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The communication paradigm was adopted by cartographic researchers in the 1960s as a means of describing and explaining the nature of mapping; the interaction amongst cartographers, their maps, and map users; and the way in which maps 'work'. This paper considers some of the shortcomings of the cartographic communication paradigm, but proposes that enhancing it by incorporating modifications to its rigid linear and component-based model is useful, in trying to explain the success of maps in human society. The enhancements discussed all contribute to a deeper investigation of the 'context' of cartographic activity, the model space which the traditional graphical representations of cartographic communication occupy. Thus, we present an exploration of several topics which it is felt could be incorporated into a deeper analysis of context: the concept of affordances; the role of cognition in human engagement with geospatial data and with maps; the nature of communication through the map medium; and the adoption of carto-pragmatics, a human-centred approach to map use. It is concluded that there are inherent relationships among these topics and each suffuses the total cartographic communication system, and each of its previously identified elements, therefore affecting the definition of 'context'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is a desert? What is a desert to a geomorphologist, a geoclimatologist, a biogeographer, a geoanthropologist, a cartographer or a geopolitologist? Geography, as a discipline that is as much concerned with terrestrial morphology and climates as it is with ecosystems and human societies, shed light on the various meanings of the term 'desert' in different fields of language and knowledge, providing insights into the significance of deserts for our contemporary societies. The ambition of this reflection is to unravel the complexities of deserts and help to grasp what deserts are and what they 'do' by encouraging geographers to merge bioclimatic analyses and geo-historical understandings, establishing the geographical discipline as the quintessential science of deserts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the spatial subjectivity of the map maker is a crucial component of historical geography and uses maps in post-Holocaust yizker bikher to demonstrate how these hand-drawn geographies are invaluable counterweights to perpetrator mapping projects. To develop the argument, the article analyzes three selected yizker bikher maps, renderings of towns inhabited by Jewish and non-Jewish communities in prewar Poland as representations of the subjective idea of an historical place embedded in post-genocide memories of individual spatial experience. Yizker bikher are Jewish memorial books, historical publications compiled by communities of Holocaust survivors after World War II; they often feature hand-drawn maps from the perspective of the survivor. Building on a scholarship regarding cognitive mapping and the role of emotions in map-making, the article provides a deeper understanding of the yizker bikher drawings as a form of memory practice. Unlike the other sketches representing town spaces that are referred to in most of the cognitive mapping scholarship, the shtetl drawings not only represent a historical geography but also express the map maker's awareness of loss and grief, while working as a point of reference for sustaining the site- and community- oriented identity of the Jewish survivors displaced after the Holocaust. • Hand-drawn maps published in Jewish yizker bikher express the spatial subjectivities of map makers. • The yizker bikher maps are counterweights to Holocaust perpetrator mapping projects. • Each map expresses individual loss and grief but is also a form of community memory practice. • Map-makers emplot private memories into cartographies using creative modes of expression. • Map-makers aimed to sustain the site-oriented identity of displaced Jewish survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first half of the 19th century, Adriano Balbi (1782–1848) was one of the greatest geographers in Italy and Europe, having an extremely vast and constantly updated scientific output. He tried to keep up with new discoveries of 'unknown and unexplored' territories. His work influenced geographers and cartographers, who used it as a source. Evangelista Azzi (1793–1848), a cartographer and military topographer from Parma Duchies, produced a wide corpus of school maps. His Mappamondo (1838) was conceived as an enormous wall map (2 × 4 mt), that summarised the geographical, historical and ethnographic knowledge of the time, as an encyclopaedic work. To collect data, he used contemporary geographical and cartographic works, including those of Adriano Balbi, having a close epistolary relationship with him. Balbi understood the importance of a cartographic restitution of his works and supported Azzi transferring numerous notions to him. Among these were the seas and oceans, which in the world map are named according to Balbi's works. The Mappamondo is the first map where the Balbi's definition of 'Open Mediterraneans' appears. The paper's primary objective is to identify the dialogue between geographers and cartographers in conveying a common narrative of the seas. Considering Azzi's cartographies as the visual synthesis of Balbi's geographical proposals, the paper explores a direct transposition of knowledge from text to map. Finally, the metaphor of water and liquid worlds lends itself well to observing the dynamism of small pre-unitary Italian actors that dialogued on global issues, going beyond state borders and moving within a common Risorgimento context. • Analyse the network of relations between intellectuals in Eighteenth Century. • Understand the constructing of Geographical discipline and comprise the dissemination of geographical ideas and concepts. • Re-discover the drawing of new geographical taxonomies in/through maps. • Highlight the dialogue between geography and cartography. • Understand the importance of school pupils as audience to widespread geographical ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of