AGIT

This year, Markus and I are once again representing the OpenStreetMap Association Austria at AGIT. As last year, we will try to capture our impressions for you in the form of blog entries over the next few days.

Today began with packing up the trade fair materials in the morning, then loading them into the car, driving to Salzburg and finally setting up the stand.

Unfortunately, our departure was delayed by about two hours due to a medical incident, but we were finally able to make the journey together. Despite a small handicap, Markus was able to actively support me during the construction.

Z_GIS has now published the official photos of AGIT30 (AGIT celebrated its 30th anniversary this year).

These can be found under the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uni-salzburg/collections/72157696276650571/

This was the third day!

The big rush is over, but we were still able to advise some visitors on OpenStreetMap and FOSSGIS. It was interesting to hear about all the places where open-source GIS software is already in use, without the respective organisations making a big deal about it. ;-)

[caption id=“attachment_608” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Interesting talks with visitors[/caption]

At around noon, most of the other exhibitors were already starting to pack up their exhibition stands. We needed a little longer because there were still questions from visitors.

New day, new visitors!

Not quite, we were also able to welcome many interested visitors from yesterday again today. This resulted in many exciting discussions and conversations, including with HERE.

Particularly exciting for me were the conversations with visitors who want to join the OpenStreetmap project, yes, there are still non-mappers.

We had ongoing conversations with both mappers and OpenStreetMap users. We were told about experiences with the map material from all over the world. We were delighted that most users noted very good coverage, which in some places was clearly different from commercial providers. This showed us that OpenStreetMap data is increasingly being accessed, especially in African areas. At this point, I would like to pass on the praise to all mappers who are doing a really great job and without whose commitment OpenStreetMap would not be possible.

We’ve arrived at AGIT.

We were able to complete most of the stand construction on the day we arrived. The small jobs and fine-tuning were done this morning. This year we welcome our guests with a multimedia installation:

• projector with FOSSGIS and OSM videos
• 2x screens for presentations and recruiting new OSM users

[caption id=“attachment_566” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Multimedia stand[/caption]

[caption id=“attachment_567” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] OSM maps[/caption]

Since we were assigned a different location again this year, we had to be a little more creative in setting up the stand. Thanks to the preparatory work of Scubbx, this was possible without any major difficulties and we and our visitors are very satisfied with the result. Here are a few impressions of the day.

It won’t be long now before AGIT opens its doors!

We have something new planned for this year: I (ScubbX) will be taking my projector, which I bought second hand and which has been sitting in my cupboard unused ever since, to AGIT and putting it to use. After the accident with my TV last year, I’ve become a bit more cautious about bringing equipment into the house…

[caption id=“attachment_555” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] The self-designed screen mounting system[/caption]

Although the AGIT programme did not end until 3 p.m., the EXPO itself was already over after the lunch break. Some of the stand attendants had already dismantled their exhibition booths; the FOSSGIS area was among the slower ones, only starting to disassemble at that time.

The morning was filled with a number of interested parties, and two cups, some pins and a finn were handed over.

There were also explicit open-source lectures as part of the OSGeo Day programme:

Today, Thursday, was the middle of the three AGIT days. It was just as successful as Wednesday. There was something going on all day.

The influx of visitors during the lecture breaks was clearly noticeable, but with the support of Raphael DAS GUPTA from OSM-Switzerland (also present for all three days), it was well managed. Volker Wichmann and Olaf were available as contact persons for the SAGA GIS project. Anita Graser stopped by whenever possible for the QGIS project in the OSGeo area. Markus Schütz was able to present his project Potree for visualising laser scan data. Emmanuel Belo provided information about geOrchestra.

The first of three days of AGIT is already over. This year, the EXPO foyer area is a bit smaller and the open source projects (OpenStreetMap, FOSSGIS, OSGeo, SAGA GIS, geoOrchestra and Potree) are no longer located in the light-flooded side area, but are still well located thanks to the good lighting and prominent position opposite the break buffet.

After some confusion, all the exhibition materials found their way to Salzburg, and the stand was quickly set up together with the FOSSGIS and OSGeo materials. This year’s highlight is the 43’ flatscreen TV, which showed the popular “Show Me the Way” most of the time (the photo upload with the mobile phone does not work at the moment, so there will be current photos with tomorrow’s update).

The OpenStreetMap project will also be represented at this year’s AGIT, the Symposium and Expo for Applied Geoinformatics in Salzburg! We will be there on all three days (5th to 7th July 2017).

Who from the OSM community would like to support us? We have guest tickets available for people who want to support us at the trade fair. We are also open to the idea of reimbursing costs for travel and accommodation. ;-) Don’t be shy, almost every mapper has more knowledge about OpenStreetMap than most trade fair visitors.