Modern cartography as a scienceMenno-Jan Kraak
!
• Background
• Why maps
• Why Cartography
• Present
• Explore
• Geovisual analytics
Modern cartography as a science
Background
• Chair GeoVisual Analytics and Cartography (GVAC)
Education / Research
!
!
• How to map time (changes)
!
!
• Vice-President of the International Cartographic Association
Why maps?
Why maps?
• Maps are abstractions or models of reality, in which geographic space is represented by map space
• The spatial layout of maps enable users to see:
- patterns
- relationships
- trends
Maps tell stories
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/snowmap1_1854.html
Maps tell storiesWhy cartography? The art and science of making and using maps
• What is the most suitable graphic representation?‣ design‣ geocomputational support‣ reasoning based on graphics
• What is the best working environment?‣ functionality /visualization strategy ‣ web-based‣ multi resolution data integration
• Does it work?‣ efficiency‣ effectiveness ‣ satisfaction
Task
(Geospatial) DataWorking environment
Graphic representation
Function tools
user tasks
data framework
visualization framework
P R O B L E M
Why cartography? Why cartography?
Why cartography?Why cartography?
Cartography
Geographic Data
visualization process
How do I say What to Whom, and is it effective?
Map
November 26
French troops
Maps to present
!
๏ start: facts to be presented are fixed
๏ process: choice of appropriate visualization technique
๏ result: high quality visualization presenting facts, the single best map
๏ emphasize: on map design
Cartography Expectations?
Today, people demand up-to-date, or (near-)real-time, information, about virtually anything, anywhere, and anytime.
Data characteristics
• Most important challenges facing science, business, and society have a fundamental geographic component
• However the data is
- Voluminous
- Heterogene
- Time-space
- Multivariable
Change
Demand-driven mapping, usability issues, mobile applications, Web 2.0, etc…
Data collection and dissemination techniques (Google!), mobile devices, etc.
New representation variables, 3D and dynamic data modeling,
What happens in cartography? (interaction)
[source: New York Times]
What happens in cartography (panic)
Cartographers and map makers (type A)
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/
Flying
Cartographers and map makers (type B) Crowd-sourcing
Maps to explore!
๏ start: data without hypothesis about the data
๏ process: interactive, undirected search for structures and trends
๏ result: visualization that provides hypothesis, different alternative views
๏ emphasize: enabling ‘discoveries’
Data spaces
what?
where? when?
t
t
attribute space
location space time space
Working environment for visual exploration
Time space
Location space Attribute space
M A P D I A G R A M
T I M E G R A P H
Exploratory tools
Beyond Cartography: Visual Analytics
• The science of analytical reasoning facilitated by interactive visual interfaces (Thomas & Cook, 2005)
http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm
!
Detect the expected and discover the unknown
Geovisual analytics
!
• Geovisual analytics focuses on visual interfaces to analytical methods that support reasoning with and about geo-information – to enable insights about something for which place matters
(MacEachren, 2012)
Detect the expected and discover the unknown
• Alternative insight in performance
Running
2
2
1
1
21
Running Behavior in the city
Behavior in the city Traffic jam?
a)
Explore Explore
Explore
d)
Does it work?
Opportunity http://www.gem-msc.org/application/general/
Georgia member?