View source for Mapping Cameras with OpenStreetMap's Web UI

This is a quick tutorial on how to map surveillance cameras with [https://www.openstreetmap.org Open Street Map's] web interface.

First, you'll need to find some surveillance cameras.  I usually sketch them out in a small notebook.  This is a sketch of two dome cameras on a telephone pole, at the corner of Division St. and Williams St. in Chelsea MA.  Crude sketches are fine, as long as you can understand them later.

[[File:Two-domes-on-pole.jpg|320px|Sketch of Two Dome Cameras on a Pole]]



Back at your computer, log into OpenStreetMap and find the location where the camera resides.  Here's the location I'd sketched out.

[[File:Osm-1-find-location.png|Intersection of Williams St. and Division St. from Open Street Map]]



Next, click Edit (in the upper left corner of OpenStreetMap's web interface.  You'll see the editing UI, which looks like this:

[[File:Osm-2-edit-ui.png|OpenStreetMap's Editing UI]]



Note the "Add Feature" toolbar and the "Point" button.  We'll add a point to represent the camera.  Click the "Point" button, then click the map area where the camera is located. 

Once the point is on the map, search for a "feature type" of "Surveillance Camera".

[[File:Osm-3-add-point.png|Adding a point to OpenStreetMap, and categorizing it as a Surveillance Camera]]



Provide information about the camera.  Here's a screenshot of the metadata I provided.  When editing OSM, it's good etiquette to fill out the "Sources" field.  I used "local knowledge" because I saw the camera in person.  If you know the camera's orientation, consider filling in the "Direction" field (I left it blank because I couldn't tell).

[[File:Osm-4-camera-metadata.png|Surveillance Camera Metadata]]



When you're done editing, click "Save" (in the upper right).  OpenStreetMap will ask you for a change comment (I said "Added surveillance camera at the corner of Williams and Division"), then click "Upload".

After a little time, you should be able to see your changes on https://cctv.masspirates.org/.