The blog post is... not so much misleading, but it doesn't clearly communicate the impact of this. It's a press release that's light on facts and is worded such that the reader will assume the best.
A better source is the OpenStreetMap Wiki page on DigitalGlobe [1], which is linked from the article, and has been updated by DigitalGlobe with new info.
DigitalGlobe-Premium is a mosaic composed of DigitalGlobe basemap with select regions filled with +Vivid or custom area of interest imagery, 50cm resolution or better, and refreshed more frequently with ongoing updates
DigitalGlobe-Standard is a curated set of imagery covering 86% of the earth's landmass, with 30-60cm or resolution where available, backfilled by Landsat. Average age is 2.31 years, with some areas updated 2x year.
DigitalGlobe Satellite EULA: DigitalGlobe, Inc. is pleased to provide its high resolution satellite imagery to OpenStreetMap in support of its mapping initiatives. By using our imagery in the OSM editor, you understand and agree that you may only use our imagery to trace, and validate edits that must be contributed back to OSM. You cannot download our imagery or use our imagery for any other purpose. We retain all right, title and interest in and to our imagery. We provide our imagery “as is,” with all faults and as available; we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, to the extent permitted by applicable law. You can recover from us only direct damages up to an amount equal to the fees you have paid to us to use our imagery on OSM, if any. We are not liable for any other damages, including consequential, lost profits, special, indirect, incidental or punitive damages. Happy mapping!
Still, this is beautiful and recent imagery and will help greatly for OpenStreetMap contributors to trace up-to-date features.
thanks for the feedback. As the author of the blog post, I had to assume the audience doesn't know what OpenStreetMap is to start off with. So yes, it's general and a bit vague. I added more detail to an OSM Diary here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/@kevin_bullock/diary/4113... and glad to see you found the wiki.
I wonder if, now that the costs of satellite launches are starting to come down and camera-equipped drones are commonplace, it might be feasible in the near future to start building up a truly open collection of satellite and aerial imagery for use in projects like OpenStreetMap.
How high up does the drone need to fly before taking pictures and publishing them is acceptable? I mean that's basically what these mapping satellites are: very high-flying drones taking pictures of the ground to be published online.
Person taking a photo out of an airplane: Allowed.
Person remote controlling a camera on an airplane: Not allowed.
We shouldn't be making laws saying a human can do something but a machine cannot. That leads to humans having pointless jobs simply because laws prevent the use of automation.
Comments
The blog post is... not so much misleading, but it doesn't clearly communicate the impact of this. It's a press release that's light on facts and is worded such that the reader will assume the best.
A better source is the OpenStreetMap Wiki page on DigitalGlobe [1], which is linked from the article, and has been updated by DigitalGlobe with new info.
As of May 9th 2017, DigitalGlobe has just announced availability of satellite imagery directly through a newly launched imagery service. http://blog.digitalglobe.com/news/digitalglobe-satellite-ima...
DigitalGlobe-Premium is a mosaic composed of DigitalGlobe basemap with select regions filled with +Vivid or custom area of interest imagery, 50cm resolution or better, and refreshed more frequently with ongoing updates DigitalGlobe-Standard is a curated set of imagery covering 86% of the earth's landmass, with 30-60cm or resolution where available, backfilled by Landsat. Average age is 2.31 years, with some areas updated 2x year.
DigitalGlobe Satellite EULA: DigitalGlobe, Inc. is pleased to provide its high resolution satellite imagery to OpenStreetMap in support of its mapping initiatives. By using our imagery in the OSM editor, you understand and agree that you may only use our imagery to trace, and validate edits that must be contributed back to OSM. You cannot download our imagery or use our imagery for any other purpose. We retain all right, title and interest in and to our imagery. We provide our imagery “as is,” with all faults and as available; we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, to the extent permitted by applicable law. You can recover from us only direct damages up to an amount equal to the fees you have paid to us to use our imagery on OSM, if any. We are not liable for any other damages, including consequential, lost profits, special, indirect, incidental or punitive damages. Happy mapping!
Still, this is beautiful and recent imagery and will help greatly for OpenStreetMap contributors to trace up-to-date features.
[1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/DigitalGlobe
thanks for the feedback. As the author of the blog post, I had to assume the audience doesn't know what OpenStreetMap is to start off with. So yes, it's general and a bit vague. I added more detail to an OSM Diary here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/@kevin_bullock/diary/4113... and glad to see you found the wiki.
I wonder if, now that the costs of satellite launches are starting to come down and camera-equipped drones are commonplace, it might be feasible in the near future to start building up a truly open collection of satellite and aerial imagery for use in projects like OpenStreetMap.
In Germany, flying drones over occupied areas is expressly forbidden by law to protect the occupants' privacy.
There are already too many idiots and creeps flying around with drones, we don't need to add Internet publication to the mix.
How high up does the drone need to fly before taking pictures and publishing them is acceptable? I mean that's basically what these mapping satellites are: very high-flying drones taking pictures of the ground to be published online.
Person taking a photo out of an airplane: Allowed.
Person remote controlling a camera on an airplane: Not allowed.
We shouldn't be making laws saying a human can do something but a machine cannot. That leads to humans having pointless jobs simply because laws prevent the use of automation.
They get round these laws by sending pilots up in cheap hobby planes like cesnas with cameras attached to the bottom.
That's already being attempted with http://openaerialmap.org/.
I don't know if you will get 'open collection', but I suspect the cost will come down and quality will go up.