A map is a reduced, generalized image of the earth's surface, celestial bodies or the celestial sphere on a plane, built according to mathematical laws using a system of conventional signs. Maps (from the Greek chartes - sheet, scroll) are the keepers of information about our planet. They are used in a wide variety of areas of human activity. Maps show the location, properties, connections between economic and natural objects. Maps differ in territorial coverage, content, scale, purpose.
According to the territorial coverage, the maps are subdivided into world maps, maps of the hemispheres, continents and their parts, states and their parts. By content, general geographic and thematic (special) maps are distinguished. On the general geographic, waters, soil and vegetation cover, settlements, communication routes, political and administrative division are shown. Thematic maps cover a very wide range of natural and social phenomena. These can be geological, climatic, economic maps, etc.
By scale, maps are subdivided into (1: 5000 and larger), large-scale (1:10 000 - 1: 200 000); medium-scale (maps of regions, territories and other regions - from 1: 200,000 to 1: 1,000,000) and small-scale (vast territories and the entire planet - smaller than 1: 1,000,000).
According to their purpose, maps are divided into educational, scientific and reference, military, tourist, navigation, etc. Contour maps (usually one-color) are used for practical work.
Geographic atlases are a system of maps created according to a single program. The maps in the atlas complement each other, forming a complete picture. In the first collections of maps, the titan Atlas was depicted, holding the firmament on his shoulders. Probably, the word "atlas" appeared on behalf of the ancient Greek deity.
The mathematical basis on which maps are built is scale and cartographic projection - a way of transforming a spherical surface into a map plane.
Depending on what task the map should perform, it is built in different projections - a spherical surface is transferred to a plane in different ways. If the size of the countries is to be calculated from the map, then it should be drawn up in an equal-area projection that reproduces areas without distortion. On maps made in conformal projections, equality of angles between directions is preserved. Such maps are convenient for travelers following a pre-selected route. In equidistant projections, one of the main directions remains without distortion (along some meridian or parallel).
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Long gone are the days when it was enough to indicate the address and phone number on the contact page. Today, any company that values its customers is sure to place a map next to the address. It is very convenient, including from a UX point of view. You can create a simple road map using the Yandex.Maps constructor or Google Map. But sometimes you need something more complicated - for example, you may need a map for a presentation or to create infographics. In this case, you can use special online tools to create custom maps. Some of these tools allow you to create interactive maps that can present information in the most user-friendly way. FreelanceToday brings to your attention 10 free tools for creating maps.
The Animaps service extends the functionality of Google Maps, allowing you to create maps with animated markers. Markers move around the map, showing, for example, the route of movement. A very useful service for creating interactive infographics. With Animaps, you can create an entire story about an event, accompanied by text blocks and illustrations.
The easy-to-use Scribble Maps service has many tools for creating almost any kind of map. You can make a regular route map, but at the same time, the service can be useful for designers who would like to create colorful infographics. In Scribble Maps, you can add text, images, draw and paint various geometric shapes, place markers, and much more. If you need map-based infographics, there is no better tool. The finished map can be posted on the website, blog or sent to the client, saving it in PDF format.
The creators of the MapTiler service have made sure that the maps created by the user are displayed on any device. MapTiler is one of the most convenient tile preparation applications using the Google Maps API. Unfortunately, the free version of the program has very limited functionality, with which you can create only the simplest maps.
HeatmapTool is the best online service for generating highly accurate heatmaps. With such a map, you can quickly visualize data using different colors. The service allows you to control the radius, scaling and opacity of heat spots. Information can be updated in real time. Why is this service created? Primarily for visual display of any statistical data in a pre-selected region. You can make quite complex maps, for example, using the service, you can show the coverage of the cellular network, the population density in the country, and much more. The service is very powerful, with its help you can quickly process even very large volumes of statistical data.
