PK Maps,complimentary maps of different Pakistani cities available

[ghazi52]

A forum takes community activism down a different route

PK Maps, a forum running since 2008, founded by a handful of map enthusiasts who create GPS (Global Positioning System) maps, where members could download free maps onto their mobile phones or GPS devices to use in major Pakistani cities, even some remote areas.

PK Maps was born as an idea, not in Pakistan, but during a vacation in Australia.The founder of PK Maps, Ali Allawala, a 25-year-old logistics manager working for an international company in Karachi.

The idea took time to become a reality — it was about being at the right place at the right time.

“It was a sort of a vertical start up…it took some effort. When I was working in the university and making paper maps as a hobby, I used to publish [them] online for a simple blog and a limited audience,” said Allawala. “That’s when Kifayat and I met on another forum – he is basically the brains behind the whole thing – had done the same thing in Malaysia.”

Although, Ali Allawalla and Kifayat Hussain, a geo-scientist with the Oil and Gas Exploration and Development sector in Malaysia, were miles apart, they decided to set up the rules and policies for the forum and started creating maps, using Malsingmaps.com, a free GPS maps website for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei as an example.

“Whatever we created – we would publish it, so people could add onto it or make any modifications. Slowly, we got a doctor and an architect from Lahore, then a guy in Multan, someone in Hyderabad, so on and so on,” said Allawala.

Hussain, the first to join PK Maps, was familiar with GPS software used in his profession. Allawala used his paper maps for Karachi, which were converted into a different format while Hussain started working on maps for Islamabad.

“I had only made a basic map of Islamabad and Peshawar since I was more affiliated with these two cities for work and personal reasons,” said Hussain, who studied and graduated with his BSC with Honors and MSC from Peshawar University

Currently, PK Maps has a little more than a dozen complimentary maps of different Pakistani cities available to download. Major map contributors are only a handful; regular contributors Dr. Faisal Sultan and architect Saad Mahmood Khan work on Lahore, Kifayat Hussain updates Islamabad, and Allawala works on maps for Karachi.

The common thread that binds the diverse group of PK Map’s founding members, is that each person holds a passion for maps for reasons only unique to them.

“Maps give a good sense of a system – they help get you where you want to be,” said Allawala. “Karachi doesn’t have a system – it’s like a jungle that needs a system.”

PK Maps (pkmaps.freeforums.org) provides free maps using Garmin software, a popular company that designs and manufactures GPS navigation and communication products, for users to download onto their mobile phones or GPS devices. A user can create maps in two ways: they can record the route in real time or use satellite map images where roads can be traced using the mouse, and then formatted and transferred onto a map. Then a PK Maps member would download the map onto their GPS device or mobile phone for their personal use.

“They use the software, record the route they took, convert it to a file and then send it to us,” explained Allawala. “These are two different ways to do it. The problem with the second way is that the satellite photos can be really, really old at times. It happened to us a year ago – that the underpasses were not on the image yet so we ended up having a lot of difficulties.”

PK Maps currently has 2,200 forum members, including the eight members considered the founding contributors. Its’popularity began when Awab Alvi, a dentist, mentioned the forum’s efforts on his Teeth Maestro blog. PK Maps caught on after the blog debut with younger Pakistanis who were looking for accessible GPS maps.

“There is only one other company working on routable maps and its naqsha.net. The major difference is PK Maps are free to use and they are not,” said Adeel Ahmed Khan, a regular contributor for PK Maps. “I joined the forum in 2009 – you cannot imagine how happy I was that I could see my car running on my mobile, and finally [finding] the right place.”


“ I contributed to areas in Karachi like, Mehmoodabad, Korangi, Landhi, Gulistan-e-Johar, Shah Faisal Town, Model Colony, Malir, Nazimabad, Liaqatabad, etc.”

The PK Maps policy is simple; a registered member has access to the GPS software and maps but in return the forum asks that each member at least contribute once, which does not happen too often unlike Allawala and other contributors who are constantly updating the maps.