cognitive warfare is currently gaining ground in the policy discussion and in academic research as a way of conceptualizing the 'weaponization of the neurosciences'. Introducing the Science and Technology Studies-inspired concept of 'neuropolitical imaginaries' and assessing discussions on cognitive warfare launched by the NATO Innovation Hub in 2017, this article explores how the contemporary turn to the brain sciences in defense and security reimagines politics. The article argues that seeing the human mind as increasingly vulnerable to external interference redefines the nature of human agency by giving precedence to the skilful 'cartographer' employing neuroscientific techniques and methods for persuasion. This emerging vulnerability of the human mind reshapes security into a zero-sum game for 'cognitive superiority', making brain science scholars authorities in security. Finally, speaking to the literature on security expertise and science in security, the article argues that the envisaged arms race for cognitive superiority gives rise to a neurosecurity dilemma: as the neurosciences becomes entangled with security, neuroscientific practices simultaneously arise as a core vulnerability, making their work conditional upon compliance with security practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1752 Governor Ryk Tulbagh commissioned an official expedition from the Cape of Good Hope to the Eastern Cape to explore the interior with a view to trading with the inhabitants. The expedition leader was Ensign August Friedrich Beutler, together with Carel David Wentzel as the surveyor, who was assigned to compile an accurate map of the route of the Expedition. This article addresses the historically significant though faulty route map by Wentzel and the ensuing efforts of later cartographers and scholars to map the exact coordinates along Beutler's route by using modern methods. They all found that the coastline on Wentzel's map trended well to the north and west of its true position but disagreed on the reasons why this had been done. What makes this issue more interesting is that in all these later efforts to solve this question, the authors concerned were ignorant of the fact that Governor Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff had in 1786 already commissioned a map which resolved some of Wentzel's errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article presents the participation of Brazilian cartographer Francisco Jaguaribe de Mattos (1881-1934), a member of the Rondon Commission, in the III International Congress of the History of Science held in Portugal in 1934. The aim of studying this event is to evaluate its impact on the history of science. From this point, it becomes evident how Jaguaribe established a network of influential intellectuals in the field, while also delving into studies on the history of science and the formation of Brazilian territory. As a result, he was recommended to establish a Brazilian Academy of the History of Science upon his return to Brazil. The research was conducted through congress proceedings, journals, scientific magazines, and Jaguaribe de Mattos's personal family archive. Thus, this study seeks to address a gap in the historiography of science in Brazil, which is largely unaware of the existence of a Brazilian Academy of the History of Science in the 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service robots are becoming increasingly essential in offices or domestic environments, usually called domestic service robots (DSR). They must navigate and interact seamlessly with their surroundings, including humans and objects, which relies on effective mapping and localization. This study focuses on mapping, employing the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor. The sensor, tested at proximity, gathers distance data to generate two-dimensional maps on a mini-PC. Additionally, it provides rotational positioning and robot odometry, broadening coverage through robot movement. A microcontroller with wireless smartphone connectivity facilitates control via Bluetooth. The robot is also equipped with ultrasonic sensors serving as a bumper. Testing in rooms of varying sizes using three methods (i.e., Hector simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), Google Cartographer, and real-time appearance-based mapping (RTABMap)) yielded good quality maps. The best F1-measure value was 96.88% achieved by Google Cartographer. All the results demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for DSR development across diverse applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1816 to 1817, Anastácio de Sant'Anna, a pardo (mixed-race) artist and cartographer active in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, produced the Guia de Caminhantes, a manuscript atlas of Brazil and the Americas. Sant'Anna's Guia is one of the few extant cartographic works produced by a Black artist during the slavery era. Discussing the Guia in English for the first time, this essay positions Sant'Anna's work inside of the emergent subfield of Black Geographies. It argues that Sant'Anna used the Guia to advocate for the place of Black and Indigenous histories in Brazil's nascent, post-colonial national identity, while also interrogating the history of cartography and landscape painting in colonial Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT “Truth,” it turns out, is rather slippery. As geographers have become increasingly sensitized to issues of representation, they have delved into varying understandings of truth as a social construction. Most recently, the question of post‐truth has become significant. While cartographers have long discussed this issue, such as lying with maps and maps as propaganda, the GIS community has been slow to discuss it. This paper situates the emerging nexus between GIS and post‐truth within the evolving tradition of critical GIS. It calls for abandoning the correspondence theory of truth and replacing it with the pragmatist one. Next, it summarizes the contours of post‐truth as a social and epistemological phenomenon. Finally, it points to several areas in which post‐truth and GIS intersect, including