1. The COMO project, which is looking to use OpenStreetMap data to create orienteering maps. This is very similar to (although more advanced than) my own work – I looked at creating Street-O orienteering maps from OpenStreetMap data for my dissertation for my MSc in GIS last summer, and additionally built an Osmarender-generated/OpenLayers-based based map for viewing and printing such maps easily – although I never got around to releasing it publically. I’ve subsequently thought of extending the process for “proper” orienteering maps, while keeping the data in the OSM database. The COMO project is looking at creating “proper” orienteering maps, converting OCAD data into a form which can be read into a special database separate from the main OSM one.

As an aside, it would probably be easier not using the OSM flow or API, but rather a PostGIS database to store the data, with GIS applications such as Quantum GIS to do the editing. Mapnik as the rendering engine is considerably easier to set up, configure and use than Osmarender, too.

2. Seek ‘n Spell, which is an iPhone game, uses the internal GPS, the ability to broadcast your location to a central server, and aerial photographs, to create multi-player games where you can run around, collecting letters to spell words. See Michael’s post and also the video – the action looks uncannily like a combination between SLOW’s Mobile-O and a “normal” mass-start score orienteering event. The game-view reminds me of watching an animation of a race in Routegadget. The concept and the finish quality of the app looks great but the name is a dreadful pun – hopefully they’ll rename it something a bit snappier.

Here it is:

The design is of an orienteer leaping off the front of a security wall in front of the Gherkin building in the City of London – right by one of the “spectacular” controls that formed part of the inaugural City of London race I put together last year. In fact, it’s based on this picture by Chris5aw, of one of the competitors (a Spanish runner, if I remember correctly), which also was on the front cover of an earlier Focus issue. The Gherkin has been moved further back, in the trophy design, so that it can be completely seen. The wall is now a brick wall instead of black marble, and the lamppost has been made considerably more ornate!

The park is quite ornamental and I was expecting a run high on dramatic views but short on technicality, however Abi and Matthias planned a excellent Long course which got steadily more technical towards the end – I started making quite a few mistakes after the half-way point, and saw other people making bigger ones. My worst was not reading the control description at No. 14 (it is a sprint area after all!) and going round the Japanese Pagoda rather than up onto its plinth. The hot and humid weather probably didn’t help with the concentration either. There was some excellent long legs allowing for quite a bit of route choice – there’s too much “stuff” in the park to allow running along the leg line, unlike at Clapham Common a couple of weeks ago.

There was a great turnout – over 70 people started the Long course which is definitely a record for this series.

Looking forward to the next one in two weeks in Ravenscourt Park and next week’s Mobile-O (an orienteering race guided by mobile-phone!)

Here’s the map – pic snapped on my iPhone, hence the rubbish quality:

I’ve also refined the links to the road-maps and the Geograph photos, and added in the region that each event is in, you can also filter by the region. Due to a quirk with the data source at British Orienteering, this information is only available ten weeks into the future, hence why the Scottish 6 Days don’t yet show as being an event in Scotland.

Finally, there is now a way to pre-filter the results (and pins on the map) to be for a certain region or club – this is an “undocumented” feature, to access it you append an “&c=club” or “&c=region” to the end of the URL, using the acronym for the club or region concerned. Use NIOA, SOA and WOA for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales respectively, and the two-letter codes for the English regions.

For example, to show all the events in the south-east of England (SEOA region) use http://www.oobrien.com/map/?p=E1&c=SE.