Methodologies for the evaluation of generalised data derived with commercial available generalisation systems

The paper investigates methodical questions on the analyses and evaluation of automated generalised maps. The maps are produced with commercially available out-of-the-box generalisation systems, in a way that every system was tested by several persons on four test cases. The requirements on the generalised maps were described by cartographic constraints in a formal way. In addition, manually generalised maps were provided to give further reference information for the tester. The analyses of the generalised maps are to be based on empirical and automated evaluation methods. The paper will present these evaluation methods in detail with objectives, related research, how the methods are realised and expected outcomes. Possible interchanges and synergies between the evaluation methods will also be described. The work published within this paper contributes to research on formal descriptions of cartographic requirements on generalised maps. It supports the development of methods for the situation and context dependent application of generalisation functionality and serves on the evaluation of existing generalisation products, to derive future research and development potentia

High- and low-resolution spectroscopic observations of the peculiar planetary-nebula HD 149427 (=PC 11)

Aims. We discuss the status of the A-type component of the binary central star in the peculiar planetary nebula HD 149427. Methods. We acquired low and high spectral resolution optical spectroscopy for the range 4500-9000 Å. Results. The analysis of the high resolution spectrum shows that the A-type star has an effective temperature of $T_{\rm eff}$ = 8700 ± 150 K and a surface gravity of log g = 2.3 ± 0.4, corresponding to a spectral type A3-A4 II. These parameters infer a luminosity estimate of $\log(L/L_{\odot})$ = 3.69 ± 0.32, implying a distance of 10 ± 0.6 kpc. The A-type star is slightly metal-poor; barium and strontium, two key elements for monitoring the s-process nucleosynthesis, are not enriched; nitrogen is enriched relative to Sun; while carbon and oxygen are underabundant. The photospheric abundance of the A-type giant star in HD 149427 is compared with the abundance in other types of stars at different evolutionary stages

A study on the state-of-the-art in automated map generalisation implemented in commercial out-of-the-box software

This paper describes the set up and the progress of the EuroSDR project that studies the state-of-the-art in automated map generalisation implemented in commercial out-of-thebox software. The project started in October 2006 with a project team consisting of National Mapping Agencies (NMAs) and research institutes. From October 2006 till May 2007 four test cases of four different NMAs were selected, consisting of a large scale source data set, requirements for the smaller scale output map as well as symbolisation information. Much effort has been put in specifying and harmonising requirements for the output maps. These requirements have been defined as a set of constraints to be respected in the output maps. From June 2007 the project team tested the four test cases with four commercial out-of-the-box software systems: ArcGIS, Genesys, Change/Push/Typify and Clarity. The vendors of these systems performed parallel tests on the four test cases in which they were allowed to customise their systems. An evaluation methodology has been designed and partly implemented. Results are expected by the end of 2008

Methodology for evaluating automated map generalization in commercial software

This paper presents a methodology developed for a study to evaluate the state of the art of automated map generalization in commercial software without applying any customization. The objectives of this study are to learn more about generic and specific requirements for automated map generalization, to show possibilities and limitations of commercial generalization software, and to identify areas for further research. The methodology had to consider all types of heterogeneity to guarantee independent testing and evaluation of available generalization solutions. The paper presents the two main steps of the methodology. The first step is the analysis of map requirements for automated generalization, which consisted of sourcing representative test cases, defining map specifications in generalization constraints, harmonizing constraints across the test cases, and analyzing the types of constraints that were defined. The second step of the methodology is the evaluation of generalized outputs. In this step, three evaluation methods were integrated to balance between human and machine evaluation and to expose possible inconsistencies. In the discussion the applied methodology is evaluated and areas for further research are identified

Approaches of national 3D mapping: Research results and standardisation in practice

