Jere,
Effectively, what you want to do is create a Wiki"depth"pedia and with that,
have the same problem any Wiki solution has, no verification. An outdated,
verified chart has infinitely more value than an uncertified chart. However,
your concern has merit, but your solution doesn't without verification.
Ultimately, the skipper owns the problem and the tool of choice with today's
technology is the side scanning, phased array sonar. With that, he has the
ability to perform his own verification. It works, it's affordable and
ultimately cheaper than the Braille method.
Steve

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092615455816807-jerelull@maccom...
I was considering the march of technology and the computing power many of
us have on our boats, then considered the byzantine methods the various
mapping agencies use to create our nautical charts and how out-of-date they
really are.

Has anyone seen a project to collect position and depth data automatically
and periodically upload the data to a central server? I vaguely recall
someone who mapped one or more anchorages automatically like that, and
there's another project where large and commercial ships sample and
analyze the waters they're passing through.

I would love to participate, in exchange for charts that accurately show
what's ahead of our keel.

Yeah, yeah, it's a project that would in some way require the cooperation
of the various national agencies ... Or one of the map sellers might be
interested, as it would give them an incredible edge over the other
suppliers.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092615455816807-jerelull@maccom...
I was considering the march of technology and the computing power many of
us have on our boats, then considered the byzantine methods the various
mapping agencies use to create our nautical charts and how out-of-date they
really are.

Has anyone seen a project to collect position and depth data automatically
and periodically upload the data to a central server? I vaguely recall
someone who mapped one or more anchorages automatically like that, and
there's another project where large and commercial ships sample and
analyze the waters they're passing through.

I would love to participate, in exchange for charts that accurately show
what's ahead of our keel.

Yeah, yeah, it's a project that would in some way require the cooperation
of the various national agencies ... Or one of the map sellers might be
interested, as it would give them an incredible edge over the other
suppliers.

On 2008-09-28 05:03:19 -0400, "Steve Lusardi" said:

Jere,
Effectively, what you want to do is create a Wiki"depth"pedia and with that,
have the same problem any Wiki solution has, no verification. An outdated,
verified chart has infinitely more value than an uncertified chart. However,
your concern has merit, but your solution doesn't without verification.
Ultimately, the skipper owns the problem and the tool of choice with today's
technology is the side scanning, phased array sonar. With that, he has the
ability to perform his own verification. It works, it's affordable and
ultimately cheaper than the Braille method.
Steve

Not at all. Many would collect datums, a central server would collate
and "prove" the data. Verifying data reliability is not that tough a
job. In fact, it's pretty easy if you have enough data to work with.

Side-scanning sonar is okay, but itself limited.

And Wiki has been compared by professionals against the best
encyclopedias, and uniformly been found to be at least as accurate as
the best. Its peer review at its best.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/