geo-extension-waypoints

Geo Waypoint Trails

An exploration of publishing trail or boundary information using series of Geo data waypoints.

Waypoints are geographic points, as currently published using the geo microformat.

Presented sequentially, they can describe trails or routes (which may or may not have been traversed at specific times) or boundaries (which may be on any scale, from a small garden to a continent).

The Problem

To allow the publishing of series of waypoints in such a way that they are downloadable and that their ordering is parsable.

Participants

• Andy Mabbett

Real-World Examples

• Jiri to Everest Trek in Nepal
  • (or any other treks on that site)
  • relevant mark-up: <tr><td>Jiri Bus Park</td><td>27° 38.173'</td><td>86° 13.909'</td><td>1924</td></tr> ("1924" is the elevation)
• http://members.aol.com/gpspage/waypoints.html
• Freshman Seminar Waypoint Hunt
  • relevant mark-up: <tr><td>BENCH</td><td>40.33855</td><td>-74.66465</td><td><a href="bench.html"><img src="bench_c.gif" alt="[...]"></a></td></tr>

Collections

• POI66
  • example: Amsterdam CS-Alkmaar CS walking route (n.b long page; 612 waypoints)
  • relevant mark-up: <li><div>waypoint 10<br/>Latitude 52.386165<br/>Longitude 4.91199</div></li>

Other

• GPX - XML schema for trails
  • GPX on Wikipedia
  • example (extract):

  <wpt lat="39.921055008" lon="3.054223107"> 
  <ele>12.863281</ele> 
  <time>2005-05-16T11:49:06Z</time> 
  <name>Cala Sant Vicenç - Mallorca</name> 
  <sym>City</sym> 
  </wpt>

Typical mandatory attributes

• Latitude (WSG84, using decimal or degrees-minutes-seconds values)
• Longitude (ditto)
• text label

Typical optional attributes

• elevation
• image
• note ?
• url ?

Issues

• How to differentiate between a trail (for example in the shape of a letter "U") and a boundary - in other words, to say whether or not, after the last point, the line returns to the first.
• How to sequence/ timestamp waypoints
  • Perhaps using hAtom and/ or hCalendar?

See Also

• Geo
• Geo cheatsheet
• Geo examples
• geo formats - previous/other attempts at geo related formats
• Geo brainstorming - brainstorms and other explorations relating to Geo (and Geo in hCard).
  • see also hCard brainstorming
• Geo advocacy - encourage others to use Geo.
• Geo examples in the wild
• Geo forms part of hcard, so please use:
  • hCard FAQ. If you have any questions about Geo, check the hCard FAQ.
  • hCard feedback
  • hCard issues
• location-formats - research which led to the development of Geo.
• proposed extensions
  • geo-extension-nonWGS84 - extend Geo for representing coordinates on other planets, moons etc.; and for other terrestrial schema
  • geo-extension-waypoints - extend Geo for representing: sets of waypoints; tracks; routes; and boundaries
• Geo profile - draft