SOME NOTES ON COMPUTING

Abstract

Probably the most important matter connected with computing is checking. Far more time is wasted by an incorrect result which has been passed as correct by the checker than by any other fault in computing. It is not necessary that a computer should always be perfectly accurate, but it is necessary that the method of checking used should always detect his errors. If the computer is sure that his accidental errors will be picked up he is relieved of anxiety and his work will be quicker and eventually more accurate for that reason.     

THE COMPUTER—A COG IN THE SURVEY MACHINE

Abstract

1. Lest any reader should be put off by assuming from the title of this article that it would contain a mass of technical matter, it may be stated at the outset that no computations whatever are involved. In fact it is a collection of very ordinary observations pertaining to the efficient functioning of the computing section of a Survey Department. In the opinion of the writer nothing clarifies one's ideas more than sitting down at a table and putting them actually on paper. Things that might otherwise have been overlooked or forgotten are brought to light, and can then be given their proper place in the whole mosaic. There is probably nothing original in this article, yet it is hoped that a comprehensive survey may be of assistance to other computers, as the making of it certainly has been to the writer. It has been written from the point of vievvof a computing section, rather than that of an individual computer. Each individual computer is a cog in the computing machine, whose duties are more those of routine calculation by methods approved by his superior.     

面向特征的网络空间点群要素自动综合方法

网络空间信息可视化对揭示网络空域规律、促进网络空间认知具有重要意义.将网络空间节点与拓扑关系直接可视化的视图中存在大量的点重合和线交叉,目前已有的网络节点布局算法、集束边技术、骨干网提取和网络路由拓扑多尺度表达等方法能够优化视图效果,但在网络的微观结构上,对保持网络空间点群要素的特征信息关注不够.通过分析并量化网络空间...     

An Evaluation of the Use of Grid Squares in Computerised Choropleth Maps

Abstract

There are numerous computer programs to produce choropleth maps and some work has also been published on the use of a grid matrix as a way of dividing an area into discrete units. The purpose of this paper is to combine the two approaches and evaluate the suitability of using a network of grid cells, each containing a representative value of the variable being mapped, as a way of producing choropleth maps on a computer.     

The Oblique Zenithal Equidistant Projection

Abstract

The idea of constructing an equidistant map centred on Glasgow originated as a school project. The amount of calculation required meant that it was necessary to use a computer to calculate the co-ordinates for the projection on a 15° graticule. Subsequently it was decided to write a program to instruct another computer, equipped with a graph plotter, to plot the same graticule automatically. The basic mathematical constructions and the procedure for programming the computer for automatic plotting are fully explained.     

SOME NOTES ON COMPUTING

Abstract

The article that follows is a collection of notes on various aspects of computing, some of them rather elementary, which it is thought might be of interest to some surveyors. Most land surveyors spend quite a lot of time computing and many become expert at it, but even so they rarely reach the stage when they cannot usefully pick up hints from professional computers. It is therefore hoped that it may be useful to collect a number of points which the writer sometimes found helpful to surveyors during the time when he was doing arithmetic for a living.     

Cartography and the others – aspects of a complicated relationship

ABSTRACT

Cartographic visualizations have been known for thousands of years and have brought forth a wealth of different map projections and cartographic products. Yet, cartography as an independent science has been established only about 100 years ago and sometimes its position among the spatial disciplines is challenged by the scientific community. In this respect it is a young science based on a very long tradition of map making, globe production, and the development of map projections. Maps and map related visualizations play an important and indispensable role in many other spatial disciplines such as geography and geodesy. Cartography has many overlaps with these traditional disciplines as well as with the more recent ones of photogrammetry and remote sensing. This paper reviews fundamental aspects of the conception of space and time throughout human history, the historic development of cartography from a technique of map making to a spatial science, highlighting major milestones in the history of the discipline. As a young science and confronted with major technological developments in the late 20^th century cartography underwent several crises as to what exactly is cartography and how it relates to other spatial sciences, in particular to geographic information systems. Major pitfalls and misconceptions are discussed and the three major scientific pillars of cartography are identified. The relationships of cartography with neighboring disciplines are discussed and the position of cartography vis a vis the others is delineated. Finally, desirable future developments of scientific cartography are discussed.     

图到用时方恨少,重绘河山待后生——《测绘学报》60年纪念与前瞻

提出了测绘科技发展特别关注的4个领域:一是将测绘服务领域从地球表面向多维空间(赛博空间)扩展;二是将测绘产品为人服务向为智能机器人服务的方向延伸;三是主动与文化和社会科学领域中的若干层面靠拢,提高地图的文化内涵;四是测绘科技和产业的供给侧改革已提上日程,各方面要有突破性的变化。     

Towards a National Atlas of the Netherlands as part of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure

Abstract

This paper is about different worlds, and how we try to unite them. One of these worlds is the world of National Atlases: collections of complex, high-quality maps presenting a nation to the geographically interested. The second is the world of National Spatial Infrastructures: highly organized, standardized and institutionalized large collections of spatial data and services. In the paper, we describe the two worlds and their fundamental differences and we present the theoretical framework in which these worlds could be united. We introduce a test bed we are using to try out the theoretical framework in a real-life use case. In the architecture of that test bed, we introduce a National Atlas Services layer and describe how we have created an Atlas Map Viewer component, using the Open Web Platform. We conclude by commenting on the results thus far and taking a look into future developments.     