Dr. Sultan strongly feels that people should have access to modern technologies like GPS maps, “It is public information and it should go back to the public.

Sadef A. Kully
Thursday, 08 Apr, 2010
DAWN.COM | Sci-Tech | A forum takes community activism down a different route

 

[VrSoLdIeRs]

nice effort.... definitely worth a look!!!

 

[VrSoLdIeRs]

on second thought i dont have a GPS device.. didnt knew they existed in pakistan.. where can you buy em from?

 

[sparklingway]

on second thought i dont have a GPS device.. didnt knew they existed in pakistan.. where can you buy em from?

I used my phone all the time. Garmin's Mobile XT is really amazing although it takes longer to get a position lock on the phone than on a standalone navigation device.

PS: These guys do a wonderful job but of course they are limited by the time they can spend and because they do it for free. I modified the Rawalpindi section of the map to reflect the latest situation. Didn't upload it to the pkmaps forums though (I had changed the maps to allow for a much time friendly routing experience as I preferred smaller roads than the vein of the city, hence it does not reflect the reality and is of little help to most people). So, if anybody needs that PM me.

 

[dabong1]

Dr. Adeel Faizi and some friends were driving to attend a birthday bash at a hut on Hawk’s Bay beach in Karachi, but getting to the hut had become a challenge on the dark, deserted road. Dr. Faizi was determined to get there, he opened his cell phone to turn on the GPS system and after few seconds of GPS calculations – there it was – a Baloch restaurant down the road from the hut.

The real hero of the evening, however, was PK Maps, a forum running since 2008, founded by a handful of map enthusiasts who create GPS (Global Positioning System) maps, where members could download free maps onto their mobile phones or GPS devices to use in major Pakistani cities, even some remote areas.

PK Maps was born as an idea, not in Pakistan, but during a vacation in Australia.

“I got a chance to go to Australia and I was staying in Melbourne in 2004. I bought a map and I was amazed – it had everything, down to the littlest details. I traveled with such ease and that’s when I started working on maps when I came back to Pakistan,” said the founder of PK Maps, Ali Allawala, a 25-year-old logistics manager working for an international company in Karachi.

The idea took time to become a reality — it was about being at the right place at the right time.

“It was a sort of a vertical start up…it took some effort. When I was working in the university and making paper maps as a hobby, I used to publish [them] online for a simple blog and a limited audience,” said Allawala. “That’s when Kifayat and I met on another forum – he is basically the brains behind the whole thing – had done the same thing in Malaysia.”

Although, Ali Allawalla and Kifayat Hussain, a geo-scientist with the Oil and Gas Exploration and Development sector in Malaysia, were miles apart, they decided to set up the rules and policies for the forum and started creating maps, using Malsingmaps.com, a free GPS maps website for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei as an example.

“Whatever we created – we would publish it, so people could add onto it or make any modifications. Slowly, we got a doctor and an architect from Lahore, then a guy in Multan, someone in Hyderabad, so on and so on,” said Allawala.

Hussain, the first to join PK Maps, was familiar with GPS software used in his profession. Allawala used his paper maps for Karachi, which were converted into a different format while Hussain started working on maps for Islamabad.

“I had only made a basic map of Islamabad and Peshawar since I was more affiliated with these two cities for work and personal reasons,” said Hussain, who studied and graduated with his BSC with Honors and MSC from Peshawar University

Currently, PK Maps has a little more than a dozen complimentary maps of different Pakistani cities available to download. Major map contributors are only a handful; regular contributors Dr. Faisal Sultan and architect Saad Mahmood Khan work on Lahore, Kifayat Hussain updates Islamabad, and Allawala works on maps for Karachi.

The common thread that binds the diverse group of PK Map’s founding members, is that each person holds a passion for maps for reasons only unique to them.

“Maps give a good sense of a system – they help get you where you want to be,” said Allawala. “Karachi doesn’t have a system – it’s like a jungle that needs a system.”