the mapping of disinformation, location spoofing, big data, deepfake videos and remote sensing, and data quality. It concludes by calling for the GIS community to abandon unrealistic notions of objectivity and instead become more socially and politically self‐conscious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this article is to reconstruct the date, location, and significance of Ayutthaya's Shi'ite enclave within the former Siamese capital during the seventeenth century. This reassessment is based on a mixture of Persian, Thai, and European sources that clarify the confused picture generated by European cartographers that has for too long cast a shadow over Muslim studies in Thailand. Following a summary of extant explanations and a description of my primary sources and methodological approach, I summarise two aspects of Muslim presence in Ayutthaya. First, I introduce readers to connections between the incremental growth of the Muslim presence in Ayutthaya during the sixteenth century with geopolitical developments on the eastern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. Second, I present the range of accounts provided in primary sources specifically mentioning Ayutthaya's Muslim enclave. Having orientated readers to the origins of the Muslim presence within Ayutthaya's citadel, I incrementally introduce annotated portions of Thai and European maps. These clarify confusion about where and when this Shi'ite mosque was constructed. I conclude with comments about how this reassessment brings into focus the presence of Shi'ite 'alid piety, Shi'ite polemics about local Sunnis, Siamese conversion to Shi'ism, and distinctions between these "Moors" and "Malays." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of conveying information through maps heavily depends on the quality of map generalization. However, automating map generalization poses a complex decision‐making challenge, requiring a profound understanding of the process—specifically, knowledge about the generalization procedure. Currently, there is a scarcity of research on the sequence of generalization operations, particularly for cartographic generalization involving symbolization and labeling. On the contrary, customary maps generated in practical applications consistently adhere to the specified generalization and symbolization protocol, which makes it feasible and credible to construct this overall process based on expert knowledge. To reconcile this incongruity, this paper presents a knowledge‐guided automated cartographic generalization process construction. Firstly, an exhaustive examination of the sequential procedures involved in manual generalization and a well‐applied automated generalization system are delineated, drawing upon map analysis methodologies, observations, and expert interviews. Then, elaborate guidelines governing each phase within this process, particularly concerning the symbolization and labeling of map features, are explored. Ultimately, details of the expert interview are described and a map generalized by the well‐applied system is analyzed. The results show that the automated generalization system follows the knowledge‐guided process in this paper can significantly improve production efficiency in practice, this study serves as a connection between cartographers and developers and may help achieve a higher level of automated cartographic generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism cultural image is vital for conveying the cultural essence of a destination, enhancing tourists' cultural understanding and engagement. However, traditional tourism cultural maps often face challenges in clearly defining cultural themes and effectively communicating cultural and emotional information to users. To address these issues, we propose an improved information transmission model for a tourism cultural map to optimize the communication pathway between cartographers and map users. Based on this model, we introduce a method for mining and visualizing tourism cultural image using tourist attractions as the focal points. Then, based on the visualization results, we discuss the selection of map expression objects and the framework of map visualization design. Finally, we give an implementation process of a tourism cultural map of tourist attractions based on mining and visualization of tourism cultural image. To verify the method's feasibility, we developed a mobile interactive tourism cultural map application using Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing, China, as an example. The results demonstrate the method's effectiveness in tourism cultural image mining and visualization, provide solutions to the problems of traditional tourism cultural maps, and help tourists' understanding of the culture of tourist attractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each mapping process is affected by the personal lives of the cartographer(s). In this paper we propose to focus on this particular aspect of mapmaking: How do the intimate and emotional aspects of the map's creation impact the decision process and by extension the cartographic outcome? This intimate aspect of mapmaking can become eminently political when the mapmakers uncover the traumatic experiences they face because of their racial, class, gendered or intersectional identities. This paper proposes to investigate the potential of sensibility mapping to represent such dimensions of mapping processes. Sensibility mapping can be defined as a reflexive research-creation approach. It emerged a few decades ago from artistic, feminist, activist and participatory urbanism cartographies. In recent years, this specific mode of representation has been mobilized in a research project to address the mapping complexity related to traumatic genocide stories: the life stories of Rwandan exiles who have lived in Montreal since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Overall, this research underpins sensibility mapping to challenge cartographic norms from an epistemological point of view, in order to enrich the knowledge about how we make maps. Tout processus cartographique est influencé par l'expérience personnelle du ou des cartographes. Cet