Turn a Tesla into a mapping vehicle with Mapillary

Turn a Tesla into a mapping vehicle with Mapillary(blog.mapillary.com)

68 points by faebi 354 days ago | 28 comments

This could use an upgrade. Combining teslausb [1] for video retrieval and teslamate [2] for GPX retrieval, you could probably make this an automatic pipeline. Add in some "excluded locations" and I could see this as a full solution.

[1] https://github.com/marcone/teslausb

[2] https://github.com/teslamate-org/teslamate

unwind 353 days ago | |

Heh, "they should use a computer to emulate the storage" was my first thought when this was posted, didn't even check to see if anyone had done it yet. :)

jfoster 353 days ago |

This article is about 5 years old. I wonder if the project went anywhere?

I hadn't heard of Mapillary before, but it seems like a great idea to add street-view-like functionality to OSM. I'm wondering if the data is easily viewable somehow on the OSM interface? After having a quick look now, I couldn't seem to find it.

mongol 353 days ago | |

Mapillary was acquired by Meta around this time. I am not sure if they changed focus then but seems likely. I was more active mapping for OSM before this and Mapillary often published blog posts on how their services could be utilized by OSM. But I have not paid much attention last couple of years.

jfoster 353 days ago | | |

Based on their website it looks like the focus remains the same. I just wonder where the data lives.

PetitPrince 353 days ago | |

When you edit a map in the Openstreetmap website (the "id" editor) you can see each data point by expanding the Map Data menu (line and polygon icon, just below the Background Setting icon), expanding the Photo Overlays section and checking the various Mapillary features. You can both view the images themselves (and filter for 360 or regular pictures), and also look at the traffic sign and map features (manholes, benches, poles, shop signs, etc..) that Mapillary has automatically detected.

homebrewer 353 days ago | |

It seems easy to access through JOSM, which is the primary editor for heavy mappers who are doing almost all of the work. I haven't tried doing that, there aren't enough mapping enthusiasts around for Mapillary to be of any use.

danelski 353 days ago | |

If by OSM interface you mean OSM.org then not really.

mft_ 353 days ago |

Funnily enuogh, this was a rabbit-hole I dived down when I was given a company Tesla for a while, and was frustrated by the last of streetview imagery available where I lived. Unfortunately, the teslausb distribution was just too unreliable at the time, and I never found the time/energy for a ground-up re-write.

Ruthalas 353 days ago |

For those concerned about contributing to Mapillary specifically, there are alternatives to contribute to, like Panoramax, which is fully open source and supports federated instances, and is not owned by Meta.

(Panoramax integrates with iD and JOSM just Lille Mapillary.)

summm 350 days ago | |

Panoramax instances are currently only really available for France and Belgium though. Turns out it is neither easy nor cheap to host that many pictures.

furkansahin 353 days ago |

This is a very creative idea, but I wonder how practical it really is. The blog seems old and doesn’t go into detail about productionizing such a pipeline formats. Without a straightforward way to address these issues, it feels more like a clever experiment than something scalable for real-world mapping. Because an average tesla owner will not go through those steps.

xyst 353 days ago | |

Why do you want every idiot with a TSLA to do "real world mapping" anyways?

furkansahin 353 days ago | | |

since the problem to be solved is "mass mapping", maybe every "idiot" is what you need? language... don't be weird

hoseyor 353 days ago | | |

I’m not sure why you had to be so crude about that, especially since you do not seem to make any specific point, but I think the bigger issue is that teslas are essentially mass surveillance system platforms right under the noses of people.

Just like mobile phones have become personal tracking and sentiment surveillance devices we willingly carry around on us, teslas and many EVs with their cameras are public mass surveillance and tracking platforms that make free movement nearly impossible even beyond such crude systems like the UK’s CCTV surveillance network.

Combine that with things like doorbell cameras and other cheap video surveillance and we have willingly and enthusiastically entered the dystopian matrix.

mdhb 353 days ago |

Also could be phrased as: perform unpaid labour collecting surveillance data for Meta (who ultimately control the data source)

danelski 353 days ago | |

Images are CC. What are potential risks apart from rug pull by Meta provided no one does backups of this database?

phoronixrly 353 days ago | |

More like turn your surveillance machine into a surveillance machine that at least benefits society as opposed to just the mothership. Meta currently holding the data is a problem though as they can decide to cut off free access to it, and I would never buy a Tesla in the first place...

jbverschoor 353 days ago |

Near realtime streetview would be cool