walkmapper

A Python package for plotting and animating your walk/run/ bike ride routes.

walkmapper requires only a few external packages. These can be installed by navigating to where the package is installed on your machine using the terminal, and then issuing the following command:

pip install -r requirements.txt

You can then run the example script:

python example.py

The package works by analyzing .gpx files, a common file format used by GPS devices. The Asics Runkeeper app was used in the development of this package, as it allows you to record GPS locations on your smart phone and export them from your account in the browser.

Open Street Map is a great resource for grabbing maps to use as backgrounds. Just select "Share" on the map sidebar, size your image with "Set custom dimensions", and download. Rename the photo using the methods described below, allowing the package to properly parse the latitudes and longitudes.

The class SingleRoute contains methods for analyzing and plotting a single route. It is also possible to obfuscate your address with a privacy bubble if you plan on sharing on the internet:

from walkmapper.routes import SingleRoute

route = SingleRoute("path/to/your/file.gpx", home_lat=45.0000, home_lon=-
                    122.0000, privacy_bubble_rad=150)

From here you can plot the .gpx file over a map image using the SingleRoute.plot method. The map image should have the following format: Description_UpperRightLat_UpperRightLon_LowerLeftLat_LowerLeftLon.png. If a latitude or longitude is negative, its value should be preceded by an ** m**. For example, a map centered on Portland, OR would have the file name: Portland_45.5372_m122.5831_45.4761_m122.7077.png. Providing the coordinates of the upper right and lower left corners of the map image in the title allows the plotting functions to parse these values and put appropriate boundaries on the matplotlib images.

The function map_file_name in walkmapper.utils makes formatting an image title far easier:

from walkmapper.utils import map_file_name

# this function automatically renames the image
map_file_name("images/portland.png", 45.5372, -
              122.5831, 45.4761, -122.7077, "Portland")

# saves over images/portland.png with images/Portland_45.5372_m122.5831_45.4761_m122.7077.png

The class MultipleRoutes contains methods for analyzing, plotting, and animating multiple routes:

from walkmapper.routes import MultipleRoutes

# compile all .gpx files in a folder into a list
files = ["folder/{}".format(i)
         for i in os.listdir("folder") if i.endswith(".gpx")]

# create instance of MultipleRoutes
routes = MultipleRoutes(files, home_lat=45.0000,
                        home_lon=-122.0000, privacy_bubble_rad=150)

Once a MultipleRoutes instance is created, you can display the data several ways:

map_file = "Portland_45.5372_m122.5831_45.4761_m122.7077.png"

# plot all routes with map background
routes.basic_plot(map_file)

# plot heat map
routes.basic_plot(map_file, n_bins=100, alpha=0.5)

# create .mp4 animation displaying one route after another
routes.basic_route_animation(map_file_path, fps=2, dpi=300)

# create an .mp4 animation that draws out each route sequentially
routes.snake_animation(frame_distance=50, map_file_path=map_file, fps=60, dpi=300)

See example.py for an example script, and the directory example for example data, maps, and animations.