With the purchase of Nokia, Microsoft has made significant improvements to its Bing Maps mapping service. Nokia maps have always been distinguished by high detail and good coverage, so you don't have to worry about accuracy. The functionality of the service cannot boast of variety, but tracks, markers and geometric shapes are enough to create a sufficiently informative map. It is also possible to add images and text comments. After finishing the work, the result must be saved, after which Bing Maps will generate a link and a code for embedding the map on the site.
The friendly user interface of the Click2Map service will help you quickly and easily create interactive maps of any complexity. The powerful functionality of the service will allow you to create professional maps in the shortest possible time. With the help of a large set of icons, you can personalize the map if you need to talk about a specific field of activity. Thematic markers allow users to easily navigate the map. Also, markers can be used to locate a specific point. The marker supports various types of content - text, images, HTML code. To get access to all the features of the service, you will have to subscribe to a paid subscription, but if you register a free account, you can create cards with a limited number of tokens, a maximum of 10.
The ZeeMaps mapping service makes it easy to create, publish and share interactive maps. The service works on the basis of Google Map and with its help you can create even a very complex map with a lot of data. Statistics can be imported from Excel, Access, MS Outlook and other programs. There are no restrictions on the number of markers, the information can be changed at any time at the request of the user. You can add pictures, text, audio files, and YouTube videos to markers.
UMapper app allows you to create embedded flash cards. The visual editor UMapper is intuitive, with its help you can add markers, draw shapes and add interactive elements to the map. The service takes map data from Microsoft Virtual Earth, Google, Yahoo, OpenStreet, which makes it truly versatile. You can even make money using the application - if the created card gets 50 thousand views per month, the service will transfer $ 12.50 to the user's account. The disadvantages of UMapper include a watermark that appears on the map when using the free version and displaying embedded ads on the map.
GmapGis is a simple online drawing application for Google maps. You can place markers, measure the distance between two points on the map, draw lines and geometric shapes. All functionality is presented at the top of the page, so there will be no problems using the service - everything is very clear. The result can be saved as a file or as a link. When using GmapGIS, a problem may appear - the user cannot draw a line or draw a shape. In this case, the developers recommend closing and reopening the browser. After that, full access to all functionality will appear.
Geographic characteristics of the territories
Comprehensive geographic characteristics of your area.
When answering this question, you should stick to the following plan:
1. Geographic location of the territory. The area of the land. Borders. Natural "frame" of the territory (main natural objects). EGP of the territory. Socio-economic "frame" of the territory (cities and main transport routes).
2. The history of the development of the territory. Territory development stages. Discoverers, explorers, explorers. Toponymy.
3. Natural resource potential of the territory. Natural conditions and resources. Territorial combinations. Landscapes. Assessment of natural conditions and resources for the needs of the economy.
4. Population size. Demographic situation. Migration. Urbanization. Composition, structure. Peoples. Languages. Religions. Resettlement.
5. Economy. Industry. Agriculture. Transport. Branches of specialization. Participation in the geographical division of labor.
6. Problems of development of the territory: environmental, demographic, social, etc.
Modern cartography in recent years has undergone significant changes in
technologies for creating topographic maps. Currently the main products
enterprises of Roskartography have become digital,
electronic maps, geographic information systems, orthophotomaps, orthophoto maps.
Orthomosaic combined with digital topographic map enhances visual
perception of topographic information in general, it is valuable for those who need
spatial information on the nature of its activity and at the same time it is not
topographer (cartographer), it is difficult for him to perceive conventional topographic signs of maps
and plans. Creating new products requires a combination of traditional methods of creation
topographic maps with new, modern methods.
Along with field work (measurements), remote
methods of sensing the earth. Aerial photography: black and white, color, multispectral and
thermal imaging; satellite imagery of the earth's surface in various areas of the spectrum.
The use of remote sensing methods allows you to quickly cover
large areas of the earth's surface (including hard-to-reach) and receive
the necessary information about all objects, as well as in the presence of modern hardware
software systems to carry out high-precision measurements on these materials.
