The goal of this post is to familiarize you with different crowdsourcing projects I have participated. Crowdsourcing projects aims to gather information or input from the crowd to achieve a certain task. There are a lot of crowdsourcing projects out there but these are the ones that I found interesting and can give a sense of self-purpose (or not). So sit back, relax, and scroll.

1. Common Voice by Mozilla

Common Voice is a crowdsourcing project initiated by Mozilla. it aims to provide a publicly open voice datasets that can be used for training speech-recognition programs. Most datasets used by companies are not available online and probably not free to download. This can be of great help for individual programmers working on speech-recognition AI. These voice datasets are available for download in different languages including English, German, French and many more. You can download them for free (never tried it though) by providing your email address so they can contact you if there are changes in the data set.

How can I participate?

Anyone can participate and you don't need to register (although there is an option to register). All you need is a working speaker and microphone or an headset to get started.

There are two ways to contribute to the project. You can either Speak or Listen. Speak allows you to record yourself while reading displayed sentences on screen. You can submit recordings in batches containing five sentence recordings. If talking is not your thing, you can also try Listen. Listen allows you to check submitted recording if they are correctly read by answering Yes or No.

I cannot vouch for the quality of the voice dataset as I have not downloaded it before. You can give it a try by clicking HERE.

2. OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is basically the Wikipedia for Maps. It is built by a community of mapper that contribute and maintain map data about roads, restaurants, trail and more. As the name suggest, it is open data. It means that anyone can use it for free fro any purpose as long as you credit OpenStreetMap and its contributors. There are also mobile apps that use OpenStreetMap that let you download the map offline. If you are looking for a good quality alternative to Google Maps, this could be it

How can I Participate?

In order to contribute, you must first create an account on there website. There are lots of ways to contribute. For starters, you can use the available in-browser editor they provide after you log-in. I suggest you start by tagging establishments like cafes and shops you know in your area. You can also trace missing roads using available GPS data and imagery (Be wary of editing these stuff!). If you are a traveler, there is also an option to upload your GPS traces which can be used to improve the map.

You can check the Beginner's Guide that you can read HERE.

Fun Fact:

OpenStreetMap also has a dedicated website focused on humanitarian action and community development. It is named Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. It allows mappers to contribute in areas stricken by disaster. The data will be used primarily for relief and disaster preparations. You can use your OpenStreetMap account in order to contribute. You can contribute HERE.

3. Mapillary

Mapillary is a street-level imagery platform similar to Google Streetview. It collects photos and video snapshots from users and use and machines to stitch the photos together to create a 3d view of a certain location in the map. You can check a sample of the output HERE. It aims to compensate for the limitations of satellite imagery by provising up to date street-level images. Although it is available for viewing online, you will need to purchase a license from them if you are to use it for commercial purposes (Of course, you wont be needing a license for the contributions you gave).

How can I Participate?

First, you might be needing to create an account to upload images. Alternatively, you can use your OpenStreetMap account to register. Aside from this, you will be needing a smartphone with GPS and camera. You can also use action cams, similar to what you put on your bicycles or cars. 

After you log-in, you can start taking pictures and upload them. If you are using a smartphone, you can download the Mapillary app for both iOS and Android. This allows you to take snapshots automatically without clicking the capture button repeatedly.You can check the Mapillary help page for additional information HERE. 

Fun Fact:

You can check the 'Marketplace' on the menu tab. This gives you the list of projects which pays you when you provide imagery for a certain location. You can participate by registering on a certain project (Never tried this one before so it is uncharted territory).

These are just some of the projects I have found. If you have other crowdsourcing projects you know, you can leave a comment below. Thanks for your time!

This article is originally posted in Publish0x.com. [LINK HERE]

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