When I have first discovered OpenStreetMap in 2010 I was happy that there was an alternative to Google Map Maker. I must say that I have discovered it for the second time and that was in 2015. I was absolutely astonished by the level of details that can be added to this map and I soon began to map out my city. I am now a full-time mapper and I work very hard in order to add in the footprint of every building from my city. I even keep track of my progress on a dedicated website – http://lchermannstadt.weebly.com/charterul-proiectului.html.

I believe that such a historical event in the life of my city needs to be well documented for future reference. I also believe that I can inspire others to map if I document all of my work on a website. Sibiu is a large city but it is not extremely big. A good mapper can finish this entire city in about 3 months of work. However, there are a lot of small towns around the city and this is where the real work needs to be done. There are a lot of miles to travel and without adequate funding or time, it is really impossible to add in these small towns to OpenStreetMap.

However, I am quite confident that with enough willpower these small towns (Cisnadie,Avrig, Talmaciu, etc) will be added to the map in the near future. My plan is to map these towns as well and I plan to do this right after I finish mapping my own city. The biggest problem that I have to face is related to the cost of printing the satellite imagery. As of today, nobody from the local community has offered to help but I will keep on mapping anyway. I want Sibiu to be one of the finest mapped cities in the entire country as this is extremely important for our local community and local economy.

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Search and rescue crews from all over the world need a technology that is able to cover vast distances with a minimum cost. This type of technology can take the form of aerial drones because drones are cost effective and they can cover vast distances. Moreover, recent developments in terms of collaborative mapping and computing power mean that drones will have a higher resolution camera and they will benefit from a universal map that can be of significant importance to the coordination effort.

Drones need to use a common map in order to keep track of the distance that they cover. This map can be created by the OpenStreetMap community and it can be supplied to organizations such as sardrones.org in order to save lives. We need to acknowledge one fact and that fact is that OpenStreetMap is a fantastic tool for search and rescue people. Moreover, OSM is also great for tourists who may get lost on a mountain.

Imagine a scenario for example – one person gets lost in the woods. There is the need to establish a perimeter around the area and given the fact that a lot of victims are found dozens of miles away – the perimeter needs to be larger than usual and this implies the fact that securing such a perimeter with foot power is not easy. It is far easier to secure this perimeter with drones. With the help of a map and with the help of an automatic communication system between drones this type of perimeter can easily be established and maintained while essential manpower can be used in order to provide additional effort inside the perimeter.

Search and rescue crews need drones more than ever and it is about time to use technology in order to save more lives. Far too many people get lost in the woods and far too many people are never found. Just imagine for a second how much land a drone can cover and you will soon realize that this technology has a huge potential for amplifying the effort of search and rescue crews.

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Sibiu is definitely not a small city. Sibiu was the only city from Romania that has gained the title of European Capital of Culture but in a remarkable twist of fate, the city does not even have a hardcore OpenStreetMap community. This is quite shocking for a city that has its own Geographic research institute. However things are about to change as I have challenged myself to create the Big Map of Sibiu.

The Big Map of Sibiu is nothing more than an average OpenStreetMap but there is a big difference because every house will be placed on the map and the map will have a high richness in terms of detail. My plan is to create a map that abounds in details and that can be even better than the OpenStreetMap of Paris. Moreover, I have even created a personal website dedicated to the OpenStreetMap community of Sibiu (unfortunately the local community has only one member up until now). The website is called Hermannstadt Cartographic Laboratory http://lchermannstadt.weebly.com/charterul-proiectului.html.

Hermannstadt is the old city name of Sibiu and I believe that this name suits the idea of a laboratory quite well. Of course that some of you may ask why did I created this laboratory instead of creating an average community website. The idea is that the community needs a place where they can have the latest and greatest information about OSM and I want to assist the community through this knowledge. Moreover, given the fact that in Romania we have limited financial resources, the best way to map our cities is by sharing knowledge to remote OSM contributors. I must admit that this job is not easy but I enjoy it a lot since I have the opportunity to learn a plethora of things about OSM. I am absolutely fascinated about the detailed graphics of OpenStreetMap and I love the uniqueness of the design.

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You are alone and you are in the middle of nowhere – you simply have no clue about what has happened to you in the last few days and you do not know where to go. Fortunately you have your smartphone with you. Even better, you have a offline map based on OpenStreetMap but even so – you are so deep in the woods that the nearest road is dozens of miles away from you. You try to call 911 but there is no signal on your phone.

How can you call 911 if you do not even know where is the nearest cell phone tower? It might seem logical to head out to the nearest road on the map but these forestry roads may not even be usable as some of them are designed to be used temporarily for logging purposes. On the other hand research stations and remote tourist cabins may be nearby and there lies the opportunity to find a cell phone antenna nearby. Needless to say is the fact that your abductor might be following you and regardless of this fact – you need to call 911 as fast as possible.

In a lot of missing persons cases victims who are able to call 911 have a much better chance of being rescued because when they dial 911 their phone can easily get tracked for its location. This is of huge help for search and rescue people as they can narrow the area of search. Moreover, if you have a criminal or abductor that is on your trail it is not wise to head out for the nearest road as he may be waiting for you exactly on that road.

It is far wiser to run away towards the nearest cell phone tower because these towers have ranges that can span for miles (depending on the topography) and even if there are dozens of criminals chasing you when you reach the relative safety area which is the mile wide perimeter in the immediate vicinity of the cell phone tower the chance of being spotted diminishes considerably. More often than not, authorities confuse cases of missing tourists with abduction cases and your primary duty is to take care of yourself and your family.

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