At the moment, the center "Sevzapgeoinform" has several methods
creating a digital foundation:
By PCM (original cartographic materials) - DPH are scanned (transparencies
permanent storage, from which the cartographic factories produce printed
"ARM-RASTR2" creates a digital map. This technology is good because you can
to vectorize more than half of the map content in automatic mode; DPH is
dissection according to the content of the map (relief, hydrography, forest fillings and hydrography,
contour, aligned). The technology is acceptable for medium scale (1:10 000 - 1: 1 000 000).
Based on the materials of ground surveys: tacheometric survey, sometimes even a scoop survey. It,
usually not large areas of filming. Sometimes it is advisable to take pictures without
a large closed area of the terrain in the field, and then on a VIDAR type scanner,
allowing to scan cartographic materials on a rigid basis up to 13.5 mm,
we scan these ground survey materials, link rasters and vectorize.
In the center "Sevzapgeoinform" today one of the main methods of creating a topographic
maps, including digital topographic maps, is a stereotopographic
method. The map is created from scratch, as well as actualization (renewal). Those. minimum field
works, a maximum of office work, which reduces the cost and shortens the creation cycle
topographic map.
Now our Center has a modern technical base that corresponds to the high
world standards, and allows you to create digital topographic maps with high
accuracy and in a short time. We have: RC30 - aerial photography camera with high
lens resolution (average weighted 110 lines per millimeter); PAV30 -
a gyro-stabilizing platform that corrects the pitch, roll and drift angles of the aircraft during
time of aerial photography; ASCOT - hardware and software control complex
flight and obtaining the coordinates of the centers of photographing using GPS satellites;
Flykin Suite + - software for post processing of GPS data; ORIMA - adjustment program
photogrammetric measurements using the coordinates of the centers of photography from
GPS definitions; DSW500 - photogrammetric scanner allowing scanning
photographic image with a resolution of 5 microns; SD2000 - analytical photogrammetric
station. All of the above equipment is Swiss made (company
To create digital topographic maps, we use digital
photogrammetric complexes, such as "PHOTOMOD" and "CFS" created
Russian developers, allowing to perform a complex of photogrammetric
works (including the creation of orthomosaics) directly on the computer using
stereo glasses or stereo attachments.
The process of creating a topographic base with a stereotopographic
● Field work on planned-high-altitude preparation of aerial photography. Marking
signs before taking aerial photography (to a minimum). If the area
the work to be done is replete with many contours, and these contours can be determined
on aerial photographs with an accuracy of 0.1 mm on the scale of the created map, then the planned
height reference can be performed based on the materials of the already completed
aerial photography.
● Aerial photography with the determination of the coordinates of the centers of photographing (using
hardware-software complex ASCOT).
● An obligatory component of the technology for creating topographic plans
the stereotopographic method is to decipher the photographic
the image, which consists in recognizing terrain objects in a photograph,
establishing their characteristics. Decryption is in the field and in office.
More often in a combination of field and office, depending on the topographic
knowledge of the survey area and the adopted technological scheme of work field
decryption is carried out before the office or after it.
● Scanning aerial photographs with parameters satisfying the accuracy
topographic base.
● Directly creating the basis of a digital topographic map
stereotopographic method at photogrammetric stations.
● Converting the digital basis into the Customer's software product and bringing
digital topographic map up to the requirements of GOST, OST, regulatory
technical documents, Customer.
● Writing a specific GIS using the newly created (actual)
digital topographic map.
● Transfer of products to the Customer.
Directly in “PHOTOMOD” the Center has carried out a large amount of work to create
digital map of scale 1:25 000 on an area of 23 000 km² at the Taimyr object. Was
the whole range of works was carried out: phototriangulation, equalization, construction of a digital
terrain models and creation of orthophoto maps. In the same year, we start to create
digital maps and orthophoto maps in the same software package already on an area of 50,000
The technology of work at this facility was as follows:
1. Scanning transparencies. (pre-printed from aeronegatives
transparencies).
