Recent content on ARKives

 This is the second part of the Decoding GeoAI series, an attempt to make sense of that new AI language. It’s meant to explain some buzzwords in the modern AI era of Geospatial, not a deep dive into the AI concepts, more of a beginner’s glossary. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.…

 This article is intended to explain some buzzwords in the modern AI era of Geospatial. This is not a deep dive into the AI concepts but a beginner’s glossary. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 A couple of months ago, I wrote a mini post asking a question many of…
A long-time dream, finally taking shape. 
 My journey with public mapping began back in 2014 during the Koorachundu mapping exercise. Since then, one idea kept coming back to us - can we build a clean, insightful infographic combining election data with maps? Sounds simple, but the reality was anything but. 
The biggest hurdle was always the same: administrative maps. The only official…
Sparta Maps is the field data collection suite developed by SatSure Analytics India with a goal to take geospatial to the field. I worked as the product manager for the app right from the ideation, conceptualisation, building and release of the app and its features. Sparta Maps suite comprises a mobile app and a web dashboard. Additional focus is given to ensure the valid marking is made with a…
REACH App (Resource Aggregation in Critical Hours), a disaster management application for the local self-government or NGOs. I was the Product Manager for the application. The webapp was developed under the Saakhi Charitable Society and the project was funded by the Malabar Chamber of Commerce. The application was built by inspiring the rescue operations during the Kerala Floods 2018 and validated…

 This article explains the Map Tiles and the basic behind it. It also explains the two map tiling methods raster tiles and vector tiles. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Let’s analyse the general flow 
 
 Need a map? → Download vectors and rasters → Clean data → Store…
A small experience story!
Back in 2021-‘22, when I was building Sparta Maps - our ground truth data collection platform - I remember the long conversations and brainstorming for preventing fraudulent activities during field data collection. How do you ensure the field agents actually visit the farm? How do you know how to eliminate marking useless polygons/points? We designed safeguards,…

 This article is intended to explain some basics of Geospatial, which many will get confused about and some smart ways to ensure you won’t get confused again. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 Recently, I was interacting with a junior and saw a print pinned to the…

 In the last two parts of the series Mapping for Tomorrow: Building Resilience through OpenStreetMap Contributions , we have seen Why I started mapping in OSM and What motivated me to map. In this part, I will discuss about the ways one can (or at least the ways I have done) consistently make contributions to OSM. Let’s see the How part from my perspective. 
 License: This article is…

 In this blog I talk about certain tech and new words which I came across or started working with in 2024. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 When the new year raises its curtain it’s always good to look back and have a reflection on the past and learn from it. This…
Data privacy and protection is always a comedy in India. Most people are either aware or do not care or both. “What will they do with my data?” is a common question which most of the evangelists gets in return when they try to explain. The increased popularity of Digi Yatra, people finding it convenient and are not concerned on the privacy is one of the latest sign on this. 
…

 This is the blog version of my talk From Data Silos to Data Sharing-A Geodata Perspective at State of the Map Asia 2024, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Here I am to touch upon are standards and their needs. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 Two years back I had written Role…

 Through this article I try to explain some engineering truths about Mullaperiyar Dam, as a follow up to my previous article . 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 I am repeating my claim that I am neither a dam safety expert nor someone who can vouch for the competency of…

 Through this article I try to explain the technical glitch that happened with Google Maps over Mullaperiyar Dam. Which was used as an unscientific reference to prove the dam is unsafe. My intention is only to educate the society on google map aspect and not support any other views. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC…

 In the first part of the series , The Mapping Evolution In My Life I laid out my journey that brought me to OSM, and also made an attempt to discuss the scope of the platform through discussion on “What is OSM?” and “Why OSM?”. In this second part, let us talk about the Motivation for Contributing to OSM, and delve into some OSM Impact Stories. 
 License: This article is licensed under…
Yesterday when I was in the billing queue of a South Indian restaurant in the bus stand, an unexpected error in their billing system caused significant disruption. The restaurant serves its dishes on banana leaves placed over plates, adding a traditional touch and easing cleanup. The billing process is closely tied to the kitchen inventory(or at least I hope so with a fixed count of each dish),…

 Why are you contributing to OpenStreetMap? How did you end up in OpenStreetMap? Why should someone contribute to OpenStreetMap? etc. are some of the many questions I used to get when talking about OpenStreetMap. This blog is a deep dive into my journey with OSM, highlighting its transformative impact on my life, career, and the broader mapping landscape. As you know I can talk endlessly…

 It’s been a while I have been considering sharing my thoughts about the Public and Mass Transit Systems and City Dynamics. Let me take my bail, it’s just my thoughts with minimal research. There are a lot of aspects to be talked about on these, hence putting it as a series - Mobility and Urban Dynamics (thanks to unsungnovelty for implementing the series feature in this theme ).…

 This article is about the vandalism on map 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 “A map says to you, read me carefully, follow me closely, doubt me not… I am the earth in the palm of your hand” said Aviator Beryl Markham, the first person to fly non-stop across…

 The blog is to showcase and provide some descriptions of the maps I made during the 30 Day Map Challenge 2022. 
 License: This article and the maps in this are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 30 Day Map Challenge was first proposed by Topi Tjukanov . It is a map making challenge in the month of November - a…

