New map features

Talk about random things WiFiDB related, either new things, concepts, or issues to work out in code.
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ACalcutt
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New map features

Post by ACalcutt »

I have added a few new experimental mapping features to the WiFiDB to help visualize it a bit easier. I have set up my own mapping server using TileServer-gl to display our maps without worrying about upload restrictions. I have also added a new api to export GeoJSON from the WifiDB.

With the new GeoJSON functions you can dynamically export Lists and APs to GeoJSON files. These GeoJSON files are also used to generate maps dynamically with Mapbox GL. You should now see export to "Map" and "GeoJSON" at the top of the AP and List detail pages.

I have also set up a process that creates a full DB map, running nightly right now. This process generates a large 1.2GB+ json file, then converts it to a mbtiles vector tileset using tippecanoe so it can be served by TileServer-gl. I am then able to merge this into a OpenMapTiles base map, which uses OpenStreetMap data. The result is this nice browse-able map ( https://live.wifidb.net/wifidb/opt/map. ... =wifidbmap ). Right now APs modified in the last year will get 3px circles with no transparency and older APs will get 2px circles with half transparency to help differentiate older data from newer data.

I am really impressed so far with the performance of the WifiDB map. because it is all precompiled and tippecanoe takes care of clustering at lower zoom levels, the result is a map works great and doesn't choke like the old Google Earth one did. You do have to zoom in to get all the detail, but I think this is a fine trade off for how well the map performs.

The one thing I would love to find is a satellite mbtiles base map, but the one I found with enough detail is pretty expensive. the OpenMapTiles high res map is going for $1200...uhg
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