Over the past ten years technologies for generating, maintaining and using 3D geo-information have matured. For national mapping agencies one of the challenges is how to best extend 2D data into 3D data, making best use of research results and available technologies. Some mapping organisations are making serious progress. The question addressed in this paper is how research results achieved in the past ten years are applied in practice and what research problems remain. In addition, the paper explores the potentials of the OGC 3D standard (i.e. CityGML) for 3D national mapping and what developments are further required to make the standard better fit for this purpose. The main conclusions of the paper are that 3D data is more and more available but still suffers from a low level of usage (mainly visualisation) and standards and formats based on CityGML have been stabilised although software support is still in the early stage. Several recommendations are made to meet these problems, including the definition of European CityGML profiles (as the INSPIRE Building profile) to harmonise 3D needs and standardise 3D implementations at international level.OTB ResearchOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

State-of-the-art of automated generalisation in commercial software

This report presents the EuroSDR research project that studied the state-of-the-art of automated generalisation in commercial software in a collaboration between National Mapping Agencies (NMAs), research institutes and vendors. The aims of the study were to learn more about generic and specific map requirements of NMAs, to show possibilities and limitations of commercial generalisation software, and to identify areas for further developments based on latest research advances. The project consisted of three main steps: requirements analysis, testing, and evaluation. The requirement analysis (carried out between Oct 2006 till June 2007) resulted in four representative test cases, formalised and harmonised NMA map specifications for automated generalisation as well as an analysis of the defined specifications that shows the similarities and differences between map specifications of different NMAs. Between June 2007 and Spring 2008 tests were performed by project team members (from NMAs and research institutes) on out-of-the-box versions of four generalisation systems: ArcGIS (ESRI), Change/Push/Typify (University of Hanover), Radius Clarity (1Spatial) and axpand (Axes Systems). At the same time the vendors (except Axes systems) carried out tests with the same test cases with improved and/or customised versions of their systems. The tests resulted in 35 outputs consisting of 700 thematic layers, where it should be noted that the effort for one test was approximately 1 week. The evaluation, carried out between summer 2008 and spring 2009, consisted of an evaluation of meta aspects (based on information recorded by the testers) and of an evaluation of the generalised datasets themselves. The latter evaluation consisted of three parts that completed each other: a) automated constraint-based evaluation, b) evaluation which visually compared different outputs for one test case and c) a qualitative evaluation by cartographic experts. From the project results it can be concluded that all systems offer potentials for automated generalisation. However the results highlighted a few issues that identify areas for further development in both research and commercial systems. Although the results show that for many problems solutions do exist (e.g. building simplification), the algorithms are difficult to parameterise and a direct match between parameters and specifications was often missing. In addition none of the four test cases were fully solved by the out-of-the-box systems. While some problems are close to being solved (generalisation of individual buildings and roads), a few problems are far from being solved. Firstly it is impossible with the tested systems to apply different algorithms and/or parameter values in different contexts. This is either not supported or a measure to detect the appropriate contexts is missing. Another remaining generalisation software problem is operations that concern more than one object (e.g. network typification). Also, the generalisation of the topographic context in an integrated manner with the terrain is not appropriately covered in the tested systems. It should be noted that some of the missing functionalities were fixed in the vendors’ parallel tests (e.g. buildings elimination and displacement algorithms in ArcGIS and Radius Clarity). Although these results may seem disappointing, some final thoughts may help to put the results in the right context. Firstly the project had very high ambitions (i.e. many specifications were defined; the selection of test cases focused on known and complex problems; the ultimate aim of the generalisation process was high quality paper maps). Secondly, the project is well received by vendors to push internal developments. In addition it is not a surprise that out-of-the box versions are not capable of fulfilling NMA requirements, which is also shown by the fact that customised systems are used more satisfactory in practice. Consequently customisation of the systems should be further developed and should be one of the focuses in a future project.OTB onderzoekOTB Research Institut

EuroSDR research on state-of-the-art of automated generalisation on commercial software: Main findings and conclusions

OTB onderzoekOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen