General-purpose Maps Research Articles

SUITABILITY AND CHALLENGES OF OPEN MAPS FOR EUROPE DATA FOR CREATING A GENERAL PURPOSE SMALL-SCALE MAP OF CROATIA

Abstract. The adoption of the Open Data Directive in 2019 compelled the launch of the Open Maps for Europe project, aiming to provide accessible and harmonized geospatial data from over 40 European countries. This research investigates the suitability of Open Maps for Europe data for creating a general purpose small-scale map of Croatia. The study applies digital cartographic procedures to produce the map, while assessing data quality and fitness for this task. The methodology for map creation involved seven key steps: (1) extracting data from the 1:250,000 scale EuroRegionalMap dataset, (2) performing geometric, topological, and attribute conversions, (3) applying cartographic generalization to adapt the map content to a 1:500,000 scale, (4) conducting data quality checks, (5) addressing exceptions, (6) symbolizing and placing names, and (7) designing a printable map. The resulting general-purpose map of Croatia at a 1:500 000 scale demonstrates that Open Maps for Europe data is generally suitable for map creation at this scale. However, challenges such as data heterogeneity among countries, data gaps in certain areas, inappropriate levels of generalization, and disordered geometry may arise. The map created should be considered an intermediate, rather than a reliable and trustworthy final product since rigorous quality control measures should be undertaken to produce the final map.

Novel material representation method via a deep learning model for multi-scale topology optimization

In this paper, a novel deep learning-aided material representation scheme for multi-scale topology optimization is proposed. This method shows that it is possible to determine a general-purpose mapping from a low-dimensional variable to the image of microstructures. A deep generative model learns features from microstructural images to find manifolds defined in the low-dimensional latent space, then a regression model is trained to fit the equivalent material properties. After training, the generator and predictor networks are integrated into the multi-scale topology optimization process to reduce the number of design variables and replace the homogenization computation, respectively. With the proposed material representation method, the optimization algorithm converges faster, while automatically satisfying complicated geometrical restrictions without any additional constraints. Due to the generator network, the microstructures can be interpolated over the latent manifold. It enables the multi-scale topology optimization can be conducted over an irregular design domain with unstructured mesh. The effectiveness of this method is tested with two simple manually designed microstructures and a complex one obtained by inverse homogenization, and its performance is discussed based on the number of design variables, computational efficiency, and optimized multi-scale design results. The optimization performance tends to be improved as the latent dimensions increase. The results show that, on average, the elapsed time per iteration of the proposed method is close to two percent of that of conventional methods. By means of the ability to interpolate microstructures, a high-resolution full-scale realization can be obtained from a lower-resolution design, and the proposed method can utilize an unstructured mesh in multi-scale topology optimization.

Evaluating schematic route maps in wayfinding tasks for in-car navigation

ABSTRACT Today’s navigation systems use topographic maps to communicate route information. Being general-purpose maps, topographic maps lack optimal support for the specific task of route reading and navigation. In the public transportation domain, research demonstrated that topographic maps do not support planning of routes as good as schematic maps. Our current paper applies this idea to the domain of in-car navigation. Schematic maps emphasize functional aspects of geography and direction information by highlighting information relevant to navigation actions and orientation. However, there is a lack of systematic studies researching the usability of schematic cartography in wayfinding tasks. This article evaluates schematic route maps, created with an algorithm developed in our previous work, regarding user interaction, navigation performance, and spatial memorability. We compare these schematic maps with correspondent non-schematic ones in two different tasks: prospective and situated (driving simulator) route reading. The schematic map and the corresponding non-schematic map are identical in terms of their elements and topology; they vary only in their geometric shape: on the schematic maps, features are highly generalized, following schematic simplification rules for clarity. The experimental data shows that participants using the schematic route maps require fewer map interactions to complete the tasks, orientation information is more visible and leads to more accurate spatial knowledge acquisition. This result contributes to a better understanding of schematic route visualizations’ benefits to support users in wayfinding and orientation tasks.

