The Health, Science & Technology Podcast Episode 3: Free Software-Based Navigation: OpenStreetMap and Organic Maps

Podcast: The Health, Science & Technology Podcast
Season: 1 (Episodes 1-25)
Episode: 3
Title: Free Software-Based Navigation: OpenStreetMap and Organic Maps
Produced by: Djere Services Group
Release date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Free Software (FOSS) used in production: Pop!_OS GNU/Linux, GIMP, Shotcut, Zim Desktop Wiki
Proprietary software used in production: NotebookLM
Associated article: https://djere.com/the-health-science-and-technology-podcast-episode-3-free-software-based-navigation-openstreetmap-and-organic-maps.html

Executive Summary

When I recently started riding my road bike daily for physical fitness, navigation quickly became the most apparent problem to solve. Initially, I used Google Maps and Waze, my preferred apps for car navigation. However, I found both to be lacking. As of late 2026, Waze is not designed for bicycle navigation at all. Google Maps does support bicycle navigation, but I didn't really like it for that job when I tried. I've used Free Software for over two decades. I believe in Free Software 100% and I'm a strong advocate for using Free Software whenever possible to solve problems. I was able to solve my bicycle navigation with two extremely powerful Free Software tools: OpenStreetMap and Organic Maps. In this video/article, I'll detail the learning process that eventually led me to this powerful combination.

Keywords: OpenStreetMap, Organic Maps, Free Software, FOSS, Bicycle Navigation, Navmii, NavFree, GPS Navigation, Collaborative Mapping, Open Database License, Maps.me, Android, HTC Dream

OpenStreetMap

Imagine a completely open re-imagination of Google Maps where a global community of enthusiasts input all of the map data. That is the basic philosophy behind OpenStreetMap (Reference A). A global community of mappers contribute to OpenStreetMap by entering roads, trails, significant locations, rail stations and other information vital to successful navigation by travelers in all areas of the world. OpenStreetMap is one of the most successful open collaboration projects in world history.

In 2004, the United Kingdom conducted an Ordnance Survey, but the country's national mapping agency refused to release the data to the public under a Free Software license, even though public funds were used to conduct the survey. Steve Coast, a strong Free Software advocate, found this situation to be ethically unacceptable, so he decided to create the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project. He launched the project in 2004 under a Free Software license known as the Open Database License, which is a copyleft license similar in spirit to the GNU General Public License (GPL). The license gave users three very important and explicit freedoms:

  • Freedom 0: the sharing freedom: the freedom to copy, distribute and use the licensed database.
  • Freedom 1: the creation freedom: the freedom to produce works from the licensed database.
  • Freedom 2: the adaptation freedom: the freedom to modify, transform and build upon the licensed database.

A non-profit organization, the OpenStreetMap Foundation, was registered on August 22, 2006 to collect donations for the OpenStreetMap project, and to host the OpenStreetMap database. I signed up for an OpenStreetMap account many years ago, so the first step in using a Free Software solution for my bicycle navigation was to make sure that my OpenStreetMap account was still active: it was. I'm a longtime Android phone user, so the next step was to download the Android version of Organic Maps and connect it to my OpenStreetMap account. Then, I could use Organic Maps as my primary bicycle navigation application. But first, I'd like to share how I first got into collaborative navigation applications in the first place.

Navmii/NavFree: My Introduction to Collaborative Open-Source Navigation

I bought my first Android Phone in 2008, and it was the very first Android phone ever: The HTC Dream. It was a fantastic phone: it had a large screen and a physical tactile keyboard. In the early years of Android, high speed mobile data plans weren't ubiquitous yet. Waze existed, but it was not as polished as it is today, and mobile data wasn't as reliable as it is today. In around 2011, I discovered a navigation application called Navmii/NavFree (Reference B) that allowed you to download maps locally to your phone. Then, your phone would just have to receive GPS signals, which are free, to determine where you were physically located on the downloaded map. Then, Navmii/NavFree could navigate you to your destination. Like Organic Maps, Navmii/NavFree used OpenStreetMap for the underlying map data.

Navmii/NavFree was absolutely amazing, especially in 2011. You could download maps for different areas of the world. So if you were traveling to Turkey or Japan, you could download the map of those countries to your phone. If you lived in a particular U.S. state, say Missouri, you didn't have to download the maps for the entire United States: you could just download the Missouri map to navigate in that state.

