View First Bike Ride of the Year in a larger map

As we have written about previously in this blog after the earthquake in Haiti (here and here), OpenStreetMap is a great source of data for you to support disaster and/or humanitarian operations.  Esri has created a specific tool to empower the GIS Community to contribute and use OpenStreetMap data within ArcGIS.  The ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap is a free tool you can download for ArcGIS Desktop from CodePlex. It allows people to do two key things from a disaster management / humanitarian relief perspective:

1. Contribute data to OpenStreetMap using familiar tools
2. Enable the conversion of OpenStreetMap (*.osm) files to a feature dataset for editing in ArcGIS

To get started with the ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap you’ll need ArcGIS for Desktop 10 and the ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap.  Note that the ArcGIS for Home Use Program or the Esri Nonprofit Organization Program are great ways to get Esri software if you don’t have it available to you already and do not intend to use it for commercial gain.  You should also be familiar with the basics of editing in ArcGIS for Desktop and with OpenStreetMap.  There is an excellent wiki here to help you understand OpenStreetMap.  If you want to contribute edits to OpenStreetMap you’ll need OpenStreetMap login credentials.

Making your first edits

Once you have you tools loaded and your environment prepared, you’re ready to make your first edits.  The first step is to find an area that you are familiar with that needs editing.  Perhaps this is a new neighborhood near where you live.

The next step is to find some base layer information to put your edits in context.  You can use one of the Basemaps available from the ‘Add Data > Add Basemap’ button. In the image below, we’ve added Imagery upon which we will add data collected from GPS tracks.

GPS tracking is a common way of collecting data for OpenStreetMap as you are collecting the raw geometry of your movement.  In the image below, we’ve added GPS tracks to the map.

Next, use the Download and Symbolize OSM Data tool to download data to a local geodatabase for editing.  Note that the larger the area the longer it will take to download the data.  Once you have the data downloaded you can go ahead and start editing data just like any other feature.  In the image below, the downloaded data from OSM has been added to the map. The GPS tracks have been turned off; however, we will turn them back on again so we can integrate the GPS track data into the downloaded OSM dataset.

When you are done editing you can upload your changes to OpenStreetMap.  It is important that any data contributed back to OpenStreetMap is free from licensing restrictions, as data contributed becomes subject to the Open Database License (seehttp://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/License/Contributor_Terms). OSM users are responsible for ensuring their edits comply with this license. Using the Upload OSM Data tool you can point to the revision table within your geodatabase where you made your edits, enter your OpenStreetMap login information, and upload your edits to OpenStreetMap.

After a few moments (or up to an hour or so) your new edits will be visible!

Loading OpenStreetMap data

Another very useful tool with the ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap is the Load OSM File tool.  Often times from a response perspective we’re working in environments that are either completely disconnected or have very little bandwidth.  During the response in Haiti it was helpful to have OSM data locally to support operations.  Having up-to-date basemap data is really important to support response and recovery activities.  OpenStreetMap data is available in Planet files or OSM XML format for the world, region, or country downloads.

Once you have an *.OSM file downloaded for a country or region of interest, you can load the data into a geodatabase using the Load OSM File tool.  Note that the larger the file the longer it will take to process.

After the data is loaded into the geodatabase you can symbolize the data using the Symbolize OSM Data tool.  Simply point the tool to the appropriate point, line, and polygon features.

After this tool completes, you’ll have a rich collection of basemap features that are available whether you’re connected to the internet or not.  This is perfect for forward deployed GIS operations where there may not be good internet connectivity.

Look for more updates on version 2.0 of the tool coming soon!  Beta 4 of the ArcGIS Editor for OpenStreetMap 2.0 is available now –http://esriosmeditor.codeplex.com/releases/view/83110.   In the upcoming version 2.0 of ArcGIS Editor for OSM, you’ll also be able to generate and consume ArcGIS Server feature services based on OSM data for use in multiple clients, including mobile devices.

A very common cartographic technique used by many map makers is to transparently overlay a colored raster, called a layer tint, over a grayscale raster, like a hillshade or a panchromatic aerial or satellite image (figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1. A grayscale hillshade

Figure 2. A layer tint of elevation

This results in a display that has a washed out version of the layer tint and a less detailed version of the grayscale raster (figure 2).