Microwave Microscopy and Its Applications

Understanding the nanoscale electrodynamic properties of a material at microwave frequencies is of great interest for materials science, condensed matter physics, device engineering, and biology. With specialized probes, sensitive detection electronics, and improved scanning platforms, microwave microscopy has become an important tool for cutting-edge materials research in the past decade. In this article, we review the basic components and data interpretation of microwave imaging and its broad range of applications. In addition to the general-purpose mapping of permittivity and conductivity, microwave microscopy is now exploited to perform quantitative measurements on semiconductor devices, photosensitive materials, ferroelectric domains and domain walls, and acoustic-wave systems. Implementation of the technique in low-temperature and high-magnetic-field chambers has also led to major discoveries in quantum materials with strong correlation and topological order. We conclude the review with an outlook of the ultimate resolution, operation frequency, and future industrial and academic applications of near-field microwave microscopy.

Hexagonal hierarchical cartogram: Towards a thematic map of Brazil

The popularity and availability of digital tools has boosted the use of thematic maps in infographics and data visualizations. Unlike general purpose maps, thematic maps are aimed at communicating the spatial distribution of a particular topic or theme, such as population density, voter preference or income. Since thematic maps have been more often studied and tailored for European and North American countries, some of them need adjustment to properly represent Brazilian states, according to their needs. The aim of this paper is to present the hexagonal hierarchical cartogram, which represents Brazilian states in a normalized geographical format using single-hue color scales to show magnitude. We demonstrate its use by mapping average grades obtained by students of all Brazilian states in a national exam called ENEM (Exame Nacional do Ensino Medio).

Research Trend Analysis of Geospatial Information in South Korea Using Text-Mining Technology

The purpose of this study was to analyze geospatial information (GI) research trends using text-mining techniques. Data were collected from 869 papers found in the Korea Citation Index (KCI) database (DB). Keywords extracted from these papers were classified into 13 GI domains and 13 research domains. We conducted basic statistical analyses (e.g., frequency and time series analyses) and network analyses, using such measures as frequency, degree, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality, on the resulting domains. We subdivided the most frequent GI domain for more detailed analysis. Such processes permit an analysis of the relationships between the Research Fields associated with each GI. Our time series analysis found that the Climate and Satellite Image domain frequencies continuously increased. Satellite Image, General-Purpose Map, and Natural Disaster Map in the GI domain and Climate and Natural Disaster in the Research Field domain appeared in the center of the GI-Research Field network. We subdivided the Satellite Image domain for detailed analysis. As a result, LANDSAT, KOMPSAT, and MODIS displayed high scores on the frequency, degree, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality indices. These results will be useful in GI-based interdisciplinary research and the selection of new research themes.

Implications of Web Mercator and Its Use in Online Mapping

Online interactive maps have become a popular means of communicating with spatial data. In most online mapping systems, Web Mercator has become the dominant projection. While the Mercator projection has a long history of discussion about its inappropriateness for general-purpose mapping, particularly at the global scale, and seems to have been virtually phased out for general-purpose global-scale print maps, it has seen a resurgence in popularity in Web Mercator form. This article theorizes on how Web Mercator came to be widely used for online maps and what this might mean in terms of data display, technical aspects of map generation and distribution, design, and cognition of spatial patterns. The authors emphasize details of where the projection excels and where it does not, as well as some of its advantages and disadvantages for cartographic communication, and conclude with some research directions that may help to develop better solutions to the problem of projections for general-purpose, multi-scale Web mapping.

