Tactile map maker. Creates files for 3D or embossing printing from OpenStreetMap data. See https://touch-mapper.org

./init.sh

aws configure

make dev-aws-install

API Gateway for accessing email sending Lambda is for now not created automatically. The same API GW endpoints can be used by all Touch Mapper instances.

make dev-web-s3-install

Last line of output gives the URL (https://something.cloudfront.net) where the web UI can be accessed.

In a tab of its own:

install/run-dev-converter.sh

In web dir, in separate tabs:

make watch
make serve

You can now access the web UI in http://localhost:9000

List is in a rough priority order.

• Allow printing a QR sticker that points to touch-mapper.org/?map=deadbeef
• Allow inspecting maps on a touch device.
  • APH's Nearby Explorer, and other apps
• Describe map contents in the web UI (in progress).
  • Roads: intersections between roads, and between roads and map borders; street numbers
  • Points of interest, esp. bus stops: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/places#place_search_requests
  • Support hot-keys for area adjustment, so that choosing the area is practical for a blind user
• Describe map contents in audio
  • Could perhaps crowd source production of the descriptions
• Print labels for roads and/or points of interest
  • Maybe use short labels, and offer a separate legend that maps the labels to longer descriptions. The legend could be electronic.
• Replace spinning 3D preview with one or more larger static images, create using Blender Render, using ambient occlusion
  • 3D preview is too small and unclear, and doesn't work on all devices
• Remember user's past maps
• Avoid significant overlaps between roads and buildings. This would enable reliable two-color 3D printing.
• Print a compass star into corner of the map
• Indicate map scale using small dots on map borders
• Smaller scale modes: only show water/land/green areads; N largest roads; city borders
• Non-square maps
• Indoor areas

Technical TODO:

• Move converter from EC2 to Lambda
• Do all the work in a Java application that could be based on the first stages of OSM2World transformation pipeline. Benefits:
  • Do road processing mostly when they are still line segments rather than 2D objects
    • Create embosser input
    • Avoid roads intersecting with buildings => enable two-color 3D printing
      • Maybe use https://sourceforge.net/projects/jts-topo-suite/
    • Much easier to describe map contents (eg. roads intersecting with edges)
  • Better performance
  • Simpler processing pipeline