article propose de se pencher sur cet aspect particulier de la cartographie : comment les aspects intimes et émotionnels de la création d'une carte influencent-ils le processus de mapping et, plus largement, le résultat cartographique ? Cet aspect de la création d'une carte peut devenir éminemment politique lorsque les cartographes révèlent des expériences traumatisantes auxquelles ils sont confrontés en raison de leur identité, qu'il s'agisse d'une identité de race, de classe, de genre ou d'une identité intersectionnelle. Cet article propose d'étudier le potentiel de la cartographie sensible pour représenter ces dimensions des processus cartographiques. La cartographie sensible peut être définie comme une approche réflexive de recherche-création. Elle a émergé il y a quelques décennies à partir de cartographies artistiques, féministes, activistes et d'urbanisme participatif. Ces dernières années, ce mode de représentation spécifique a été mobilisé dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche visant à cartographier la complexité d'histoires traumatiques du génocide : les récits de vie des exilés rwandais qui vivent à Montréal depuis le génocide de 1994 contre les Tutsi. Dans l'ensemble, cette recherche montre, dans une perspective épistémologique, comment la cartographie sensible questionne les normes cartographiques, afin d'enrichir les connaissances sur la façon dont nous fabriquons des cartes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One's perception of place is in constant flux, shaped by experience, memories, and feelings over time. Time and perception of place are inextricably linked, where the transient nature of time and one's perception of place affects one's understanding of the world. This transience challenges cartography. This paper reports on the outcomes of a year-long mapping project (A Walk in the Park), where the effects of time on perception of place could be seen through recording personal experiences of being in the park. The outcomes of these experiences were used to develop a new model of reflective practice which is called the Interdisciplinary Model of Creative Practice. This model and an accompanying tool, the brief, was employed to create ephemeral mapping prototypes from records of my experiences and ideas about time and perception of place from the scholarly literature. The model builds a creative mapping process by drawing from and weaving together the perspectives of scientific cartography, design, and artistic expression. Using the example of ephemeral mapping, this paper shows how one can use this Interdisciplinary Model of Creative Practice, describing the approach for other researchers, cartographers, designers, or artists who might utilise the model and tools offered in this paper for their own creative practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first uses of the term in the 19th century, cartography has grown into a sprawling, contested discipline and practice. Today, cartography has been described both as dying and as one of the best jobs to pursue in the 21st century. In this article, we deconstruct this dichotomy by describing three common axes along which cartography has been bifurcated -art and science, critical and post-positivist approaches, and research and practice. These dualisms serve as a frame to better understand what cartography has become and how it is no longer necessarily what self-described cartographers do. In response, we argue that, with the rise of prominent humanistic and affective approaches to geovisualization and the burgeoning field of data science and analytics emerging predominantly outside of traditional cartographic praxis and scholarship, what it means to take cartography seriously across these divides provides an inclusive, unique path forward for both the discipline and practitioners. Using examples from recent work, we lay out potential work that prioritizes ideas from nonrepresentational theory as a framework through which cartographers might productively resituate the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rockfalls pose a serious threat along the main road network, representing a major hazard in mountainous territory and causing damage and victims. Currently, susceptibility mapping represents a starting point to identify areas more susceptible to rockfall occurrence, a key approach in land use planning and risk management. Despite the extensive use of these maps by decision makers and administrators, the usability of such maps over time and their reliability represent a poorly discussed and examined feature. Methods: Here, we proposed a-posteriori analysis of a three-year-old rockfall susceptibility map, generated along the main road network of the Aosta Valley, an alpine region of north-western Italy. To verify map consistency over time, we implemented a dual-analysis in GIS-environment and by text mining, to respectively analyse the geocoded data and textual information derivable from the regional landslide inventory. The first one allowed us to extract rockfall events occurred after the susceptibility map generation. By this way, we operated to spatially and temporally verify the map consistency. Jointly, the textual information reported in the Event Description Form, linked to each geocoded event, are being exploited. This allowed us to derive relevant information about occurred damage and their degree, presence of protective measures or secondary roads, i.e. involvement of, farm or forestry, road. Results: The implemented approach allowed us to prove the quality of the previous map in terms of reliability, robustness and degree of fitting respect to the succession of rockfall occurrence over time. After only three years as many as 198 rockfall events have been occurred and collected since the map was generated. Particularly, 80% of rockfall fit with "high" and "very high" susceptibility classes, and pointed out large involvement of main roads in rockfall occurrence, representing the most affected target with damage to road pavement and vehicles, as well as a relevant involvement of existing rockfall barriers and of the dense network of forestry roads and footpaths that characterize this alpine