Mapping at Work2009

GIS Output and the Role of Cartography

Stuart Miller, Commercial ManagerSTAR-APIC

Mapping at Work2009 STAR-APIC

• Mapping software and solutions– Data and database management– Cartography and data publication– Custom solutions

• www.geolives.com• FME• Team has many years of digital

mapping experience – in UK 50+ years

Mapping at Work2009 2009 - It’s a different and new

mapping world • Massive changes since digital

mapping & GIS in the late ’70s• Mapping “freely” available• Web mapping software

– easy to use– fast

• Personal Navigation Devices• User Generated Content (UGC)

Mapping at Work2009 Interesting Article

• Wired article on location services from January 2009

‘ I Am Here: One Man's Experiment With the Location-Aware Lifestyle’

Mapping at Work2009 Background to Change

• I am looking at the wider picture of cartography … & not just cartographic publishing for CMYK Printing

• There are many, but 2 of the themes are …

Mapping at Work2009 Public Sector Pressures

• Cut costs• Improve productivity• Make data available to the public• Planning initiatives• Share data with other organisations• Data Standards for interoperability,

OGC, INSPIRE ….

Mapping at Work2009 Mapping on the Web

• Accessible, Easy, Cheap or free !– Google– Yahoo! Maps– Bing Maps (formerly Virtual Earth)– Multimap, Streetmap, ….– OpenStreetMap

• Web GIS– Too slow & complex ? For experts only?

Question …

Mapping at Work2009 The Role of Cartography?

• Cartography Still Matters• Always Did …• GIS was part of Cartography• Mid ’80s – it flipped and the

perception was that Cartography (in a form) was a part of GIS

• No point in fighting it – perception is reality!

Mapping at Work2009 Principles of Cartography

• What are you trying to show ?• Projection of earth to flat media• Generalisation

– Simplify to meet requirements• Design

– Highlight to communicate• Data update and Maintenance

Mapping at Work2009 Principles of Design

1. The purpose of design is to focus the attention of the user

2. The Principles of Cartographic Design are Timeless, the Results are not   

3. The Rules of Cartographic Design can be taught and learnt, principles and concepts have to be acquired

http://www.mckinleyville.com

Mapping at Work2009 Back onto Topic …

• Cartography in the GIS context• Briefest of backgrounds

(GIS Adoption in time order …)

– Capture/Conversion/Revision– Restructuring/Importing– Adding Attribution/Intro of DBMS– Analysis/Querying– Remodelling of data/speed of queries– Data sharing interoperability– Introduction of Standards/Sharing … …. What Priority was given to Output?

Mapping at Work2009 Output from GIS - 1

• It was very basic plots• An output in early days was an

achievement!• So much data manipulation – called ETL

now; consumed most of our time in the GIS industry

• As it was computer driven it was not market led or customer led but technology led & task in hand was data acquisition and conversion

• So more recently …

Mapping at Work2009 Output from GIS - 2

• Lately, GIS output has broadened, has matured, more expected (demanded?) from the investment now

• Decades of investment• More user-interactive; professional and consumer –

User Generated Content (UGC)• But it can create Anarchy in both editorial control

and also basic principles and cartographic design

• Just because it is possible doesn’t mean to say it is acceptable (in whose eyes though?)

Mapping at Work2009 Creation of Maps

• It was predicted many years ago that the map creation capabilities would be passed to the ‘mass market’ with its limited knowledge of the discipline

• But we have to embrace it – not knock it!• The role and challenge is to ensure that the

tools (and not just the maps) are ‘fit for purpose’

• The design and capabilities of the map tools are as fundamental to cartography as the maps themselves

Mapping at Work2009 Cartography - Re-Emergence

• Now that after two decades the data conversions, fine tuning and ‘sweat equity’ has been invested by organisations

• … More Recently - how an Application of GIS is judged is down to its different media types/accessibility and the currency of the Output to the wider user

• So there is NO SURPRISE that cartography is re-emerging as being important

• It may not be termed ‘cartography’ as much – but it is cartography by a different name

Mapping at Work2009 An example of an Output that

is ideal for Cartography

• GeoPDF format• I suggest you download

http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/bp

• GeoPDF Encoding Best Practice Version 2.2 April 2009

• Background to the Format & its creation

Mapping at Work2009 GeoPDF

The Army’s Geospatial PDF Project provides GeoPDFs to all warfighters and those tasked with supporting them.

US Army Corps of Engineers

Mapping at Work2009

What does a GeoPDF do?

with Adobe Reader - Multiple coordinate displays [default is Lat/Long and MGRS], automatic coordinate display, supports 400+ datums and 40+ projections, measure area / length with Reader w/o file having to be reader enabled, importing / exporting geospatial data with Reader [cvs, gpx, kml, kmz and shp/shm], GPS Tracking

Works with free Adobe Reader

Mapping at Work2009 More on GeoPDF

• With Adobe Acrobat - all above plus create GeoPDF manually, GeoMark Enable files for extended use in Reader and Map Assembler for combining multiple GeoPDF files.

• Layered – Raster & vector & multiple pages for ‘mapbooks’

• Editable, GPS linked and has inbuilt tools• GeoPDF complies with Adobe's PDF

specification and ISO 32000

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Mapping at Work2009 Samples

• GeoPDF Sampleswww.acrobatuser.com/gallery/geospatial-gallery

• Go to http://www.terragotech.com/download/index/For TerraGo Desktop ToolBar free downloadTry Google Maps link and Editing Toolbar capabilities

Mapping at Work2009 USGS Samples

• Go to http://store.usgs.gov/• “Digital Maps—Beta”

(http://nationalmap.gov/digital_map/) Almost 60,000 United States Geological

Survey Digital Raster Graphic maps have been converted to GeoPDFs and are available to anyone via the website http://store.usgs.gov.

Mapping at Work2009

Some USA users of GeoPDF

Utilities, Oil & Gas, Transportation

State & Local Government Defense & Intelligence

Systems IntegratorsPublic Safety &Emergency Response

Engineering & Natural Resource Management

DallasPoliceDallasPolice

Source: Terrago Technologies Inc

Mapping at Work2009 Conclusion 1

• Cartographic Output of GIS data is now perceived to be important

• … Never went away in the Cartographers’ eyes

• Map creation Tools and Data formats (one example GeoPDF) and dissemination & communication technologies have enabled the discipline of cartography to re-emerge

• Basically GIS has matured in its needs …

Mapping at Work2009 Conclusion 2

• In today’s society with its technical capabilities at the consumer level there is NOW the Need and Desire for quality map products that fit the purpose.

• Reduction in Cost in map creation• Speed of Creation and Distribution

Mapping at Work2009 Conclusion

• Cartographic Professionals have to be at the top table to contribute and shape the overall GIS and Geospatial industry agenda

• Finally - Be Proactive and not Reactive within the maturing GIS industry

Mapping at Work2009

Thank you

Stuart MillerCommercial Manager STAR-APIC UKstuart.miller@star-apic.co.uk+44 (0)7885 297994

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