Space assets for demining assistance

Populations emerging from armed conflicts often remain threatened by landmines and explosive remnants of war. The international mine action community is concerned with the relief of this threat. The Space Assets for Demining Assistance (SADA) undertaking is a set of activities that aim at developing new services to improve the socio-economic impact of mine action activities, primarily focused on the release of land thought to be contaminated, a process described as land release. SADA was originally initiated by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). It has been implemented under the Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) program of the European Space Agency (ESA).Land release in mine action is the process whereby the demining community identifies, surveys and prioritizes suspected hazardous areas for more detailed investigation, which eventually results in the clearance of landmines and other explosives, thereby releasing land to the local population. SADA has a broad scope, covering activities, such as planning (risk and impact analysis, prioritization, and resource management), field operations and reporting.SADA services are developed in two phases: feasibility studies followed by demonstration projects. Three parallel feasibility studies have been performed. They aimed at defining an integrated set of space enabled services to support the land release process in mine action, and at analyzing their added value, viability and sustainability. The needs of the mine action sector have been assessed and the potential contribution of space assets has been identified. Support services have been formulated. To test their fieldability, proofs of concept involving mine action end users in various operational field settings have been performed by each of the study teams. The economic viability has also been assessed.Whenever relevant and cost-effective, SADA aims at integrating Earth observation data, GNSS navigation and SatCom technologies with existing mine action tools and procedures, as well as with novel aerial survey technologies. Such conformity with existing user processes, as well as available budgets and appropriateness of technology based solutions given the field level operational setting are important conditions for success. The studies have demonstrated that Earth observation data, satellite navigation solutions and in some cases, satellite communication, indeed can provide added value to mine action activities if properly tailored based on close user interaction and provided through a suitable channel. Such added value for example includes easy and sustained access to Earth observation data for general purpose mapping, land use assessment for post-release progress reporting, and multi-source data fusion algorithms to help quantify risks and socio-economic impact for prioritization and planning purposes. The environment and boundaries of a hazardous area can also be better specified to support the land release process including detailed survey and clearance operations. Satellite communication can help to provide relevant data to remote locations, but is not regarded as strongly user driven. Finally, satellite navigation can support more precise non-technical surveys, as well as aerial observation with small planes or hand-launched UAV's.To ensure the activity is genuinely user driven, the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) plays an important role as ESA’s external advisor. ESA is furthermore supported by a representative field operator, the Swiss Foundation of Mine Action (FSD), providing ESA with a direct connection to the field level end users. Specifically FSD has provided a shared user needs baseline to the three study teams. To ensure solutions meet with end user requirements, the study teams themselves include mine action representatives and have interacted closely with their pre-existing and newly established contacts within the mine action community.

Metadynamics in the conformational space nonlinearly dimensionally reduced by Isomap

Atomic motions in molecules are not linear. This infers that nonlinear dimensionality reduction methods can outperform linear ones in analysis of collective atomic motions. In addition, nonlinear collective motions can be used as potentially efficient guides for biased simulation techniques. Here we present a simulation with a bias potential acting in the directions of collective motions determined by a nonlinear dimensionality reduction method. Ad hoc generated conformations of trans,trans-1,2,4-trifluorocyclooctane were analyzed by Isomap method to map these 72-dimensional coordinates to three dimensions, as described by Brown and co-workers [J. Chem. Phys. 129, 064118 (2008)]. Metadynamics employing the three-dimensional embeddings as collective variables was applied to explore all relevant conformations of the studied system and to calculate its conformational free energy surface. The method sampled all relevant conformations (boat, boat-chair, and crown) and corresponding transition structures inaccessible by an unbiased simulation. This scheme allows to use essentially any parameter of the system as a collective variable in biased simulations. Moreover, the scheme we used for mapping out-of-sample conformations from the 72D to 3D space can be used as a general purpose mapping for dimensionality reduction, beyond the context of molecular modeling.

Placegram: A Diagrammatic Map for Personal Geotagged Data Browsing

Geotagging personal data such as photos and videos are continuously becoming easier and more popular. Nevertheless, browsing such data on general purpose maps can be difficult, due to the frequent zoom and pan operations as well as visual components unnecessary for the task. This paper presents Placegram, a compact diagrammatic map visualization for personal geotagged data browsing based on cognitive map theories. An evaluation using real-life data sets shows that the speed of finding and pointing to places from the participants' own data increased by a factor of 2.1-2.9, and the number of interesting places discovered from others' data within a time limit increased by 48.8 percent in Placegram compared to a general purpose map. Placegram was even slightly faster than a simple text list, while at the same time, preserving the geographic senses of direction and location. Subjective ratings and comments from participants support these results, indicating that Placegram is significantly preferred over both a general map and a text list.