3D Visualization for the Analysis of Forest Cover Change

Abstract

Visualization techniques have been developed to recreate natural landscapes, but little has been done to investigate their potential for illustrating land cover change using spatio‐temporal data. In this work, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and visualization techniques were applied to generate realistic computer visualizations depicting the dynamic nature of forested environments. High resolution digital imagery and aerial photography were classified using object‐oriented methods. The resulting classifications, along with preexisting land cover datasets, were used to drive the correct placement of vegetation in the visualized landscape, providing an accurate representation of reality at various points in time. 3D Nature's Visual Nature Studio was used to construct a variety of realistic images and animations depicting forest cover change in two distinct ecological settings. Visualizations from Yellowstone National Park focused on the dramatic impact of the 1988 fire upon the lodgepole pine forest. For a study area in Kansas, visualization techniques were used to explore the continuous human‐land interactions impacting the eastern deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie ecotone between 1941 and 2002. The resulting products demonstrate the flexibility and effectiveness of visualizations for representing spatio‐temporal patterns such as changing forest cover. These geographic visualizations allow users to communicate findings and explore new hypotheses in a clear, concise and effective manner.     

SOME NOTES ON ASTRONOMY AS APPLIED TO SURVEYING

Abstract

Astronomy is not a subject that is taught much from text-books, and the excellent but rather out-of-date books such as Chauvenet and Ball do not contain many of the more modern methods. The writer, as a one-time professional astronomer, has been able to pick up various ideas about the sort of astronomy useful to surveyors, with which some surveyors may not be familiar and which might be useful to them. The whole of these notes are not entirely his own work, many of the details having been first suggested by the late Dr. L. J. Comrie, F.R.S.     

Toward a unified theoretical framework for photogrammetry

ABSTRACT

The objective of photogrammetry is to extract information from imagery. With the increasing interaction of sensing and computing technologies, the fundamentals of photogrammetry have undergone an evolutionary change in the past several decades. Numerous theoretical progresses and practical applications have been reported from traditionally different but related multiple disciplines, including computer vision, photogrammetry, computer graphics, pattern recognition, remote sensing and machine learning. This has gradually extended the boundary of traditional photogrammetry in both theory and practice. This paper introduces a new, holistic theoretical framework to describe various photogrammetric tasks and solutions. Under this framework, photogrammetry is generally regarded as a reversed imaging process formulated as a unified optimization problem. Depending on the variables to be determined through optimization, photogrammetric tasks are mostly divided into image space tasks, image-object space tasks and object space tasks, each being a special case of the general formulation. This paper presents representative solution approaches for each task. With this effort, we intend to advocate an imminent and necessary paradigm change in both research and learning of photogrammetry.     

MAPIT: A Computer Program for Production of Flow Maps,Dot Maps and Graduated Symbol Maps

Abstract

This paper describes some results of an attempt to design and to write a general purpose computer program which can be used to produce quality maps of discrete data by the person who has had no training in computer programming. In the first section, the variety of the maps this program can produce is illustrated; in the second section, some of the principles involved in such map production are discussed; in the third section, the input arrangements for using the program are described and, finally, the role of such programs in teaching and research in the years ahead is discussed.     

KOMPLOT "Do-it-yourself" Computer Cartography

Abstract

After describing the changes which program packages, such as SYMAP, can make to the production of thematic maps the author briefly considers the aesthetics of computer graphics. The simplicity and versatility of KOMPLOT are then discussed with the aim of bringing computer aided cartography to a wider field of users.     

On the multivariate total least-squares approach to empirical coordinate transformations. Three algorithms

The multivariate total least-squares (MTLS) approach aims at estimating a matrix of parameters, Ξ, from a linear model (Y−E _Y = (X−E _X ) · Ξ) that includes an observation matrix, Y, another observation matrix, X, and matrices of randomly distributed errors, E _Y and E _X . Two special cases of the MTLS approach include the standard multivariate least-squares approach where only the observation matrix, Y, is perturbed by random errors and, on the other hand, the data least-squares approach where only the coefficient matrix X is affected by random errors. In a previous contribution, the authors derived an iterative algorithm to solve the MTLS problem by using the nonlinear Euler–Lagrange conditions. In this contribution, new lemmas are developed to analyze the iterative algorithm, modify it, and compare it with a new ‘closed form’ solution that is based on the singular-value decomposition. For an application, the total least-squares approach is used to estimate the affine transformation parameters that convert cadastral data from the old to the new Israeli datum. Technical aspects of this approach, such as scaling the data and fixing the columns in the coefficient matrix are investigated. This case study illuminates the issue of “symmetry” in the treatment of two sets of coordinates for identical point fields, a topic that had already been emphasized by Teunissen (1989, Festschrift to Torben Krarup, Geodetic Institute Bull no. 58, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp 335–342). The differences between the standard least-squares and the TLS approach are analyzed in terms of the estimated variance component and a first-order approximation of the dispersion matrix of the estimated parameters.     

GEODETIC SIGNALS IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA

Abstract

So much has been written in the Empire Survey Review and other publications on the somewhat controversial subject of “Luminous or Opaque Signals in Geodetic and Primary Triangulation” that it may be of interest to give an outline of the types of signals used on such work in Southern Rhodesia, with particular reference to the completion of the Eastern Geodetic Circuit in 1935 and the type of signal that it has been decided to adopt for future work.