2. Photogrammetric thickening of the backbone.
3. Building a digital terrain model.
4. Creation of orthomosaics using single stereopairs.
5. Stitching of orthomosaics from single stereopairs in the trapezium of the state layout
in scale according to the terms of reference.
6. Deciphering of orthophotomaps and creating digital maps.
7. Stitching of separate nomenclatures of digital maps into a single digital field.
The transparencies were scanned using a Paragon A3 PRO scanner, Mustek, with
resolution 1200 dpi. To correct geometric distortions introduced
a polygraphic scanner, the scanned file was processed by the ScanCorrect program
(development of the company "Rakurs"). Then, in the AT module (Photomod systems),
photogrammetric thickening of the backbone. Next, the StereoDraw module imported
relief (horizontals that were digitized earlier from old topographic maps),
in stereo mode, we checked whether the old relief "sits" on the surface of the model, if in any
sometimes there were changes in the relief, then the horizontal lines were corrected stereoscopically.
The relief was converted from the StereoDraw module to the DTM module in the form of breaklines and
built a digital terrain model, and on it the orthomosaic of each stereopair and
Were "thrown" into the VectOr module. In the VectOr module, individual stereopairs were stitched together into
uniform trapeziums of scales 1: 25,000, 1:50,000 and 1: 100,000, with state marking. By
orthomosaic images in ArcView using field and
office interpretation, digital topographic maps were created
scale 1: 25,000.
Within 6 months in the Photomod system (this time includes training to work in the system)
The center processed about 700
aerial photographs - this suggests that this system is quite functional.
In the course of work in the Photomod system, we had several suggestions for improvement
systems Photomod and if the firm "Rakurs", as it seems to us, will take them into account, then Photomod will only
will win and further strengthen its position in the photogrammetric processing market
aerial photography materials.
At the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Art
It is much easier for modern cartographers than their colleagues from the past, who created a far from ideal scheme with very approximate calculations of the location of objects. Until the beginning of the 20th century, cartography changed slowly and, although there were almost no blank spots by that time, the maps could not boast of the accuracy of the maps.
With the beginning of the era of aerial survey of the area, cartographers received an excellent tool that allowed them to draw up a detailed plan of any territory. Satellite imagery was supposed to complete a thousand years of work to create the ideal orientation tool, but cartographers faced new challenges.
As a tool for solving cartographic problems and errors, the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project appeared, on the basis of which our MAPS.ME service exists. There is a wealth of data in OSM: not only outlined satellite imagery, but information that only the locals know. Today we will tell you in more detail how the real world is digitized and becomes a map.
Photo fixation of the area
An example of decryption of the middle of the last century
After aerial photography, a long and difficult decryption stage is required. Objects in the image must be identified and recognized, their qualitative and quantitative characteristics must be established, and the results must be recorded. The decryption method is based on the laws of photographic reproduction of the optical and geometric properties of objects, as well as on the relationship of their spatial arrangement. Simply put, three factors are taken into account: optics, image geometry, and spatial placement.
To obtain data on the relief, contour-combined and stereotopographic methods are used. In the first method, the heights of the most important points of the surface are determined directly on the ground with the help of geodetic devices, and then the position of the contour lines is applied to the aerial photographs. The stereotopographic method implies a partial overlap of two images with each other so that each of them depicts the same area of the terrain. In a stereoscope, this area looks like a three-dimensional image. Further, according to this model, with the help of devices, the heights of points of the terrain are determined.
Satellite imagery
An example of a stereo pair from the WorldView-1 satellite
Satellites work in a similar way to create a stereo image. Information on the relief (and many other data, including radar interferometry - building digital terrain models, determining displacements and deformations of the earth's surface and structures) is provided by radar and optical satellites for remote sensing of the Earth.
