Is there a Mapillary policy for mapping graveyards so that the text on the grave stones can be read?
This could be used of genealogist and could be a way to atract new users and contributors.
I would say that’s a fair use of the application. Probably not what @jesolem had in mind, but it sounds like a valid thing to do!
I think the organisation that runs the graveyard is the one you should ask. Good idea though…
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Of course they should agree, but it would be of no use if Mapillary blurred all the text.
I found this link (in swedish) about mapping grave yards. And it is allowed in Sweden 
http://grav.genealogi.se/om_proj.php
And I found this link (in Dutch) where en lawyer says that you (probably) don’t need permission to take pictures of grave stones and publish them.
http://www.uitvaart.nl/juridisch/begraven/overig-begraven-begraafplaats/foto-s-van-graven-toestemming/851
This is the subject of OCR tagging.
Unfortunately in Moscow municilal gravel operator disallow photo, after gothic culture became popular in 2007 :-). This ban illegal, but there is nobody to protest.
Meanwhile in St-Petersburg gravel yards have many entrances, and use locals to bypass.
http://www.mapillary.com/map/im/fmySr2Z_4nf0n0r9PuvwuA/photo
http://www.mapillary.com/map/im/Pp-XqtiabX6GUBsW_jNCjw/photo
http://www.mapillary.com/map/im/WoTKZSKf3casZN_dGzzZzQ/photo
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Yes but not necessarily. Genealogy sites kan have the text in their own databases an link to mapillary for the pictures and exact location of the gravestone.
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In Denmark we have a site like http://www.findengrav.dk/ (Find a grave) so it looks like it is OK here to. But we also have a rule, that if a “death or grave register” is handed over to the governmental archives, info will not be made public until it is 10 years old. This is probably not anybody will be punished for violating.
I concur with asking each site for permission. Then you can also be sure not to be thrown out and you can tell people you meat that you are doing it with an agreement from the site and with respect for the dead.
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In the U.S., graveyards that are not on private property are generally considered public-access and I’m not aware of any restrictions on publishing data from them. They can have official open/close hours, though. And even on private property (e.g., churches), much of the time the property owner doesn’t restrict gravesite visits.
But asking first is always good form.
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Here is a link to a website in danish with letters from the government that asserts that it is okay in Denmark.
@harry, great idea. I thought the same some time back and just started doing it. Mapillary is about mapping the entire world, after all!
There are some websites already out there that are dedicated to this. Notably:
which is part of the ancestry.com
also which is partnered with myheritage.com
Although i see the benefit, I strongly advise everyone to do their research into how the photos, information and other contributions are managed afterwards, as some of the copyright/ownership data may be incompatible with how you wish to contribute.
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Y’know, I thought about doing this, especially at some of the remote cemeteries I’ve found…
i took pictures of a graveyard in my area to fill it in the point cloud but i was hoping the ai would be able to detect the individual graves and map them on openstreetmap. i seen findagrave uses gps to map out the location of graves hopefully mapillary will detect graves and suggest they’er locations to openstreetmap the same way it detects other features
Individual graves are not to be mapped on OSM I thought? Unless they have historical significance
Photo mapping would be useful. The GPS marking that Find A Grave uses is manually added and/or based on cheap consumer GPS which is often quite wrong. It’ll get you to the graveyard but it’s not uncommon to be nothing close to the actual grave.
I think the idea is cool. The question is what the’s value it’s providing? GIven the inaccuracies of most GPS data, could having something be worse than nothing? And how many names would we actually get?
I captured a small graveyard on mapillary a few years ago.
Whilst the coverage and accuracy of GPS is good enough, I think the main issue would be blurring (of photos and in some cases of text/names)
I think itd be Awesome if Mapillary was able to auto mark graves like it does other segmented data, the value is people would have easier knowledge of when there is more recent photos of graves than what is currently shown on FindAGrave not to mention what about viewing a digital twin of a cemetery so people cannot only know where a cemetery is but are able to find where the grave is. This could also be ideal for knowing when a grave needs maintenance.
Many people aren’t able to travel to see graves, so crowd-sourcing imagery has been handy for FindAGrave, but AI detection of graves could help reduce the workload on contributors.
Also, the elderly would love the ease of viewing and showing their descendants where relatives’ graves are.
I think it’d be ideal if on FindAGrave, they showed a Mapillary nerf or point cloud of the selected cemetery with pins of graves
Plus, it’d give peace of mind knowing that tombstones are not only there but also in good condition.
I think if integrated, more people might find out about Mapillary and even help contribute seeing how it helps them and can help others 