The automated update of cartographic data at a scale of 1:50,000 in Lithuania: problems and solutions

Abstract

The data of the cartographic base at a smaller scale are updated by using spatial objects at a larger scale. However, this process in Lithuania is still mostly manual, only partially automated and following generalisation parameters that are usually selected subjectively. The success of several projects on the automated update of the spatial data at smaller scales implemented by national mapping agencies in other countries opened the way for the pilot project in Lithuania in 2013. The main goal of the project was to investigate the possibilities for the process of updating data of the cartographic base at a scale of 1:50,000 in Lithuania with the help of the automated generalisation of spatial data at a scale of 1:10,000. The above mentioned spatial data usually had only abstract specifications regardless of the interoperability of the data or possibilities for the optimisation of update processes between the data at different scales. Therefore the differences of semantics, attributes and representations were detected during the analysis of the spatial data at different scales. That made the full automation of the update process more complicated. However it is important to make the compatibility of the spatial data at different scales as soon as possible to simplify the process and reduce the usage of resources. The authors analyse the possibilities of the update of cartographic base at a scale of 1:50,000 and provide recommendations for the automation of this process. The proposed solutions of the detected problems are dedicated for the spatial data of the cartographic base in Lithuania due to the fact that the mentioned data may carry the specific character. The solutions were implemented using of ArcGIS software and tested on real spatial data sets. Therefore the presented ideas how to solve the problems may be applicable for generalisation of others spatial data sets.