changed: - == What is the problem? The geographic information databases of today are closed. Although in many cases developed with public funds, they remain out of reach of citizens and small organizations, preventing all kinds of new layers of activity that could be built upon them to emerge. But we are taking this problem into our hands - collecting and publishing freely licensed data in communities like Open Street Map. The solution: design free tools for free data communities, to make open source mapping easier, faster and also more fun! == What is Frida V? Frida V. - Free Ride Data Aquisition Vehicle (aka Free Data Vehicle) is a rugged and comfortable bicycle equipped for efficient exploration and mapping of public urban spaces. It carries a small computer, GPS positioning device, 802.11 wireless network transciever and a basic audiovisual recording unit. The consolidated software and hardware assembly enables automated mapping of stumbled wireless networks, easy creation of location-tagged media and opportunistic synchronization with a server resource on the internet. In other words, let the warriding, streetmapping and rideblogging begin! == Make your own Frida V? The hardware and software used and developed for the project are documented on the project website, with source for the new components. People wishing to replicate the design can also get further assistance by email. The control panel is a simple set of switches and lights and connects to the parallel port in the first Frida V implementation. Work is under way to design a second generation system based on a consumer grade wireless router running Linux with USB and ethernet peripherals, including an Arduino board to interface the control panel and any additional sensors or custom hardware used in concrete applications. == Documentation Links communication schematic: http://twiki.ljudmila.org/pub/Luka/FridaV/frida-communication-diagram.pdf short video: http://twiki.ljudmila.org/pub/Luka/FridaMedia/fridav-deaf04-v2dvd.ogg mounting equipment: http://www.ljudmila.org/~luka/fridav-buildup/ photos captured with the bicycle: http://ljudmila.org/~luka/frida/photo/ example map (poster for an exhibition in ljubljana): http://twiki.ljudmila.org/pub/Luka/FridaGraphics/fridaposterzaweb.pdf Software Linux, PERL, PostgreSQL, wpa-supplicant, gpsd, gpsbabel, xawtv, parapin, Inkscape <img src="img_2497.jpg" /> (printsize image: http://www.ljudmila.org/~luka/fridav-buildup/hq/IMG_2497.JPG )