region. Results: The proposed approach representing a starting point in landslide susceptibility map verification and usability as valid instrument for a reliable land planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phone location datasets offer opportunities to conduct spatial analysis at very granular levels. In most jurisdictions their collection and use are subject to legal requirements to protect the privacy of the individuals generating the data and to prevent its disclosure. However, it can be the case that geographically referenced datasets, which meet the legal and statistical requirements of non-disclosure, reveal much more when they are plotted on a map. This paper provides an overview of the particular ethical challenges posed to mapmakers by mobile phone location data, whilst keeping in mind the potential benefits of harnessing these data to inform research and public policy. We identify the principal ethical concern pertaining to the use of such location datasets: preventing disclosure and protecting privacy, but also considering the spatial and socio-political contexts that the data are collected and produced from. We then discuss case studies that highlight the context-specific considerations necessary to create ethical maps from sensitive location datasets, and offer experience-based recommendations for users considering the ethical implications of using mobile phone location data in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walking in the footsteps of our ancestors can provide important ancestral precedents that can support Indigenous wāhine (women) in Aotearoa in working through the challenges we might face today and into the future. At the end of 2020, a group of seven Raukawa wāhine re-walked the journey of their ancestress Māhinaarangi. She walked, whilst heavily pregnant, from the lands of her people on the East Coast of Aotearoa to those of her husband, Tūrongo, in the central North Island. Her hīkoi (walk) offers significant conceptual and physical maps that speak to mātauranga (knowledge) and traditions about childbirth and mothering; the relationships between tribes and between people and the land; intimate knowledge of diverse environments; and endurance and courage to move through space to new lands, all done with a newborn baby. Māhinaarangi was a cartographer in her own right—mapping her story, history, language, tradition, ceremony, knowledge, and therefore herself and her descendants into the land upon which her footsteps fell. Through re-walking her journey, we both take something of that place with us and leave something of ourselves there and thus are involved in (re)storying and (re)storing ancestral places with our own footsteps. Retracing the journeys of our ancestors does more than memorialise their feats; rather, in placing our footprints along their pathways, we reclaim and remake place in uniquely Indigenous and Māori ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the theoretical axioms of chorems based on cartographic semiotics. Employing geometric and functional elements and the cartographic state-of-the-art, a regional, national chorem has been created. This chorem portrays the barriers to Polish regional development. It depicts the main development centres, industrial areas and zones of constraint created by the country's external borders, borders of the European Union (EU) and major rivers. The paper also defines chorematic affordance as the dynamic and processual feedback between the domain expert and the geographical or socio-economic processes. The elaborate chorematic diagram contributes not only to cartographers and geographers but also to public administration dealing with sustainable development, as it is intricately tied to regional development, emphasising the crucial importance of effective land management, equitable land distribution and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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On schematic metro maps, high-quality label placement is helpful to passengers performing route planning and orientation tasks. It has been reported that the artificial neural network (ANN) has the potential to place labels with learned labeling knowledge. However, the previous ANN-based method only considered the effects of station points and their connected edges. Indeed, unconnected but surrounding features (points, edges, and labels) also significantly affect the quality of label placement. To address this, we have proposed an improved method. The relations between label positions and both connected and surrounding features are first modeled based on labeling natural intelligence (i.e., the experience, knowledge, and rules of labeling established by cartographers). Then, ANN is employed to learn such relations. Quantitative evaluations show that our method reaches lower percentages of label–point overlap (0.00%), label–edge overlap (4.12%), and label–label overlap (20.58%) compared to the benchmark (4.17%, 14.29%, and 35.11%, respectively). On the other hand, our method effectively avoids ambiguous labels and ensures labels from the same line are placed on the same side. Qualitative evaluations show that approximately 75% of users prefer our results. This novel method has the potential to advance the automated generation of schematic metro maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designed to answer the call for a new methodology that 'combine[s] analysis of the translated product with an investigation of the translation process', this essay uses graphic materials from a translator's notebooks for a glimpse of the birth of a translation. It concentrates on the seating maps David Hawkes drew when translating some banquet scenes in China's greatest eighteenth-century novel, The Story of the Stone, and experiments on exploring the continuity between visual representations and verbal representations in the translation process, thereby adding a new visual dimension to traditional verbal and textual modes of investigation. Continuing my interest in how the translator-as-reader's mental experience of fictional worlds represented by the source text influences the reader-as-translator's translation