GeoMakers

GeoMakers

There has been a lot of activity over the past years in open source software, the maker movement, and in geospatial. There are some really nice overlaps in these three communities. Free and open source software for geospatial (FOSS4G) has really come of age. Besides some of the classic favorites like GeoServer, PostGIS, and QGIS, there are software packages (and even online services) for just about anything you need. There's also open data in the form of OpenStreetMap and OpenAerialMap. Then there's the maker movement and all of the makerspaces and hackerspaces that are being set up. This brings a physical quality of creating things involving 3D printers, lasercutters, and electronics. 

GeoMakers is focused on enabling sharing and the exchange of ideas between the three creative communities of mapping, software, and making. Imagine sensors that help map your world by telling you more about what's going on around you. People are already doing these things and you can find really cool examples like OpenDroneMap, Public Lab, and OpenSensorHub. Start mixing all of these things together and you can put really powerful capabilities into the hands of a lot of people. 

GeoMakers roles from http://geomakers.org

There are three roles on the GeoMakers site. Anyone can be one or more (or all) of those roles. Have an idea that you want to put out there? Add a GeoDream, or join in the conversation about another GeoDream. Do you have a cool project or set of instructions? Add a recipe as a GeoMaker. Have you taken a few ideas and recipes and done something cool with them? Post that under GeoBooster activities to share with people. 

Since GeoMakers is seeking to bring together communities, the site isn't trying to replace any of the existing resources out there. In your recipe, add links to you blog, the GitHub repo for your code, a YouTube video or anything else you have online. The idea is to make it easy for others to follow along and learn. 

GeoMakers is live, it's real, and it's new. The current site is just the basics to get started and we want to hear from the community about how it needs to evolve. Take a look, share your ideas, and send us your feedback.