Figure 3. The result when the layer tint is shown with 40% transparency over the hillshade

In a previous blog post, we described how you can use a special set of functions with mosaic datasets and a color map file to better display colored rasters over grayscale rasters. The result retains both the original colors and the grayscale detail in the input rasters (figure 4).

Figure 4. The result when image functions are used to control the display

In this article, we describe how you can obtain the same results using a color ramp rather than a color map file and Image Analyst rather than a mosaic dataset. The objective is to demonstrate the versatility of this display method, regardless of how you are working with your rasters.

At the core of this display method is a combination of pan sharpening, contrast stretching, and gamma stretching functions. The pan sharpening function uses a panchromatic and a multispectral (3-band RGB) raster as input. In the example here, a hillshade created from a DEM is the panchromatic raster and a DEM with a color ramp that has been converted to a multispectral raster are the inputs. The output from the pan sharpening function is then used as input for the contrast and gamma stretching functions.

Since layer tinted DEMs are not usually managed as 3-band RGB rasters, a conversion is required. To do this, add the DEM to ArcMap, right-click the layer in the table of contents, and click Properties. On the Symbology tab, select the color ramp you want to use to display the data. Click OK to close the Layer Properties dialog box. Right-click the layer in the table of contents, click Data, and click Export Data. In the Export Raster Data dialog box, check Use Renderer and check Force RGB. Choose a location and input a name, then click Save. Choose to add the exported data to the map as a layer. The 3-band RGB image will be added to the table of contents.

At this point, you can either follow the steps described in the previous article to add the raster to a mosaic dataset and render it, or you can use the instructions below if you want to use the Image Analysis tools rather than a mosaic dataset.

Define the Functions for the raster datasets

1. 1. Add the grayscale hillshade and multispectral RGB layer tint rasters to ArcMap, if they have not already been added.
   2. Open the Image Analysis window by clicking Windows on the top bar menu, then clicking Image Analysis.
   3. In the top section of the Image Analysis window, select both the hillshade and RGB rasters using the Control key and clicking on each raster’s name to highlight it (figure 5).Figure 5. The Image Analysis window
   4. Click the Pan-Sharpening tool in the Processing section of the Image Analysis Window. This will create a new layer which will be listed as the top layer in the Image Analysis Window.
   5. In the Image Analysis Window, right-click the newly generated pan-sharpening layer and click Properties.
   6. On the Functions tab, right-click the Pansharpening Function and click Properties.
   7. On the General tab of the Raster Function Properties dialog box change the Output Pixel Type to 8 Bit Unsigned.
   8. On the Pan Sharpen tab, change the Method to Simple Mean.
   9. Keep the rest of the defaults and click OK.
   10. Right click Pansharpening Function, click Insert, and click Stretch Function.
   11. Change the Type to Minimum-Maximum.
   12. Check the Use Gamma option.
   13. In the Gamma section of the dialog box, change the Gamma value from 1.0 to 0.5 for each of the three bands.
   14. In the Statistics section of the dialog box, type 5 as the Min and 215 as Max values for each of the three bands. The final function chain will look like figure 6.

Figure 6. The final function chain

1. Click OK to check your results.

After checking the results, feel free to experiment with the Gamma, minimum, and maximum values in the Stretch Function.

NOTE: Creating your display using the Image Analysis Window instead of mosaic datasets results in a temporary raster. If you want to keep your results, remember to export the layer that you added the functions to from ArcMap.

If you want to try this out yourself, download this .zip file which contains a map package of the Washington elevation map used in this article.

Thanks to Aileen Buckley, Mapping Center Lead, for her help with this blog entry!

Article source: AmazonWebServices

Esri is a global leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and geo-database management applications. For decades Esri has been providing powerful mapping solutions to Governments, industry leaders, academics and NGOs. With the advent of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, Esri saw an opportunity to better serve its GIS customers by enabling them to process jobs faster, launch applications in minutes, and lower their overall operating costs. Customers like the USDA FNS launched their SNAP Retailing application in three weeks and saved 90% versus hosting their application on-premises.