Ultra-high resolution satellites take pictures not of everything (the endless Siberian forests are not needed in high resolution), but on request for a specific area. These satellites include, for example, Landsat and Sentinel (in orbit there are Sentinel-1, responsible for radar imagery, Sentinel-2, which conducts optical surveys of the Earth's surface and studies of vegetation, and Sentinel-3, which monitors the state of the world's oceans).
Landsat 8 image of Los Angeles
Satellites send data not only in the visible spectrum, but also in the infrared (and several others). Data from spectral bands that are invisible to the human eye allow you to analyze surface types, monitor crop growth, detect fires and much more.
The Los Angeles image includes frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, corresponding (in Landsat 8 terminology) to the 4-3-2 bands. Landsat designates red, green and blue sensors as 4, 3 and 2 respectively. A full-color image appears when combining images from these sensors.
The data is received and processed by satellite owners and official distributors - DigitalGlobe, e-Geos, Airbus Defense and Space and others. In our country, the main suppliers of satellite images are Russian Space Systems, Sovzond and Scanex.
Many services are based on the US Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA Global Land Survey (GLS) datasets. GLS receives data primarily from the Landsat project, which has been producing satellite images of the entire planet in real time since 1972. With the help of Landsat, you can get information about the entire earth's surface, as well as about its changes over the past decades. It is this project for all public cartographic services that remains the main source of data for remote sensing of the Earth on a small scale.
The Bahamas from a MODIS perspective
The MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) scanning spectroradiometer is located on the Terra and Aqua satellites, which are part of the NASA EOS (Earth Observing System) integrated program. The image resolution is coarser than most other satellites, but the coverage allows for a daily global collection of images in near real time.
Multispectral data is useful for analyzing the earth's surface, ocean and atmosphere, allowing online (in just a few hours) to study changes in clouds, snow, ice, water bodies, the state of vegetation, to track the dynamics of floods, fires, etc.
In addition to satellites, there is another promising direction of "vertical" imaging - data acquisition from drones. So DroneMapper sends drones (rarely quadcopters) to survey farmland - it turns out to be more economical than using a satellite or an airplane.
Satellites provide a huge amount of diverse information and can take pictures of the entire Earth, but companies order data only for the territory they need. Due to the high cost of satellite imagery, companies prefer to detail the territories of large cities. Anything that is considered a sparsely populated area is usually filmed in the most general terms. In regions with constant cloud cover, satellites take more and more images, achieving clear images and increasing costs. However, some IT companies can afford to buy images from entire countries. For example, Bing Maps.
Vector maps are created on the basis of satellite images and measurements on the ground. The processed vector data is sold to companies that print paper maps and / or create mapping services. It is expensive to draw maps on your own using satellite images, so many companies prefer to buy a ready-made solution based on the Google Maps API or Mapbox SDK and modify them with their own staff of cartographers.
Satellite maps problems
In the simplest case, to draw a modern map, it is enough to take a satellite image or a fragment of it and redraw all objects in the editor or in some online interactive map creator service. At first glance, in the example above from OSM, everything is fine - the roads look as they should. But this is only at first glance. In fact, these digital data do not correspond to the real world, since they are distorted and shifted relative to the real location of objects.
The satellite photographs at an angle at high speed, the time of photographing is limited, the images are stuck together ... Errors are superimposed on each other, therefore, to create maps, they began to use photographic and video filming on the ground, as well as geotracking of cars, which is obvious evidence of the existence of a certain route.
An example of a photo in which there was a problem due to poor orthorectification: the tracks lay perfectly near the water, and on the mountain on the right they moved out
Relief, shooting conditions and camera type affect the appearance of distortion in pictures. The process of eliminating distortions and transforming the original image into an orthogonal projection, that is, one in which each point of the terrain is observed strictly vertically, is called orthorectification.
Redistribution of pixels in the image as a result of orthorectification
It is costly to use a satellite that only shoots above a given point, so the survey is carried out at an angle that can reach 45 degrees. From a height of hundreds of kilometers, this leads to significant distortions. Good orthorectification is vital to create accurate maps.
