International Space Apps Challenge and other GIS Competitions

The International Space Apps Challenge is a 2 day technology development event during which citizens from around the world will work together to solve current challenges relevant to both space exploration and social need. The International Space Apps Challenge will take place on all seven continents – and in space - on 21-22 April 2012.

Locations in which events are currently planned to be held include San Francisco, US; Tokyo, Japan; Melbourne and Canberra, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Exeter and Oxford, UK; Nairobi, Kenya; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. There will be additional events throughout the world and participation by Astronauts on the International Space Station.

How it works

The International Space Apps Challenge is a “codeathon-style” event. A codeathon is a unique event that brings together citizens interested in collaborating on the development solutions that address critical challenges. A codeathon celebrates software development in its most positive context—using minimal resources and maximum brainpower to create outside- the-box solutions in response to interesting problems. Codeathons are technology development marathons, drawing on the talents and initiative of the best and the brightest software developers, engineers, designers and technologists from around the world, who volunteer their time to respond to real- world problems with solutions than can have immediate impact.

At the events, individuals collaborate with others by forming teams focused on solving a particular challenge. The teams compete with other teams around the world to utilize publicly available space and data to design innovative “solutions” to a pre-determined series of global “challenges.”

- Challenge website

The Department of Veterans Affairs launched a new contest today to help the people who help the homeless. It challenges the developer community to create easy, mobile access to resources that the homeless need, when they need it and where they can get it. ...

Five finalists will pilot their mobile applications at JBJ Soul Kitchen, where diners can cover the cost of their meals either through donation or volunteer service.

The contest will be conducted in two phases. Finalists will be judged primarily on their ability to dynamically update information about housing and shelter near JBJ Soul Kitchen. Basic performance criteria is described in www.challenge.gov.

- press release via LBS zone

This contest is a bit easier to enter!

To enter, you must follow@RootMetrics on Twitter, download the RootMetrics Cell Phone Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android devices, run a test of mobile coverage and then post on Twitter EITHER a screenshot of the test results or the color and speed result.

Winners (five randomly selected) can win new mobile phones or cash toward breaking a contract. You can enter until April 2.

- Wireless and Mobile News

New “Easy to Follow” Google Maps Dev Tools and other Google Geo News

Google appears to be fighting back [fight OSM, others]. On Tuesday [today] it will announce two new sites aimed at encouraging developers of all skill levels to use its maps for location services and mobile applications. One of the sites has easy-to-follow directions, while the other is a gallery of things people have built with Google Maps.

I don't find the "easy to follow directions" just yet.

- NY Times

Released today [March 14], the newest version of Google Earth for Android and iOS adds a long-awaited feature that should make the mobile mapping experience more like that on the desktop: KML file support.

KML, or Keynote Markup Language, is a file format used to display geographic data in the Google Earth browser. The format can be used by anyone to create and distribute custom map overlays on the Web.

It's pretty sad that the news detailed on the Google Lat Long Blog got so muddled in the Cnet's coverage above. KML is Keyhole Markup Language; it's an open format (sorry encoding standard) now managed by OGC.

- C|net

New Geo APIs

Inside Idaho API: The service delivers geospatial data to support mapping of resources within the state of Idaho. Compliant with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards, the platform uses ArcGIS and other resources to promote sharing of data, effective communication, and activity coordination among state agencies and other government units. Applications can use the service to map biological and environmental features, climatology, structures, and other featurs of the state.

API methods support mapping of animal and plant species, elevation and other geological features, and climatic conditions. Applications can also map jurisdictional boundaries, transportation resources, structures, and other prominent infrastructure within Idaho

ParkingInMotion API: ParkingInMotion is an application that provides parking data and information in real-time. ParkingInMotion covers parking information in around 500 cities in the US, Canada, and Europe. Parking information includes locations, rates, hours of operation, and entrance points of parking locations.

The ParkingInMotion API allows developers to access and integrate the data and functionality of ParkingInMotion with other applications. Public documentation is not available; interested developers should email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for API information and access.

United Nations SWERA API: The SWERA service, from the United Nations, provides data about renewable energy resources worldwide. It provides geographic information system (GIS) and time-series data compiled by international experts and in-country partners. The service helps to promote applications of solar and wind energy technologies and support decision-making about available resources and likely energy production for a location.

API methods allow specification of a location by latitude and longitude along with desired data, including solar irradiance and angle, wind speeds, and related information as recorded by a number of national repositories. Methods are also available to retrieve climate data such as temperature, heating and cooling degree days, humidity, and barometric pressure.

HAMweather Aeris API: HAMweather is a site that provides traditional weather content such as local weather and weather maps. HAMweather's core product is Aeris an API that provides the necessary weather data to power services such as hosted weather sites and weather application development. The API gives developers access to data such as weather advisories, forecasts, geographic locations, storm reports and more. It uses RESTful calls and responses are formatted in JSON and JSONP.

RouteSavvy API: The service accepts a list of locations and generates a map of the most efficient sequence and route for reaching all of them, either in a roundtrip returning to the starting place or one way with first and last stops designated. It helps delivery, transit, or other routing functions to reach required stops as efficiently as possible, avoiding unnecessary backtracking.

API methods accept the route type (roundtrip or one way) and the starting and ending locations, specified as latitude and longitude, along with each of the stops that must be included. The service returns the locations specified listed in the optimal sequence.

- Programmable Web

Mobile App Penalizes You for Missing Gym Workouts

Yes, that's right, you can pay for an app for you cell phone that will "fine" you when you fail to meet your planned gym workouts.

Gym Pact, a new program dreamed up by Zhang and fellow Harvard grad Geoff Oberhofer, charges you a penalty for skipping your workouts. It launches Jan. 1 at gympact.com.

"A gym membership is something you pay for at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the month, and there's no additional money on the line," Zhang says. "We wanted to tie a cash incentive to every single workout you do, week-by-week."

Here's how it works: You set a pact to get to the gym of your choice a certain number of times (minimum one day per week). You pick a fee to charge yourself for breaking your pact (minimum $5 per day missed). You download the Gym Pact app to your smart phone and check in when you get to the gym. (They'll use GPS to confirm you're actually there.) And when you fall short of your pact? They charge your credit card the pre-determined penalty.

Sure you could fool it by "checking in" at the gym and doing nothing (lots of folks seem to use the gym for checking e-mail rather than actually doing those bench presses...) but I guess it's better than nothing. Even better: having an actual person meet you at the gym. They are much harder to fool than cell phones.

- Chicago Tribune

App Answers: Will It Rain in the Next Hour?

Jack Turner and Adam Grossman, two web developers from Troy, New York, say they have invented a mobile app that makes remarkably precise short-term weather forecasts. Using radar data and your phone's GPS, it promises to tell you the exact minute it will begin raining or snowing your location, and how long it will last.

There's a catch, however: The app, called Dark Sky, only works over a short period of time – up to about an hour in the future. 

The data comes from the same government radar every prediction site/app uses. The difference is the algorithms used. Dark Sky models between the radar snapshots and makes lots of assumptions, which in turn make it helpful but not foolproof. The app is expected on iOS in spring with an Android version perhaps to follow. Funding for the app was from Kickstarter (aka crowdsourced funding!)

- CNN