Automatic Generalization - No One Comes Closer to 100%

We do it every day. Endlessly, naturally. Because humans are only able to process a certain amount of information at a time (even though that amount is astounding!) we have the ability to condense information down to a level where we can understand more than one thing at a time and keep us from being utterly overwhelmed with sensory and cognitive information. When you are reading the newspaper you pick and choose the things that are most interesting to you. When you are moving through a crowd, you pick and choose small landmarks that will lead you to your destination or back where you came from. When you are reading a map, you find features that will help you to understand where you are. These are all forms of generalization. In map-making, generalization focusses on simplifying the contents of a map to make it more 'readable' to the human eye. 

This readability includes 'cleaning up' the data that is collected through more and more sophisticated measuring techniques with better and more exact equipment. It includes thinning out data so that the map only represents what is important for readability at a certain scale. It includes simplifying the 'rough edges' in a map - smoothing out and moving the position of a river or road, for example - to make the map easier on the eye. While it is possible to perform all of the steps of generalization automatically, system-aided generalization is not a purely mathematical undertaking - it requires the input of cartographers in order to preserve some of the aesthetics of maps.

For many years, experts have been occupied with the question of how to automate the major portion of generalization tasks in order to a) reduce the time spent on manual editing, b) produce more up-to-date maps quicker, and c) produce maps of different scales from the same set of location-based data. In that quest, generalization has been divided into two main categories - model and cartographic generalization. Although there is no strict definition or agreement on what exactly separates the two, Axes Systems has found a pragmatic solution for using them both in the same process. On top of that, we have found a way to include automatic text placement as a part of the process. These are the tasks that traditionally occupy so much of the map-maker's time.

Automating the generalization and text placement processes is only part of the challenge. Even though we have reached extremely high levels of automation - upwards of 85% in several proven cases (here are some examples) - we don't claim to have a 100% solution. It is still necessary to manually edit some of the data at the end of the process. So, we were faced with another question: how does the system know what has been changed in both the automated and manual processes? Does the cartographer have a record of what was done when? Is it possible to trace back the history of a building or a road in the data set? The answer is yes.

axpand uses a technique that is absolutely unique in the market. Our so-called multi-representation data base (MRDB) creates a history of the changes that any object on a map - a building, road, river, lake, etc - has gone through during the automatic and manual processes. This history includes a link between the same objects at different moments in time. (see a graphic depiction here). axpand uses an Oracle(R)or Ingres relational data base to store this information. This saves time during the updating and quality assurance processes of map making.

Basically, everything we do is designed to make map-makers' lives easier and their businesses more profitable. There are a lot of systems out there that claim to have one or the other astounding functionality, but Axes Systems has created something truly remarkable with the automatic generalization in axpand. The combination of this outstanding automation, axpand's high-quality graphics, our Circular Production Process(c) and our new, innovative software as a service technology have put us on the road to becoming the market leader in map-making software solutions. There is nothing else like it. It's easy to generalize down your choice of systems when it comes to map-making. All roads lead to axpand. Contact us. We'd love to show you more.