“I never sell any of my maps as to me it’s a hobby and not a business,” said Hussain, who enjoys traveling by road. “I have worked and practically been driving in nine countries in the Middle East and South East Asia and traveled to many more. I know how it feels to get lost. To me the GPS is the best guide.”

For Khan, a partner at the architecture firm SR Designs, it is the enthusiasm of being part of a helpful cause, “It’s exciting to travel on a road in Lahore using the GPS which I probably traced on a map once,” he said.

Although there are numerous commercial GPS mapping devices and systems available, many can be expensive.

“I think, essentially [we] are the same as [them]. The difference would be they cover a larger area, there is a whole dedicated team, and companies invest in them. But ours is a lot better because we love doing it,” said Allawala.

PK Maps (pkmaps.freeforums.org) provides free maps using Garmin software, a popular company that designs and manufactures GPS navigation and communication products, for users to download onto their mobile phones or GPS devices. A user can create maps in two ways: they can record the route in real time or use satellite map images where roads can be traced using the mouse, and then formatted and transferred onto a map. Then a PK Maps member would download the map onto their GPS device or mobile phone for their personal use.

“They use the software, record the route they took, convert it to a file and then send it to us,” explained Allawala. “These are two different ways to do it. The problem with the second way is that the satellite photos can be really, really old at times. It happened to us a year ago – that the underpasses were not on the image yet so we ended up having a lot of difficulties.”

PK Maps currently has 2,200 forum members, including the eight members considered the founding contributors. Its’popularity began when Awab Alvi, a dentist, mentioned the forum’s efforts on his Teeth Maestro blog. PK Maps caught on after the blog debut with younger Pakistanis who were looking for accessible GPS maps.

“There is only one other company working on routable maps and its naqsha.net. The major difference is PK Maps are free to use and they are not,” said Adeel Ahmed Khan, a regular contributor for PK Maps. “I joined the forum in 2009 – you cannot imagine how happy I was that I could see my car running on my mobile, and finally [finding] the right place.”

Khan, a 30-year-old IT manager for a brokerage company, has his own fascination with maps and PK Maps allows him to practice his hobby as well as become part of something bigger; a benefit for the forum and the user.

“I love maps too – I will never get lost on earth,” said Khan, smiling. “I like to do things myself so I started making maps too. I contributed to areas in Karachi like, Mehmoodabad, Korangi, Landhi, Gulistan-e-Johar, Shah Faisal Town, Model Colony, Malir, Nazimabad, Liaqatabad, etc.”

The PK Maps policy is simple; a registered member has access to the GPS software and maps but in return the forum asks that each member at least contribute once, which does not happen too often unlike Allawala and other contributors who are constantly updating the maps.

“It requires a community effort – the power of collaboration for everyone,” said a founding contributor, Dr. Faisal Sultan, an infectious disease specialist with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer and Research Centre.

“I know for certain that out of those 2,000 something people that have downloaded the map only 50 people will come back to the forum to say thank you and out of those 50, only six people would come on to say ‘I want to help,’” said Allawala. “And a couple of more will come back when they have the opportunity to update the map. So for sure people will not pay for this and they should not.”

Allawala would like to improve the map to turn it into the same map he had envisioned in the beginning of PK Maps – a map that is accessible down to the smallest details.

Dr. Sultan strongly feels that people should have access to modern technologies like GPS maps, “It is public information and it should go back to the public.”
DAWN.COM | Sci-Tech | A forum takes community activism down a different route

PK Maps • View topic - Routable Karachi Street Map for Garmin GPS

 

[sparklingway]

Already posted. Mods please delete thread.

 

[Hyde]

thanks for sharing

Already posted. Mods please delete thread.

where is the link?

Thanks

 

[sparklingway]

where is the link?

Huzoor, ye raha

http://www.defence.pk/forums/curren...aps-different-pakistani-cities-available.html