process and the textual outcome of the translation, this essay argues that the translator's maps and mapping offer innovative explanations for some important translational decisions, and foreground some hitherto neglected translatorial behaviors, thereby furnishing translation studies with a new perspective to understand the logical systems that inform the translator's decision-making and the becoming of a translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For almost everyone in the world, the last few years have been unlike any experienced in their lifetimes. The public health crisis, spawned by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus and the outbreak of COVID‐19, presented a geospatial analysis challenge like none other as public health officials, emergency rooms, and the general public struggled to track the spread of the disease, allocate resources for testing and care, and understand the origin of this new zoonotic pathogen. During this period, the combination of rapid and open access genomic data combined with case counts and the mapping tools of geographic information systems allowed for near real‐time tracking of the pandemic. This paper describes these tools, how they were used to advise policy‐makers in the US at the height of the pandemic, and some of the lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antonino Saliba, a sixteenth century cartographer hailing from the Maltese island of Gozo, published a map in 1582 espousing his cosmology. Its popularity at the time is attested via the multiple editions and copies that were produced in Europe. Numerous sky phenomena, amongst them comets, are portrayed in the map. This study presents a detailed analysis of Saliba's treatment of these phenomena, following the first comprehensive translation of the map's text to English. It elucidates the sources that Saliba used, clarifying and shedding further light on the views he held. Where possible, the comets mentioned by Saliba are identified and explained. Besides showing how Saliba wholly conformed to the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic representation of the world, in which respect he was quite orthodox, it is also shown for the first time that his work is significantly derived from previous and contemporary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we introduce Next Generation Cartographers, a Working Group of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Students and early-career professionals today learn cartographic design alongside a diverse array of conceptual and technical competencies and, therefore, are working at the forefront of the discipline. However, they typically are not among the leading voices within the cartography community simply due to experience. To this end, we organized a Next Generation Cartographers (NGC) workshop at EuroCarto 2022 to identify opportunities and challenges for the next generation of cartographers. During our discussions, advocacy, peer support, mentorship, and outreach emerged as key needs of next generation cartographers and, ultimately, the need for NGC to have a voice in ICA planning. Inclusion became a core value of NGC to promote safety and diversity across the cartography community. NGC opened to global membership in August 2023 at the International Cartographic Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, and became a Working Group in autumn 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the political fragmentation of the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" period, the Northern Song consolidated much of the lands under these regional states into a larger polity in a process often described as "reunification." But this "reunification," judged against the domain of the Tang dynasty, was incomplete. The "Sixteen Prefectures" to the northeast were ceded to the Liao, and this became a vexing issue for Song emperors and officials. But the northeast was not the only region once under Tang rule that did not enter the Song domain. In this article, I discuss the area to the northwest of the Song, much of which was eventually governed by the Tangut Xia state. This area, roughly the modern provinces of Ningxia and Gansu, featured prominently in Northern Song political discussions, national geographical treatises, and national and regional maps. By analyzing the treatment of the northwest in these diverse genres of representation, I demonstrate a spectrum in the perceptions of the northwest. It was sometimes seen as little different from areas under Song rule; in other cases, it was treated as "beyond the sphere of civilization" (huawai). Such ambiguity is visualized in many Song cartographers who placed this area between two segments of the Great Wall. For Song emperors and officials, the northwest sat uncomfortably in their imaginations of the world, not easily dismissed and forgotten, yet irrecoverable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial narratives are becoming increasingly significant in contextualizing geographical phenomena. Whereas many studies focus on spatial narratives of real spaces projected from the Earth's surface, this article examines the imaginary spaces in the narrative of Hollywood puzzle films, arguing that cognitive maps are more effective in understanding and navigating these spaces. Through an analysis of well-known puzzle films, the article demonstrates how cognitive maps can encode imaginary spaces, draw the audience's attention to key landmarks, and guide both the filmmaker and the audience through the film's narrative. Beyond films, this study underscores the potential of cognitive maps in decoding complex space–time relationships in real-world context. By bridging the gap between cinematic imagination and geographical exploration, this article aims not only to inspire filmmakers but also to encourage geographers, cartographers, and GIScientists to look beyond their own fields and draw inspiration from other areas, such as cinematography, to envision a terra incognita that extends beyond the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "The Genesis of the Line Joining NJ 9842 with the Karakoram Pass" discusses the historical background of the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan in the Siachen region. It highlights the origins of the line extension to the Karakoram Pass in various maps, particularly after 1968 following Hodgson's directive. The document explores the cartographic anomalies, the impact of the extension on mountaineering expeditions, and the subsequent rectification of the error by the US Government in 1987. The analysis emphasizes the lack of legal basis for the extended line and the implications of its continued presence in some publications, including Pakistan's political map. [Extracted from the article]

