[GeoNode-devel] GeoNode extension for georeferencing Documents (e.g. historical maps)

[Adam Cox]

Hello everyone,

As part of my recently completed masters thesis
<https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/5641/> I created an
extension for GeoNode that allows users to georeference (georectify)
Documents directly in the browser (a la Map Warper <https://mapwarper.net/>)
and turn them into GeoNode raster Layers. I presented a short introduction
to the concept at the GeoNode Summit 2020. The project repository is here:
https://github.com/mradamcox/loc-insurancemaps.

I worked hard to construct the georeferencing extension such that it could
be added to any existing GeoNode implementation. However, it still needs to
be repackaged, and some aspects of it should be reworked (e.g. how the
GeoTIFFs are ingested into GeoServer/GeoNode), before it's ready for wide
adoption. Here is documentation
<https://docs.oldinsurancemaps.net/en/latest/#extra/> on its design (much,
much more in the paper linked above).

My original motivation was to facilitate crowdsourced georeferencing of
large historical map collections, so I also conducted a public pilot
project from Feb-May of this year, implementing this extension and further
custom work at oldinsurancemap.net. Over 35 people participated in some
way, and about 1,500 documents were georeferenced. Ultimately, for my
specific project I think GeoNode was more complex and resource-intensive
than what I really needed. However, this extension worked well, and I still
think it could add considerable value to other people's GeoNode
implementations (especially cultural heritage or municipal
implementations); to my knowledge, browser-based georeferencing is a
capability that ArcGIS Online does not have.

*So: If you or your organization is interested in supporting or
implementing this georeferencing extension, please reach out to me*. I have
finished my degree program and am looking around for what comes next.

Finally, I'd like to give a big *thank you* to everyone here who helped me
throughout the course of this project, especially on the Gitter chat! I
learned a lot from working with GeoNode, and will stay tuned and try to
contribute when I can.

Thanks,
Adam Cox
mr.adamcox at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/geonode-devel/attachments/20220805/fd44a0fe/attachment.htm>