This is a collection of tools to compute elevation profiles between two points.
It makes an extensive use of GDAL to handle DEM files to get elevation data from.
- Clone this repository
- Check the requirements (python >= 2.7 and the libraries listed bellow)
- Download a DEM (see DEM maps and Tests)
./profile_output.py lat1 long1 lat2 long2 -d path/to/dem/file
Look for the generated profile.json file
./profile_output.py lat1 long1 lat2 long2 -d path/to/dem/file -of png
Look for the generated profile.png file
./profile_server.py -d path/to/dem/file
- Browse to
http://localhost:8080/profile/json?lat1=lat1&long1=long1&lat2=lat2&long2=long2for JSON - Browse to
http://localhost:8080/profile/png?lat1=lat1&long1=long1&lat2=lat2&long2=long2for PNG
It needs the following python libraries to work correctly:
- NumPy (1.9.2)
- GDAL (1.11.2 <- not the last one)
- CherryPy (3.8.0) (to run the web server)
- pytest (2.7.2) (to run tests)
- matplotlib (1.4.3)
These libraries can be obtained by pip or easy_install. They may need two following system packages to work correctly:
- GDAL headers (gdal-devel), libs (libgdal1) and python bindings (python-gdal), main binaries can be useful too (gdal)
- NumPy headers (python-numpy-devel) and libs (python-numpy)
- PROJ headers (libproj-devel) and libs (libproj0 and libproj9)
See https://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/wiki/DownloadingGdalBinaries to know how to get GDAL.
A virtualenv can be used (in fact, I use one). Consider using the --no-site-packages option.
On Linux based systems, GDAL python module install may need to have the headers location correctly specified:
export CPLUS_INCLUDE_PATH=/usr/include/gdal
export C_INCLUDE_PATH=/usr/include/gdal
The MacOS X link (http://www.kyngchaos.com/software:frameworks) contains a package that bundles all the GDAL requirements (GDAL Complete Framework) except NumPy that should already be installed in the system.
The gdal python library may not work in a virtualenv, in that case, you can copy the library included in the GDAL Framework using the following command inside your environment:
cp -R /Library/Frameworks/GDAL.framework/Versions/1.11/Python/2.7/site-packages/* <env>/lib/python2.7/site-packages
The elevation related tools need a data elevation model (DEM) to work correctly.
These DEMs are known to work:
Digital Elevation Model over Europe (EU-DEM)
The EU-DEM dataset is a realisation of the Copernicus programme, managed by the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry.
The EU-DEM is a hybrid product based on SRTM and ASTER GDEM data fused by a weighted averaging approach and it has been generated as a contiguous dataset divided into 1 degree by 1 degree tiles, corresponding to the SRTM naming convention.
http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eu-dem#tab-metadata
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
SRTM was a joint project of NASA, the German and Italian space agencies, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
It was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.
SRTM flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in February 2000, mapping Earth's topography between 56 degrees south and 60 degrees north of the equator
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-321
Tests use the following DEM: _dem/N43E001.hgt from SRTM.
It can be downloaded from the following link: http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Eurasia/N43E001.hgt.zip
Download, unzip and copy it to the _dem folder at the root of the project.
It is also the default DEM when running the tools (specified in the config.ini file). It can be changed either in the config file or by command line.
- Only works with 1 DEM file, if the path is among 2 or more DEMs, it won't work
- More tests (there are currently not enough)
- Add some scoring about the probable visibility between two elevated points
Q: Why not use existing tools or websites such as heywhatsthat, Google Maps or OpenStreetMap?
A: I wanted to propose an alternative that could be completely independent. It could be run on a notebook without an Internet connection if needed.
Q: Why python?
A: When I searched for elevation profile dev topics on the Internet, I saw a lot of source code written in python, so I choose it to have more support in case of problems. Moreover it was a good occasion to learn python because I'm a newb.
Q: What is that name?!? (YunoSeeMe)
A: It comes from a popular meme (Y U NO...), the letter case is similar to YunoHost. It is the question that these tools try to answer => Why don't you se me? In fact the real question answered is: How well do you see me?
All files provided here are licensed under the Simplified BSD "2-Clause" License. See the LICENSE file for the complete copyright notice.