When I committed to getting fit again by riding my road bike daily, the first thing that I did was to go to the Google Play store to see if Navmii/NavFree was still available. Unfortunately, though the app is still available for download, the project appears to have gone dead a couple of years ago. When you download the app, it can't find any servers so navigation using it is impossible. However, I was delighted when a few minutes of research informed me that Organic Maps is the modern-day successor to Navmii/NavFree.

Free Software-Based Navigation for the 21st Century: Organic Maps

Organic Maps was released in December 2020 as a fork of a previous project called Maps.me. Like Navmii/NavFree, Organic Maps allows you to download all maps locally. You can connect Organic Maps to your OpenStreetMap account, and from within Organic Maps, you can add a location to a map if it doesn't yet exist. I found this to be truly a game changer. When I go on bicycle rides, I like to navigate to specific landmarks to achieve my mileage goals. I've added several locations to OpenStreetMap via Organic Maps that weren't already there, therefore allowing me to navigate to said locations. Organic Maps is much like Wikipedia in that anyone with an OpenStreetMap account can add locations. Since it is a community-vetted project, inaccurate additions will be found, and people submitting inaccurate information will be banned from submitting locations.

Organic Maps has several navigation modes: driving, biking and walking. I've used the driving and biking modes extensively, and they're both brilliant. The demise of Navmii/NavFree informs me that maintaining a truly Free Software/open-source navigation ecosystem is both extremely difficult and extremely expensive. I'm rooting for OpenStreetMap and Organic Maps to be long-term sustainable projects that are still thriving a century from now. As such, I've provided information on how you can contribute your time and/or finances to both projects (References D, E, and F).

Thank you so much for using some of your very valuable time to watch/read this video/article!

References

  • [A] OpenStreetMap (Wikipedia). Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.
  • [B] NavFree: iPhone, iPad turn-by-turn navigation (Times of Malta). Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.
  • [C] Organic Maps (Wikipedia). Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.
  • [D] Organic Maps (Donate): Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.
  • [E] Organic Maps (Contribute): Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.
  • [F] OpenStreetMap (Donate): Retrieved June 18, 2026 from here.

Summary Tree

Free Software-Based Navigation
├── Production Metadata
│   ├── Podcast: The Health, Science & Technology Podcast (Season 1, Ep 3)
│   ├── Producer: Djere Services Group
│   ├── Date: June 23, 2026
│   └── Tech Stack: Pop!_OS, GIMP, Shotcut, Zim Desktop Wiki, NotebookLM
├── Executive Summary
│   ├── Goal: Reliable bicycle navigation for daily fitness
│   ├── Rejected Apps: Waze (no bike support), Google Maps (unsatisfactory)
│   └── Chosen Solution: OpenStreetMap combined with Organic Maps
├── OpenStreetMap (OSM)
│   ├── Concept: Global, community-driven open mapping collaboration
│   ├── Origin: Founded in 2004 by Steve Coast
│   ├── Catalyst: UK Ordnance Survey withholding public data
│   ├── License: Open Database License (ODbL)
│   │   ├── Freedom 0: Share (copy, distribute, use)
│   │   ├── Freedom 1: Create (produce works)
│   │   └── Freedom 2: Adapt (modify, transform, build upon)
│   └── Administration: OpenStreetMap Foundation (registered Aug 2006)
├── Navmii/NavFree (Historical Context)
│   ├── Discovery: Around 2011 on early Android (HTC Dream)
│   ├── Capability: Allowed local offline map downloads using OSM data
│   └── Current Status: Project dead, servers unreachable
├── Organic Maps (Modern Solution)
│   ├── Origin: Released Dec 2020 as a fork of Maps.me
│   ├── Core Features: Local offline maps, OSM integration
│   ├── Community Aspect: Users can add missing landmarks directly to OSM
│   └── Navigation Modes: Driving, Biking, Walking
└── Conclusion & References
    ├── Outlook: FOSS navigation is hard to maintain; needs long-term sustainability
    ├── Call to Action: Rooting for the projects, links provided to donate/contribute
    └── References: 6 sources listed (Wikipedia, Times of Malta, App sites)

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