A Methodology for Rapid Prototyping Peak-Constrained Least-Squares Bit-Serial Finite Impulse Response Filters in FPGAs

Area-efficient peak-constrained least-squares (PCLS) bit-serial finite impulse response (FIR) filter implementations can be rapidly prototyped in field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) with the methodology presented in this paper. Faster generation of the FPGA configuration bitstream is possible with a new application-specific mapping and placement method that uses JBits to avoid conventional general-purpose mapping and placement tools. JBits is a set of Java classes that provide an interface into the Xilinx Virtex FPGA configuration bitstream, allowing the user to generate new configuration bitstreams. PCLS coefficient generation allows passband-to-stopband energy ratio (PSR) performance to be traded for a reduction in the filter's hardware cost without altering the minimum stopband attenuation. Fixed-point coefficients that meet the frequency response and hardware cost specifications can be generated with the PCLS method. It is not possible to meet these specifications solely by the quantization of floating-point coefficients generated in other methods.

Some Estimates of Coastal Erosion in Russia

Based on the general-purpose mapping of Russian abrasion coasts, it has been established that the erosion is typical of all coastal regions and is observed over 25 000 km of the coastline length. It has been noted that Russia annually loses up to 5000 ha of most important coastal areas as a result of erosion and recession of coasts and flooding of lowlands, and up to 115 million tons of sediments per year are carried away into the sea during coastal erosion only in the northern regions of European Russia.

Seismic hazard maps for the U.K.

Past studies of seismic hazard in the U.K. that have used modern probabilistic methods of hazard assessment have been site-specific studies, mostly in connection with nuclear installations. There has been a need for general-purpose maps of seismic hazard to show relative variation of exposure within the U.K. and to give some guidance on absolute values. Such maps have now been produced, incorporating, for the first time, the wealth of new information on historical earthquakes in Britain that has been gathered over the last 15 years. The hazard calculations were undertaken using a new computer code based on the USGS program SEISRISK III, but incorporating a ‘logic tree’ approach to model variation in the input parameters (e.g. focal depth) or uncertainty in the formulation of the model (e.g. attenuation parameters). An innovative approach was taken to the formulation of seismic source zones, in which two overlapping models were employed. The first of these uses relatively broad source zones based loosely on an interpretation of seismicity and tectonics, while the second uses numerous small zones that reflect the locations of past significant earthquakes. This double approach (using the logic tree methodology) has the merit of both considering the general trend of earthquake activity as well as focusing in on known danger spots. The results show that the areas of highest hazard are western Scotland, north-western England and Wales, where the intensity with 90% probability of non-exceedance in 50 years is 6 EMS.

The application of soil survey data in opencast coal sites in Scotland

A commitment by the National Coal Board Opencast Executive to restore opencast coal areas to agricultural use as efficiently as possible recognizes the need for continual improvement in techniques. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, as agents to the National Coal Board Opencast Executive, share a similar objective. Both organizations appreciate the need for a comprehensive soil survey, but experience has shown that general-purpose maps and reports are not always adequate for use in opencast mining operations. A soil survey of a proposed site at Keirsbeath is described and, on the basis of results from the use of improved survey methodology, and computer techniques to analyse the data, interpretative maps have been produced. The procedures, together with an examination of soil quantities available for restoration, and of critical moisture levels in soil stripping, are an improvement with significance for the planning and development work stage. A scheme of soil operations has been presented and the relevance of soil data to the forthcoming restoration and rehabilitation stages is discussed.

Ways of structuring data within a digital cartographic data base

The National Mapping Program includes the activities for providing basic map data and a family of general-purpose maps. The U.S. Geological Survey is developing a Digital Cartographic Data Base (DCDB) within the National Mapping Program to include such features and reference systems as the public land survey network, State and county boundaries, transportation systems, and hydrography. Although the public land survey network is administered by the Bureau of Land Management, it is included as a DCDB component because of its relationship to almost all cultural development beyond the thirteen original States. Such data included in DCDB have no legal status and are intended for display and map reference only. The interrelationship of these categories, particularly of the first three, requires care in structuring the digitized data so that valuable time is not wasted in producing cartographic spaghetti. This paper presents some ideas about structuring the components of DCDB.