New Biking Directions Legend

April 21, 2011

More about Google Earth Builder

We mentioned Google’s new “Google Earth Builder” in our wrap-up post yesterday, but decided that it deserved a bit more attention.

In a nutshell, Google Earth Builder is a new way for companies to share their vast repositories of geo data. Rather than needing to configure servers and support a local infrastructure, they can simply upload their data to Google Earth Builder and share it that way. It uses a sharing model quite similar to Google Docs (private, individual access, or public), and the data streams extremely quickly.

The implications of this could be huge. Not only will it be a great solution for large corporations and government entities, but provides a way for any company to generate data for a specific client (such as custom 3D buildings) without necessarily having to post them for the world to see.

An interesting point that Google made is that this data will be easily accessible to anyone (with permission) from their desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc. That makes sense, but currently the tablet and smartphone clients for Google Earth likely can’t handle this kind of data. Either their comments have been misinterpreted by everyone (including cnet and others), or we’re hopefully looking at some nice updates to their mobile products in the coming months.

They keys that Google seems to be pushing with this is that it’s easy and fast. Both of this seemed clearly evident in the live demo that they provided on stage yesterday. You can watch that video demonstration below:

There were a few fun facts in that video: There have been more than 700 million downloads of Google Earth and that people use Maps and Earth for more than one million hours every day. Wow!

The fact that Google Earth Builder isn’t due out for a few months (some sites say July, Google says Q3), means that it will only be getting faster and smoother. This could be a brilliant tool to help large entities deal with their vast amounts of data, and we’ll find out once it launches later this year.

If you are at the conference please fell welcome to drop in and say hi. We hope to see you there.

Bernie Szukalski of ERSI posted this post on the ArcGIS Online Blog:

Recently we’ve received some questions about custom basemaps, using a unique basemap of your own instead of one of the Esri options found in the basemap gallery. In this post we’ll review how to use your own basemap and a few options.

Using any map service as a basemap

One of the easiest ways to have a custom basemap is to use an existing map service that’s been shared on ArcGIS Online. Any map service will work, but exactly how you do this depends on whether you’re using the ArcGIS.com map viewer or Explorer Online. We’ll start with the ArcGIS.com map viewer.

Open the ArcGIS.com map viewer with the default basemap, and search for the layer you want to use as your custom basemap. In these examples, we’ll use the Commonwealth of Kentucky map.

Click Add, then Search for Layers, and enter the search keyword(s):

Once you locate the service you want to use as your basemap, instead of clicking Add click the item name and choose Use as Basemap:

Here’s our map, now using the Commonwealth of Kentucky map service as our basemap. You can share it, embed it, use it applications, etc., just like any other map.

Using ArcGIS Explorer Online you can do the same, but the procedure is a bit different. Start Explorer Online, then click New Map, then choose Advanced:

If you’ve already added a map service item you want to use, click My Services to find it. Otherwise use Search to find the one you want to use, then click its thumbnail to highlight it:

Then click Create

And you’ve opened a new map with your custom basemap choice:

Adding your basemap directly from the service

You can add a map service directly from the service endpoint as published in your ArcGIS Services Directory. Just go to the services directory and copy the service URL:

Using the ArcGIS.com map viewer choose Add, then Add Layer from Web. Then paste the URL and check the box for Add As Basemap:

Note that you can also add OGC (WMS) services as basemaps in the same way.

Using Explorer Online start the application then choose New Map, then Advanced as we described earlier. Then choose Service URL and paste the URL into the input box. You can also click Test to make sure your chosen basemap works properly before you click Create Map to open it.

Adjusting your basemap

The ArcGIS.com map viewer enables you to adjust the transparency of any basemap, so you can “dial it down” to eliminate competition with your other operational layers if desired. Place your mouse over the basemap name to reveal the arrow, then click the arrow and choose Transparency:

While Explorer Online does not support adjusting basemap transparency, you can adjust the transparency using the map viewer, then save and open your map in Explorer Online.

For more information see Adding data layers to web maps or Create a new map.