This article delves into the interplay between the political, social, and cultural context and the material conditions of governing a cartographic mission within a French territory in the northeastern Amazon. It brings to the fore the collaborative endeavors involving a spectrum of stakeholders, ranging from local knowledge to various institutions, financial and technical resources, and human and logistical support. This research aims to offer an understanding of the cartographic mission during the period of departmentalization, with a specific focus on the situated and context-specific nature of knowledge production. By scrutinizing the fieldwork and the distinct labor regimes of local members of the mission in AEF and French Guiana, along with investigating the intra-imperial circulation of epistemic practices, it examines the colonial integration of cartographers through their trajectories. In a broader context, the article underscores the pivotal role played by geographical knowledge, enriching the landscape of research on the history of cartography during the transformation of the French colonial empire. Employing an approach encompassing material and social dimensions, this study shows the intricacies inherent in colonial cartography and illuminates its implications in the post-World War II era. In doing so, it unlocks fresh avenues for comprehending the geographical and colonial dynamics that characterize this period. • Develops the history of mapping during decolonization by studying the fieldwork of geographers. • Focuses on circulation and hierarchization of European and vernacular geographical knowledge. • Compares labor regime and embodied work of go-betweens in French Guiana and AEF in 1946–1947. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1730, the Dutch cartographer and meteorological observer Nicolaas Samuel Cruquius constructed a spectacular map of the river Merwede. Cruquius's map is celebrated as one of the earliest to use lines of equal depth—or indeed any type of contour lines. So far, however, the secondary literature has paid no attention to why Cruquius created these lines or to the knowledge involved in his innovation. This essay makes three related points. First, Cruquius intentionally used lines representing equal depth in an entirely new way: whereas earlier maps had used similar lines to represent a river's navigability, for Cruquius they visualized river flow. Second, different technical and epistemic practices grounded the making of the map: Cruquius built on his expertise in surveying but also on practices from both natural history and mathematical physics, with which he was familiar through contacts at Leiden University and the Royal Society of London. Third, Cruquius's case does not fit with the way work cutting across different fields of expertise is usually conceptualized. Cruquius did not just straddle different fields. Instead, he gave new meaning to lines of equal depth by integrating specific practices from different fields of expertise and omitting others; through this integration, Cruquius created a way to visualize water flows and gave shape to possible new ways of acting on the river and its environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate positioning in space is an important foundation for ensuring the stability of autonomous flight and successful mapping and navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). At present, the SLAM algorithm based on the Cartographer algorithm for real-time positioning and mapping is widely used in fields such as robot navigation and autonomous driving. However, in the context of UAV applications, this algorithm has a high dependence on the amount of point cloud information in the surrounding environment, and cannot achieve precise positioning in open spaces with insufficient lighting and fewer feature points, resulting in significant mapping errors. In order to solve the problem of low positioning estimation accuracy in the Cartographer algorithm in above environment, this paper proposes a precise positioning algorithm for UAVs that integrates VIO and Cartographer. This algorithm can continuously output more accurate position estimation information during UAV flight, compensating for the problem of inaccurate position estimation caused by partial feature loss or coordinate system drift in point clouds. In addition, this algorithm ensures navigation obstacle avoidance in narrow spaces by improving positioning accuracy and mapping accuracy, making it more applicable in the field of UAVs. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed positioning algorithm was verified through experimental analysis of the Cartographer dataset and practical testing of UAVs in real scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggregation, as an operation of cartographic generalization, provides an effective means of abstracting the configuration of building features by combining them according to the scale reduction of the 2D map. Automating this design process effectively helps professional cartographers design both paper and digital maps, but finding the best aggregation result from the numerous combinations of building features has been a challenge. This paper presents a novel approach to assist cartographers in interactively designing the aggregation of building features in scale‐aware map visualization. Our contribution is to provide an appropriate set of candidates for the cartographer to choose from among a limited number of possible combinations of building features. This is achieved by collecting locally optimal