RMAP map format

[joeloc]

Hi menion.

Just discovering locus a bit more... great program you wrote there. It seems to beat other solutions in almost all aspects. One thing bugs me though, I cant really find a simple way to use "professional" raster maps in Locus. Online maps, OSM, mapsforge, etc is all fine of course. But when it comes to the alps, nothing beats properly handcrafted raster maps, eg from Kompass or Swissmap or IGN or Alpenverein.

Would you maybe consider supporting the RMAP format for this? It was invented by CompeGPS/TwoNAV and is not officially documented. However, Mobac once had a writer module for it (can supply java source if needed). Also, OruxMaps was able to reverse engineer and support that format very quickly, so it cannot be that difficult. Basically just a bunch of jpg/png tiles in different zoomlevels stuffed together, probably very much alike to your own sqlitedb.

Whats the point of yet another format? RMAP can be written painlessly by professional PC raster mapping software, like TTQV or CompeLAND. So basically, everything we create/use at home in GlobalMapper/TTQV/CompeLAND could be exported to Locus with just a single mouse click.

Also, with Locus supporting RMAP, we would be able to maintain one single map directory for all serious android offroad tracking apps (in my opinion these are OruxMaps, TwoNav and Locus).

If you are considering this, I can supply the old mobac writer source code and plenty demo maps in any size and projection you wish.

Thanks,
joeloc

[Menion]

Hi Joe,
  you pointed on one interesting thing about locus. I personally think that it's best map app on market  :lol: , but main disadvantage are missing quality maps (that are usually in illegal way in many other app). About a month ago, it was still problem to add some special maps to locus because I supported only few main world coordinate projections. Situation is now much better.

  so I'm glad you started this topic. One similar that focus on ozi maps is here viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1346 but I'm still not sure, what to think about it. So, let's at first, add support for this format. Every information you may send me is welcome. Best on email locus(@)asamm.com. I'll look at it during next week .. and thanks!

[joeloc]

Of course... an even better way to get quality maps into Locus might be to support the GEOTIFF format directly. It's official and public and well documented. Previously, mobile apps would not support this because it looked too complex for a mobile device. But with todays smart phone powers, decoding GEOTIFF should really be a piece of cake.

A GEOTIFF can be tiled internally (like 256x256) and also have an "image pyramid" containing smaller resolutions. This means you wouldnt have to read the whole thing at once but could simply load the part you need on demand from a possibly very huge file. It might be slightly more difficult to handle than your sqlite db because of all the projections. Also the image pyramids can have arbitrary sizes, not necessarily a power of 2. But all in all, reading should be relatively similar to what you already have in Locus.

Tiled GEOTIFFs are supported by all major GIS programs. GlobalMapper for example creates those files directly. TTVQ reads them without problem. There is also a tool called "OziMapTrans" that converts many commercial map cds to geotiff with a single mouse click. With those tools, I have for example created multi-gigabyte geotiffs containing all the Alps in 1:50000 (borderless mixture of Kompass, Swissmap, IGN and other raster maps) and they load and display quite nicely on the PC.

It would be a dream come true if a mobile mapping app would directly support GEOTIFF. All the sillyness of converting and exporting maps between different formats would suddenly be gone. We could simply use the same files at home and on the mobile device. So far, the time doesnt seem to have come. Maybe Locus will make it possible one day

[Menion]

hehe, looks you're quite looking forward to it anyway I was already looking on this some time ago, and there is still problem with loading tiff data. So for now, let's start with RMAP format. I plan that I'll keep work on locus for few next year so ... who knows what will come

[wvb]

My knowledge of mapdata is rather limited but I am also interested in loading maps from commercially available cd's.
The real too maps.
Just thought I'd post my +1 :-)

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[joeloc]

Btw... when this RMAP or GEOTIFF thing becomes reality, it would be great if locus would allow to configure a few additional map folders. I want to put my maps in /sdcard/maps and /sdcard/external_sd/maps/ where they can be used happily by all android mapping apps.

These map folders should be scanned (recursively) for raster maps (*.rmap, *.sqlitedb?) and also for mapsforge vector maps (*.map).

[joeloc]

Just tried to fix the folder issue with using softlinks. Unfortunately, /sdcard and /sdcard/external_sd both use vfat by default... so no soft linking possible. We really need configurable map folders .

[Menion]

uff job done (probably) ... worst then expected ... viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1250#p7349

[joeloc]

Works like a charm... finally we can export high quality raster maps into Locus! Supercool .

[gynta]

hi

...finally we can export high quality raster maps into Locus!

export from?  e.g.

[joeloc]

TTQV (works also with demo version) or CompeLand (iirc works also with demo version). Both can for example import any ECW or GEOTIFF or *.map/*.cal thingy and then export RMAP format. It's called "Export Aventura/Sportiva" in TTQV4.

[tarkboffin]

in addition to GEOTIFF, and this might be easier to implement(?) and files will be smaller, how about supporting JPG + world files?

cheers
m.

[joeloc]

geotifs are better suited for maps than simple jpgs. they can have tiles as well as overviews, both quite necessary for speedy handling on mobile devices. jpgs/pngs/etc on the other hand would have to be loaded more or less completely into memory. that will not work well for larger maps. geotifs can also use jpg compression internally, so file sizes must not differ much.

there might be occasions where using a simple jpeg/png image plus worldfile/mapfile/calfile is useful, eg for compatibility reasons on the road. but since ttqv/compeland at home can turn these files into a speedy RMAP with a single mouse click, i wouldnt think it's that important.

In an ideal world, we wouldnt need the windows machine at home for our mapping needs. We could simply buy the map DVDs from Kompass/IGN/whoever and copy over the files to our Android device. Unfortunately, the mapping world is one of the biggest messes in existance. Everybody and his dog uses a different custom format, has very restrictive license policies, tries to encrypt his data, forbids usage outside his own apps, etcpp.

One solution to this "OziMapTrans", a pretty nifty tool that converts most proprietary map formats to a simple geotif. Unfortunately, probably due to complaints from mapping companies, the program has been discontinued. Of course the www never forgets, so you can still find it if you look closely.

[tarkboffin]

Thanks joeloc, that's cleared up a few things for me. I agree about the mess, I come from the desktop GIS world, but the mobile mapping side is even more fragmented.
M.

[dibrial]

I exported my overlay map (//http://forum.asamm.cz/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1359) to a GeoTiff and then used Compeland to export to .rmap. The map opens in Compeland, but is not shown when copied to /locus/maps/.

Please advise?

btw. the map can be found here