's military laws, simply compiling a list of protected locations could be a violation. The real issue, Choi believes, is the symbolic discomfort of ceding data sovereignty to a global tech platform. 'There's a psychological reluctance to let any part of our national digital infrastructure sit on foreign servers,' he said. 'But we need to be honest about the threat level." 'This is primarily about control, not national security or technical capability,' said professor Yoo Ki-yoon, a smart city infrastructure expert at Seoul National University. 'Google wants to integrate Korea into its global system on its terms, without storing data locally, without paying Korean taxes at the level domestic firms do, and without meaningful oversight.' Who really stands to gain or lose? The economic stakes are just as complex as the technical ones. South Korea's location-based services market is worth over 11 trillion won ($7.6 billion) according to 2023 Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport data, with over 99 percent of companies in the space being small or mid-sized. These firms rely on the same public mapping data Google wants, but they do so under heavy conditions. They must store the data domestically, pay full local taxes, and invest in additional surveying and development. Giving Google free access, critics warn, could reshape the market in its favor. Developers might rush to build on Google's API, only to find themselves locked into a system where prices spike later, just as they did in 2018 when Google restructured its Maps API pricing globally. 'There's a risk of long-term dependency,' said Ryo Seol-ri, a researcher at the Korea Tourism Organization. 'Right now, Korean platforms like Naver and Kakao have limitations, but at least they're governed by Korean rules. If Google becomes the dominant layer, we lose that control.' Still, Ryo admits the issue is far from urgent for most stakeholders. 'From a tourism perspective, this isn't what drives people to or from Korea. Visitors are definitely inconvenienced, but they expect to be. It's baked into the experience now.' That may be the most important reason the situation hasn't changed, and likely won't any time soon. There's no single player with the incentive to fix it. The Korean government doesn't want to set a precedent by giving up control of its mapping infrastructure. Google doesn't want to build from scratch if it can pressure its way into a shortcut. And while tourists may grumble, broken Google Maps hasn't kept them from coming. Tourism professor Kim Nam-jo of Hanyang University said, 'Improving map usability would make Korea more tourist-friendly, sure, but it won't suddenly boost visitor numbers. That's why no one sees it as urgent enough to fix.' - The Korea Herald/ANN
Korea Herald
17-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Why Google Maps is still broken in South Korea: It might not be about national security anymore
South Korea cites security. Google cites data restrictions. But the real story may be what neither side wants to admit. It's 2025, and if you try to get walking directions in Seoul using Google Maps, you will still run into the same dead end: the "Can't find a way there" screen. For many tourists, it's both frustrating and baffling. Google Maps offers turn-by-turn walking directions in cities as far-flung as Pyongyang, the capital of the hermit kingdom of North Korea — yet, in Seoul, one of the most digitally advanced cities in the world, it can't guide you from your hotel to the nearest subway station? For two decades, the issue has been blamed on national security. South Korea has strict laws that block the export of high-precision map data, supposedly to prevent misuse by hostile actors. But in 2025, that argument is wearing thin, and a more fundamental tension is coming into focus: Should Google be allowed to freely commercialize taxpayer-funded public data without meeting the standards that domestic companies must follow? The map at the center of this issue is a government-built, high-resolution 1:5000 digital base map maintained by the National Geographic Information Institute. It's publicly funded, annually updated, and rich with layers like sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and road boundaries. Any Korean citizen or entity can access and use it for free. Google claims that without exporting this data to its global servers, it cannot fully enable core features like walking, biking or driving navigation. But experts say Google's "we can't do it without the map' argument is overstated. 'Yes, the 1:5,000 map would help, especially for pinpointing pedestrian pathways,' said Choi Jin-moo, a geographic information science professor at Kyung Hee University. 'But Google could build the necessary layers on its own, using its vast trove of satellite imagery and AI processing, just like it does in countries that don't share any base map data at all.' The evidence is all around. OpenStreetMap, a crowdsourced platform, offers walking navigation in South Korea. So does Apple Maps, despite not having access to NGII's dataset or exporting any official Korean geospatial data. Google already provides walking directions in places like Pyongyang, where mapping data is sparse, and in countries like Israel and China, which impose strict restrictions on geospatial exports. 'If Google can make it work in North Korea,' Choi said, 'then clearly the map is not the only barrier.' In other words, what Google gains by accessing the NGII map might not be feasibility, but convenience. "Rather than spending time and money building its own map layer, it would get a ready-made foundation that is free, publicly funded, and immediately monetizable through ads and API licensing," Choi added. South Korea's longstanding concern is that exporting detailed mapping data could expose key infrastructure to hostile threats, particularly from North Korea. But experts argue that in 2025, this reasoning no longer holds up to scrutiny. 'You can already buy sub-meter commercial satellite imagery of South Korea from private providers,' said Choi Ki-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University. In its latest proposal, Google offered to blur sensitive sites if the government supplies coordinates. But even that sparked legal concerns. Under Korea's military laws, simply compiling a list of protected locations could be a violation. The real issue, Choi believes, is the symbolic discomfort of ceding data sovereignty to a global tech platform. 'There's a psychological reluctance to let any part of our national digital infrastructure sit on foreign servers,' he said. 'But we need to be honest about the threat level." 'This is primarily about control, not national security or technical capability,' said professor Yoo Ki-yoon, a smart city infrastructure expert at Seoul National University. 'Google wants to integrate Korea into its global system on its terms, without storing data locally, without paying Korean taxes at the level domestic firms do, and without meaningful oversight.' Who really stands to gain or lose? The economic stakes are just as complex as the technical ones. South Korea's location-based services market is worth over 11 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with over 99 percent of companies in the space being small or mid-sized. These firms rely on the same public mapping data Google wants, but they do so under heavy conditions. They must store the data domestically, pay full local taxes, and invest in additional surveying and development. Giving Google free access, critics warn, could reshape the market in its favor. Developers might rush to build on Google's API, only to find themselves locked into a system where prices spike later, just as they did in 2018 when Google restructured its Maps API pricing globally. 'There's a risk of long-term dependency,' said Ryo Seol-ri, a researcher at the Korea Tourism Organization. 'Right now, Korean platforms like Naver and Kakao have limitations, but at least they're governed by Korean rules. If Google becomes the dominant layer, we lose that control.' Still, Ryo admits the issue is far from urgent for most stakeholders. 'From a tourism perspective, this isn't what drives people to or from Korea. Visitors are definitely inconvenienced, but they expect to be. It's baked into the experience now.' That may be the most important reason the situation hasn't changed, and likely won't any time soon. There's no single player with the incentive to fix it. The Korean government doesn't want to set a precedent by giving up control of its mapping infrastructure. Google doesn't want to build from scratch if it can pressure its way into a shortcut. And while tourists may grumble, broken Google Maps hasn't kept them from coming. Tourism professor Kim Nam-jo of Hanyang University said, 'Improving map usability would make Korea more tourist-friendly, sure, but it won't suddenly boost visitor numbers. That's why no one sees it as urgent enough to fix.'
