The workflow is clear although it does not describe how some of the steps are actually accomplished or how feedback is supposed to be returned and new updates made available.
It will be very important for cruisers who discover actual errors to be able to report these and have updated editions available. A simple code could, for example, be added to the file name. For example - V031211-C3-86001.KAP might mean V(version)(date)-C(certified check 3- with
Google Earth)-chart number.
There should also be a way for someone (like myself) to make the actual corrections to the KAP and upload a revised edition. Clearly it would also be useful for someone to "verify" the calibration just to be sure - and I found a great way to do that.
In regards to verification and scoring I have some very excellent news for everyone involved with this - and everyone who needs to re-calibrate
charts or convert old tried and true seaclear charts into KAPS. I found a really terrific program called
MapC2MapC by a guy named Thorn in
England.
When I started reading about using the scripts described on this forum for calibrating and converting and saving KAP charts, I quickly realized I was not likely to find my way through all of it. So I started Googling for map conversion programs which were a little more user friendly and found MapC2MapC. I downloaded it and WOW! Just what we need. You can use this program to:
1. calibrate a chart scan or
satellite image (like with SeaClear's MapCal only much more accurate and easier to use).
I used it to calibrate some of the image files from this forum which were not done because of inserts or irregular shapes. First I split the image into two (or more)
parts then calibrated them with MapC2MapC then saved them as a KAP file. Faster than the "route" method described here and without the need for any scripts. The results were perfect.
Even better, after calibrating, MapC2MapC lets you right click on a spot on the calibrated chart and
you see a close-up thumbnail from Google Earth of that location!!!!! So you get a real-time check on the accuracy of the calibration. Have a look at this!
2. Read or WRITE a KAP file!!! So if you discover the KAP file is wrong you can load it, re-calibrate it, check it with
Google Earth, and save it again. It is totally user friendly.
3. Get calibration data from SeaClear calibrated image files. I am a longtime SeaClear user and have hundreds of seaclear charts in WCI or image format. MapC2MapC lets me grab the seaclear calibrations, verify with
Google Earth and save them in KAP format.
4. You can also save the calibrated chart in a whole lot of other formats so you could, for example, use the charts on your smart-phone or tablet with several
navigation programs. Since
OpenCPN is not available for tablets yet this will be of great interest to skippers that want to use the charts on their tablets.
I will send a link to this thread to the author of MapC2MapC and see if he wants to
work with us to make the whole process more user-friendly.
As I said, it will be really important to have a feed-back system in place so skippers from around the world can reliably report on the accuracy of calibrations for the charts and contribute with actual ground truth
GPS positions and/or GoogleEarth confirmations. Not many skippers are going to be able to handle the script process for creating KAP files so this program may be really useful for a lot of people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcn
Motivated by some comments with questions how to characterize a chart in a given moment and also taking into account the suggestions from Richard (#1003) and Thomas (#1023) I tried to summarize the steps and status a chart is taking in our workflow.
In my opinion these steps should be documented within the database (with dates and possibly comments).
A pdf is attached.
Call for comments
Hubert
BTW: would have liked to embed the document visibly but don't how to do so
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