Automated point feature label placement using backtracking algorithm with an adjacent graph

Abstract

Map labels used to identify various features and objects are a fundamental part of producing good graphs and maps. It is essential that map labels be placed in a clear and unobscured manner. Label placement is a fundamental part of producing good maps and essential item to communicate spatial information. There are three types of features that need to be labeled: point features, linear features and area features. Point label placement is a challenging problem in geoinformatics and automated cartography. In this paper we are concerned with the placement of labels for point features. Point feature label placement generally considers calculating candidate positions and handling the overlapping, as the overlapping occurs only near the points and labels, in our algorithm, we firstly detect the neighboring points using Delaunay triangulation, and build an adjacent graph, then guide the point feature labels placement using backtracking with an adjacent graph.