Wherecamp Berlin 2014 http://wherecamp.de/ was held in November. Here is my summary of what is hot in GIS/Geo/Routing

2. WhereCamp
• Free conference Thursday and Friday. Hack day
Saturday
• About geo and more specifically 'routing'
• Lots of startups in Berlin. Startups love geo right
now
Here is what's hot....

3. Indoor routing
• GPS is not much use indoors
• Usual practice is use wifi, accelerometer, or beacons
• Stereoscopic imaging demoed
• Use case #1 station/airport routing for the blind
• #2 shopping mall routing
• #3 'Minority Report' targeted advertising
• Looking for a killer use case

4. Geocoding
• An old friend returns
• Existing services are expensive and not (generally)
worldwide
• Address formats for different countries (Lokku)
• Use OpenStreetMap as a source
• Nominatum uses old tech, NoSQL is faster (Mapbox)
• What3words describe anywhere

5. Apple ibeacon
• Small device transmits UUID to short radius
• iPhone or Android devices receive and react
• Use case #1 targeted advertising
• #2 indoor geolocation and routing
• Beacon could be carried or be attached to an item of
equipment
• Flexible offices, and lots of things not thought of yet

6. A slightly cavalier attitude
towards privacy
• Pervasive advertising, or invasive?
• How to stay unnoticed when continually tracking
device location
• Industry standard?
• And Germany so strict too

7. Paying for Open Source
• Never free. Always an implementation cost
• Proprietary software also has this cost + the licence 'tax'
• Contributors get paid via implementation services or consulting
• Sponsor a feature with company cash, or time/resources
• Or simply acknowledge the huge saving with a donation?
• Publish an annual Open Source Usage Statement. Pay a
%age.
• 'Greenwashing'? Should they quit squealing?

8. The one thing to remember is:
Conferences are about conferring
with other attendees. Be present.
Be interesting. Take part.