 Through this article I try to explain the technical glich happened with Google Maps over International Airport of Kochi. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Preface 
 In last June (2021), there rose a mysterious island in Kochi. No No No..this is not a fantasy story I am going to…
The proposed application is an all in one solution for all the problems in construction industry. A web based system with the spatial aspects, both GIS and satellite remote sensing indulged with big data analytics takes the proposed project management system to the next level not just a project management but a complete software package for the construction industry covering the entire aspect of…
A Machine Learning Driven Geo-intelligent Locality Recommendation System (LoReS) for finding the real estate properties based on customer segmentation approach. 
 Why I did the project? 
 The idea behind developing LoReS was sparked when I was searching for a place to stay during my masters in Pune. There was certain criteria in my mind for the place like it should be near the college,…

 Location intelligence is the new buzzword in the industry. What gave new intelligence to location science? What triggered the recent boom of new startups around various applications of location services? A deep dive into these questions reveal the fuel behind these changes as two things: the advancement in smartphone technology and the ecosystem it created; and Mobile GIS. This article…
Development of a module and algorithm for removing the cloud cover form optical satellite imagery without losing the data and using FOSS libraries and tools. 
 Tech 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Language 
 Python 
 
 
 Library 
 GDAL,Numpy etc. 
 
 
 
 Timeline 
 Published Date: : December 2019 
 License 
 Sorry…
A study to develop a public transport composite social need index for Kozhikode City Corporation using GIS tools. 
 Tech 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Desktop GIS 
 QGIS 
 
 
 Algorithm 
 AHP and Overlay Analysis 
 
 
 
 Timeline 
 Published: June 2017 

A web based information system that provides every possible geographical as well as infrastructural information about campus. The facility management system was developed as a pilot project on the campus. 
 Why I did the project? 
 The idea behind project was to demonstrate the capabilities of Geospatial Technology in the field of facility management. The project was designe to scale as a…

 നിങ്ങൾക്ക്മാപ്പ്ഇല്ല (Read as Ningalku Map Illa) is the hashtag I started on social media for flagging wrong maps of Kerala. This is the expanded form of my Twitter thread which features wrong maps of Kerala by various organisations. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Recently social…

 This blog is on the controversial island formation stories near Kochi coast and the truth behind it. The island is just a visual artefact. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Earlier this month, there were reports flooding on the new channels, online media and the wildfire social…

 In this article I have tried to explain the concepts of maps and map projections with minimum technicalities even for a non technical reader to understand. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Yes, you read it right. Maps are always wrong! Surprised? I can explain. 
 Let me start…

 This cartoon is part of my AnB cartoon series and was done on 2017. Republishing it here since I think it is still valid. 
 License: This art is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 The Preface 
 Long back in 2013, I decided to start a cartoon series. The reason behind was that I am too lazy to write about…

 This article is an extension to the GDAL installation guide I published earlier on the SatSure blog. 
 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 Many approached me with concerns that those mentioned in the earlier article were not working in their system. The problem often was happening with…

 
 Role of Open Data in the Geospatial World on SatSure’s Blog 
 An article on the Open data and why comapnies need to contribute to open data. 
 Article Tags : Geospatial Tech Open Data 
 
 
 OSM Kerala - The past, present, and future. on Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) blog 
 A short article on the history of OpenStreetMap Kerala (OSMKerala)…
14 December 2025 - Asianet News, Malayalam News 
 
 Asianet News report (read Malayalam ) on the OpenDataKerala Team’s Kerala LSGI Election data visualisation project.
 
 
 
 
 29 June 2023 - Mathrubhumi, Malayalam Daily 
 
 Mathrubhumi news report (read Malayalam , English ) based on my blog post . 
 
 
 
 
 31 July 2022 - The Hindu…
Maps are not just the big pictures in the hands of surveyors or sailors or tourists anymore. They are now a tool for information exchange. Unlike a decade ago now you can see maps everywhere. Maps have come out of the school textbooks and administrative documents to the fingertips of every individual. This democratisation of maps is the result of the advancement in technology and medium. The…

 This is a non tech writting. This article was published first in Geominds blog 
 This is the story of Geominds. “How Geominds was born?” - A startup story naratted by the co-founder! 
 
 Geominds , unlike most other organisations (or companies), did not form after years of planning and research. It was formed after a fateful train journey with some like-minded people…

 License: This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. 
 
 For any geospatial analysis data is most important. Like said “Garbage in Garbage out” without relevant and reliable data the results are also unreliable. The lion share of the cost and time of a geospatial project is consumed by the data collection and…
In News | As a Guest writer 
 2026 
 
 24 January 2026 - Why Building Community in India needs a Local First Approach, lessons from OSM Kerala , a session and event co chair organiser at State of the India 2026 at Nashik Engineering Cluster, Nashik, Maharashtra. 
 23 January 2026 - Standards Are Boring, but Not Unimportant , a talk at FOSS4G Asia , Nashik, Maharashtra. [ Watch…
Greetings people! 
 I’m Arjun Gangadharan a.k.a. Ark Arjun, a Geospatial, Civil engineer from Palakkad, in the valley of the Western Ghats in the south of India. 
 I started out working in the Civil Engineering field after my UG, working across India and Saudi Arabia, but have been fortunate enough to be able to pursue my passion in Geospatial technology after completing Master of…
©2019-2022 arkArjun 
 Contents / arts unless specified 
 
 

Contents / arts unless specified are licensed under - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) . 
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 “Brahma” is a Hugo static site generator theme used by this website and created by my friend Nikhil (unsungnovelty) . Do DM him at…
a Geospatial Engineer from Kerala. This site is a collection of my articles, thoughts and about me. I here talks about #Geospatial Technology , #GIS , #RemoteSensing , #OpenData , #OpenStreetMap etc. 
 You can read about me in the About section. You can see my blogs in the Posts section, short posts in Mini section and external writings in the As Guest Writer section. You can also know about…