New methodologies for geological surveys

Within the context of Quaternary geology, current developments in the automation of survey data aim at mechanization of traditional data-handling techniques. In this type of automation, computer systems are asked to perform tasks at which they are slow, clumsy, and expensive. The need for continuous human support makes conventional automation unattractive. Traditional geological survey methodology has developed within the framework of manual data-handling techniques. The sampling design, data compression and generalization, the stratigraphic map all illustrate our inability to return to the only hard facts available: the observed boreholes and outcrops and their attributes. The computer can liberate us from most of these constraints. New sampling designs will be based on recent work in geostatistics. Information from existing archives may be captured through free-language processing, new borelogs will be recorded directly on magnetic medium. Lithological and stratigraphic interpretation will be automated and rely on numerical classification techniques. Traditional map drawing will disappear, the general purpose map will be replaced by special purpose univariate and multivariate maps computed directly from borelogs, but influenced by subjective point, line and area data. Experiments with the Quaternary by the Dutch geological survey are used to illustrate the feasibility of this alternative automation. The steps Input (free-language processing), Stratigraphic identification (interactive allocation), and Map construction (multivariate automated mapping) are illustrated.

THE RELATION BETWEEN COST AND UTILITY IN SOIL SURVEY

SummaryThe paper presents the final conclusions of this study. For the three areas surveyed it compares the costs and utilities of different procedures for producing soil maps at scales of 1: 20 000–1:70 000, using the criteria for utility discussed in Part IV. In particular it compares the utilities of different maps produced at the same cost, or the costs of producing different maps of equal utility, and the ratios of utility/cost for different survey procedures at different map scales.Within the limits of the approximations made and in areas presenting survey problems comparable to the area of lowland Britain surveyed, series maps by grid survey seem likely to give better value for money than series maps by free survey, at map scales greater than 1:50 000 in most landscapes and at all scales in some landscapes. There is a ceiling to the utility of general purpose maps of soil series, which is already nearly achieved at map scales of 1:25 000–1:20 000, and is surpassed only by single property maps by grid survey, at larger scales and at considerably higher cost.

National Mapping for Urban Areas

The need for topographic mapping with increasing scales and more detail has grown steadily since the inception of the national program. As a result, a mapping scale which began at 1:250,000 has evolved into the present 1:24,000 basic scale. The Geological Survey is exploring the need for general-purpose maps at a larger scale that might help solve the environmental problems of urban areas. The Urban Mapping Coordination Group (five Federal bureaus) is also working towards this goal. A study completed by the System Development Corporation provided valuable related information and statistics. To ascertain how the functions of city agencies can be better served by maps and cartographic data, the Geological Survey recently conducted a study of map use in the District of Columbia government. Also beneficial to urban use is the Survey's development of the orthophotomap and a rapid method of map revision called interim revision. Although the Geological Survey is pledged to continue its primary program - to provide standard-quadrangle topographic coverage at 1:24,000 scale - it will also continue to assess the need for an urban series of general-purpose maps at a larger scale.

Topographic Maps for Construction Planning

In the overall process of construction planning, topographic maps of different scales, accuracies, and content are needed for different phases of the planning. General-purpose maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey usually meet the need in the reconnaissance and preliminary design phases. About 75% of the area of the United States has topographic map coverage at scales of 1:24,000 or 1:62,500; complete coverage is available only at 1:250,000. Many existing maps, however, are obsolete because the rate of change of mapworthy detail far outstrips the availability of resources for an adequate revision program. The USGS is producing about 2,000 new 7-1/2-min 1:24,000-scale maps per year, but about 30,000 quadrangles have never been mapped in that format. The current map-production rate is about three times that of the late 1940's, due mainly to the application of new techniques. Further improvements in mapping technology offer the best hope for meeting the growing demand for topographic maps.