Last year, the Public Labratory for Open Technology and Science mapped the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill using only a few, basic tools: inexpensive digital cameras, kites, balloons, and a whole lot of local volunteers. It worked. Now, their mission to create a complete civic science workflow for their communities — from software to DIY toolkits to real world outcomes — continues in the form of Balloon Mapping. Attach just about any camera to one of their large, reusable balloons and you can create hi-res maps at a very, very low cost. We call that very, very cool.
