This may be a few silly questions regarding the -> ‘Satellite Imagery’ & ‘GPS Points Layer’. But, how often does the -> ‘Satellite Imagery’ & ‘GPS Points Layer’ update in the UK/WME?
(Satellite Imagery):
Is there any possible way to obtain a -> ‘Satellite Imagery’ refresh?
Are there any other sites which may be able to aid in updating certain segments such as -> ‘New Builds Developments’ with up-to-date -> ‘Satellite Imagery’
Once -> ‘Satellite Imagery’ refreshes, do they move in any direction?
(GPS Points Layer):
When mapping new segments or updating existing segments, is it -> ‘Best Practice/Required’ to match it to -> ‘GPS Traces’? This is because of the infrequent -> ‘Sat Imagery’ updates, with some areas not being updated for many years, but -> ‘GPS Points Layer’ are supposed to be updated much more frequently?.
I have noticed many new builds which have been driven on but contain no -> ‘GPS Traces’ OR existing roads seem to have very minimal amount of -> ‘GPS Traces’. (I understand that the driver will have to have Waze running but i think it should still contain some amount of -> ‘GPS Traces’).
Is there any difference in the colour of the -> ‘GPS Traces’?
(Waze Global Page) -> ‘GPS Points Layer’ -> Indicate weekly or every 2 weeks.
Hi Temp ( )
I’ve often wondered about the GPS points and have no answer for you on that.
As far as imagery goes, if you use the Beta version of WME at https://beta.waze.com/en-GB/editor you have some options for “Additional Imagery” which are (AIUI) more recent than the standard images. Some of the options have significant gaps and some have significant cloud cover but you may be lucky and get a glimpse of what you’re looking for. This was mentioned at the recent meetup in Manchester. Standard caveats for anything with the word Beta in the name or URL!
Regards
Martin
Thanks for the response. I will still await a response regarding -> ‘GPS Points Layer’.
However, your mention of the -> ‘WME Beta’. It seems i do NOT have any access to this, and could possibly be -> ‘L4+’, as i seem to get this error -> ‘Invalid user name Temp for restricted mode (code: 107)’.
If I remember correctly the colour of the traces is based on the direction of travel so that everything in the same direction is the same colour. I don’t think there is further variation in it.
The generic Wazeopedia GPS Layer entry suggests an update frequency of once per week, though with caveats that it may also depend on how much GPS data has been recorded. It’s also not clear if this means that the entire global layer gets updated once a week, or if the update process merely runs once a week on an area by area basis such that each individual area sees updates on a longer interval.
In terms of whether it’s preferable to map to the aerial imagery or to the GPS layer, generally the latter is preferred as this is what the Waze app will also be using to match a users position to the map data. However, as with all guidelines there are times when common sense/discretion is needed - e.g. if you’re trying to correctly align a road where the GPS layer is all over the place with no clear “centreline” set of arrows to use as your guideline, then it may be preferable to map to the aerials.
Users of my WMEOD script (https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21043) also have the option of having that display the geometry for any roads its aware of, which in some cases can also be useful in showing where a road ought to go, though with caveats of its own that a) it won’t always be aware of recently built roads (the OS only releases updates to the roads data a few times a year, and roads only get added to their data once they’ve been surveyed, so it can take several update cycles before a new road is available in the data and thus the script), and b) the geometry conversion accuracy between the national grid co-ords used in the OS data, and the lat/lon co-ords used in WME, can result in offsets of several metres in places. So treat it as just another source of data to go along with whatever the aerials and GPS traces are showing, and use your best judgment as to where road segments need to be drawn.
Ultimately though, where new roads are concerned, our focus should be on getting them mapped sooner rather than later, so whilst positional accuracy is important, that shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of at least getting stuff into the map in any form - we can always fine tune the geometry later on as the GPS traces or aerial imagery gets updated further, but unless there’s been some significant errors between the estimated and actual positions of new roads, then the risk of generating URs from roads being a few metres to the left or right of where they ought to be is far far lower than the risk of generating URs from roads not being mapped at all…
No, access to WME Beta is simply controlled on a user by user basis - anyone can apply for access, it’s not something you get based on editing level or anything else.
If you’re adding new build developments I’ve found the WME Image Overlays script handy. If the developers have published a site plan you can get the layout quite accurate.
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