Maps quickly lose their relevance. Have you opened a new parking lot? Have you built a bypass road? Has the store moved to a different address? In all these cases, outdated images of the area become useless. Not to mention the fact that many important details, be it a ford on a river or a trail in the forest, are not visible in images from space. Therefore, working on maps is a process in which it is impossible to put a final point.
How OpenStreetMap Maps Are Made
Image
The first thing the creator of the satellite imagery is to draw is the roads using the track data. Since the tracks describe the movement in geographic coordinates, it is easy to determine from them exactly where the road passes. Then all other objects are applied. Missing and area objects are created from images, and signatures indicating the belonging of objects or supplementing them with reference information are taken from observations or registers.
To create a map filled with various information, they use a geographic information system (GIS) designed to work with geodata - for their analysis, transformation, analytics and printing. With GIS, you can create your own map with visualization of any data. In GIS for maps, you can add data from Rosstat, municipalities, ministries, departments - all the so-called geospatial data.
Where does geodata come from
So, satellite images are shifted relative to reality by several tens of meters. To make a really accurate map, you need to arm yourself with a navigator (GPS receiver) or a regular phone. And then, using the receiver or the application in the phone, record the maximum number of track points. Recording is carried out along linear objects located on the ground - rivers and canals, paths, bridges, railway and tram tracks, etc. will do.
One track is never enough for any section - they themselves are also recorded with a certain level of error. Subsequently, the satellite substrate is aligned with multiple tracks recorded at different times. Any other information is taken from open sources (or donated by a data provider).
It is difficult to imagine maps without information about various companies. The collection of local data about organizations with reference to the GPS position is done by Yelp, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, 2GIS and others. The community (including directly representatives of the local business) independently contributes data to OpenStreetMap and Google Maps. Not all large networks want to bother themselves with adding information, so they turn to companies (Brandify, NavAds, Mobilosoft and others) that help place branches on maps and keep the data up to date.
Sometimes information about objects of real terrain is added to maps through mobile applications - right away, in the field, a person has the ability to accurately update cartographic data. MAPS.ME has a built-in map editor for this, through which the refined data is fed directly to the OpenStreetMap database. The reliability of the information is checked by other members of the OSM community. In the “reverse direction”, data from OSM is sent to MAPS.ME in “raw” form. Before they appear on the user's smartphone screen, they are processed and packaged.
The future: neural network cartographers
Facebook said they used machine learning algorithms to find roads in satellite imagery. But fact-checking has already been done by people who checked the roads and glued them with OSM data.
Service for sharing photos with geotags Mapillary last year added a function that provides semantic segmentation of images of objects. In fact, they were able to split the images into separate groups of pixels corresponding to one object, while simultaneously determining the type of object in each area. People do this very easily - for example, most of us can identify and find cars, pedestrians, houses in images. However, it was difficult for computers to navigate the huge amount of data.
Using deep learning on a convolutional neural network, Mapillary was able to automatically identify 12 categories of objects that are most often found in a road scene. Their method makes it possible to make progress on other tasks of machine vision. By ignoring the coincidences between moving objects (for example, clouds and vehicles), you can significantly improve the chain of processes of converting the original data into a 2D or stereoscopic image. Semantic segmentation Mapillary allows you to get a rough estimate of the density of vegetation or the presence of sidewalks in some areas of cities.
The neural network divided the south-west of Moscow into zones depending on the type of development
The CityClass project analyzes the types of urban development using a neural network. Making a map of the functional zoning of a city is long and monotonous, but you can teach a computer to distinguish an industrial zone from a residential area, and a historical building from a microdistrict.
A group of scientists from Stanford trained a neural network to predict the level of poverty in Africa from day and night satellite images. First, the grid finds the roofs of houses and roads, and then compares them with the data on the illumination of territories at night.
The community continues to follow the first steps towards automatic mapping, and is already using machine vision to draw some objects. It is hard to doubt that the future will belong to maps created not only by humans, but also by machines.
