The method of graphic simplification of area feature boundary with right angles

Some rules of simplification of area feature boundary and the method of acquiring spatial knowledge, such as maintaining area and shape of area feature, are discussed. This paper focuses on the progressive method of graphic simplification of area feature boundary with right angles based on its characteristics.     

Schematic road network map progressive generalization based on multiple constraints

Multiple constraints for schematic road network map cartographic design are analyzed and summarized. Based on this, a set of quantitative criteria are set up and a new road network generalization method including progressive selection and displacement is proposed. Furthermore, topological checking methods for road networks are researched. Based on these constraints, the points in a road network are classified, and a satisfactory and effective schematic map is designed in a concrete experiment while maintaining topological consistency of the road network between the original and the schematic map.     

Progressive graphic simplification of contours based on spatial reasoning

This paper discusses the rules representing relief with contour lines and methods for automatically constructing relation of contour lines. Mean-while, the improvement of existent methods for extracting the topographic characteristic points and lines is described. On the basis of this analysis, we propose a series of practicable progressive graphic simplification ideas of contour lines and concrete algorithms for the exception’s handling. In this way, graphic generalizations of contour lines at different scales are integrated into one model that is convenient to implement, and in which contour lines’ intersection in generalization can be controlled.     

Scale-specific automated line simplification by vertex clustering on a hexagonal tessellation

A new method of cartographic line simplification is presented. Regular hexagonal tessellations are used to sample lines for simplification, where hexagon width, reflecting sampling fidelity, is varied in proportion to target scale and drawing resolution. Tesserae constitute loci at which new sets of vertices are defined by vertex clustering quantization, and these vertices are used to compose simplified lines retaining only visually resolvable detail at target scale. Hexagon scaling is informed by the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem. The hexagonal quantization algorithm is also compared to an implementation of the Li–Openshaw raster-vector algorithm, which undertakes a similar process using square raster cells. Lines produced by either algorithm using like tessera widths are compared for fidelity to the original line in two ways: Hausdorff distances to the original lines are statistically analyzed, and simplified lines are presented against input lines for visual inspection. Results show that hexagonal quantization offers advantages over square tessellations for vertex clustering line simplification in that simplified lines are significantly less displaced from input lines. Visual inspection suggests lines produced by hexagonal quantization retain informative geographical shapes for greater differences in scale than do those produced by quantization in square cells. This study yields a scale-specific cartographic line simplification algorithm, following Li and Openshaw's natural principle, which is readily applicable to cartographic linework. Open-source Java code implementing the hexagonal quantization algorithm is available online.     

Jacques Bertin,from classical training to systematic thinking of graphic signs

ABSTRACT

Nearly 50 years after the publication of the first French edition of Sémiologie Graphique, Jacques Bertin’s thought is more than ever alive, in cartography as well as in various other disciplines, such as graphic design or visual data analysis. This article recalls the main elements of Bertin’s career and puts forward the salient points of his reflection on graphics. Beyond many conceptual or technical innovations, Bertin’s essential originality appears to be his attempt to propose a general framework for graphical representations.     

News Items

The process of reading a topographic map requires users to recognize and learn the cartographic symbols of the key (or legend) while interpreting the territory as depicted on the map at a given level of abstraction (the form and nature of features, their saliency and relationships). We present the results of an empirical user study that aims to identify and assess the main graphical characteristics that are used by map users to recognize the design principles which constitute the topographic mapping style adopted by IGN (Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière), France. Our results suggest that 91% of the participants were able to recognize an IGN-France topographic map amongst other topographic map products. We also determine which graphical characteristics play a role in the recognition of this cartographic style, either by visual memory or by visual perception, and identify the representation of relief, including contour lines and shaded relief, as one of the major graphical characteristics of the topographic mapping style of IGN-France. Moreover, the participants of our study considered the representation of touristic POI (points of interest), toponymy, typography, the main roads network, the individual buildings and the forests, to be essential for stylistic recognition.     

GEO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: THE LIMINAL SPACE OF THE PAGE

For many geographers, the printed page is no longer a productive tool to engage contemporary definitions of place or debates surrounding the nonrepresentational. There is a discernible shift within the discipline toward creative research methods, including using media such as film or sound, with a perception that they are less “fixed” in nature. In this article, however, I suggest that, by developing “geo/graphic” work that draws on theories and practices from both cultural geography and graphic design, the page can be recast as a liminal space, a threshold between readers and their understanding and imagination. I propose that a book has the potential to offer a multisensory, interactive space of exploration for readers and that the construction of such geo/graphic work also offers researchers an additional creative method with which to understand place.     

湖南省1∶20万地物化重磁图形库建设的体会

本文概述了湖南省１∶２０万地物化重磁图形库建设中取得的主要成果，从实践中摸索了一些图形处理的新方法，并指出了目前图形库建设中存在的问题及建议     

源自建筑平面图的室内地图空间数据自动生成方法

以建筑平面图为数据源,提出了一种自动生成室内地图空间数据的方法。首先,结合室内地图空间数据的需求分析了建筑平面图的基本特征,提出了墙段、邻接节点和相邻墙段的概念,并在此基础上建立了自动生成室内地图空间数据的基本流程。然后,根据与柱子相交墙线的相邻关系,建立了与柱子关联墙体连通性的恢复方法;结合渐进扩张与图形推理判断门窗两侧墙体符号局部特征的类型,通过修正门窗外接矩形,建立了与门窗关联墙体连通性的恢复方法和将门窗转换为室内地图点状要素的方法。最后,基于相邻墙段中心线的几何关系,建立了墙体中线的提取算法。以某展览馆的建筑平面图为例进行试验,结果表明本文的方法针对多种复杂情况均有较好的适用性,有效实现了室内地图空间数据的自动生成。