solutions that emerge in the course of aggregation operations, formulated as a label cost optimization problem. Users can also explore better aggregation results by interactively adjusting the design parameters to update the set of possible combinations, along with an operator to force the combination of manually selected building features. Each cluster of aggregated building features is tightly enclosed by a concave hull, which is later adaptively simplified to abstract its boundary shapes. Experimental design examples and evaluations by expert cartographers demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach to interactive aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Basic Sciences Journal of Textile Universities / Fangzhi Gaoxiao Jichu Kexue Xuebao is the property of Basic Sciences Journal of Textile Universities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The traditional laser SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm uses the global relative poses and local ones to form residual blocks. Its constructed map is not smooth enough and the constraint construction is too simplex under some special scenarios. Thus, this paper proposes an odometer constraint fusion method called FOSLAM (Fusion Odometer SLAM) to construct residual blocks between constrains and solve the nonlinear least squares by Ceres. The effectiveness and accuracy of this method have been verified through comparative experiments. Experimental results showed that without increasing the time and space complexity, by involving the odometer constraint into the SLAM optimization process, the convergence of scan matching scores can be improved and the constructed grid map edges are smoother and the jagged phenomenon can be reduced. Under sophisticated scene, FOSLAM is able to acquire more accurate maps and laser odometer trajectory than Cartographer method. Therefore, it is suitable to be used on indoor robot for cleaning and inspection and can be further deployed on autonomous unmanned vehicles involving spatial visualization and neuro-heuristic guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This presents a revolutionary method of fault finding in Subterranean cables. Employing microcontroller-driven cartography, the system meticulously maps the faults in underground cables. The microcontroller quickly detects anomalies through continuous monitoring of cable resistance, and the integration of GPS and GSM coordinates guarantees accurate localization and real-time tracking of faults. The innovative fusion of technology provides an efficient and reliable means for cable fault detection, minimizing downtime and optimizing repair efforts. Cable cartographers not only revolutionize fault detection but also contribute to the development of a smart, responsive power infrastructure. This research underscores the synergy of microcontroller precision, cartographic visualization, and GSM-GPS accuracy in enhancing the resilience of underground power distribution systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When faced with challenges such as adapting to dynamic environments and handling ambiguous identification, indoor service robots encounter manifold difficulties. This paper aims to address this issue by proposing the design of a service robot equipped with precise small-object recognition, autonomous path planning, and obstacle-avoidance capabilities. We conducted in-depth research on the suitability of three SLAM algorithms (GMapping, Hector-SLAM, and Cartographer) in indoor environments and explored their performance disparities. Upon this foundation, we have elected to utilize the STM32F407VET6 and Nvidia Jetson Nano B01 as our processing controllers. For the program design on the STM32 side, we are employing the FreeRTOS operating system, while for the Jetson Nano side, we are employing ROS (Robot Operating System) for program design. The robot employs a differential drive chassis, enabling successful autonomous path planning and obstacle-avoidance maneuvers. Within indoor environments, we utilized the YOLOv3 algorithm for target detection, achieving precise target identification. Through a series of simulations and real-world experiments, we validated the performance and feasibility of the robot, including mapping, navigation, and target detection functionalities. Experimental results demonstrate the robot's outstanding performance and accuracy in indoor environments, offering users efficient service and presenting new avenues and methodologies for the development of indoor service robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient geovisualization is beneficial for understanding geospatial phenomena, an important research direction for GISers and Cartographers. However, the current research on geovisualization overemphasizes the visual effects while neglecting the prominent representation of crucial information and failing to consider the user's cognitive workload of information processing. Following the laws of visual perception of the human eyes, this article proposes a visual attention-guided augmented representation approach of geographic scenes that involves area of interest computation, background simplification, and compound graphic variables. Finally, we select bridge stress visualization as a case study for experimental analysis. The experimental results of eye-tracking show that augmented representation could draw the participants' attention to areas of interest in a short time, increasing their duration of fixations and the accuracy of completing given tasks. These findings suggest that our approach can enhance geographic scenes' cognitive efficiency, offers a new idea for the theoretical studies of geovisualization, and holds promising potential for broader application in various geographical phenomena visualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a solution for Active Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Active SLAM) of robots in unknown indoor environments using a combination of Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) path planning and the Cartographer algorithm. To enhance the convergence speed of the DDPG network and minimize collisions with obstacles, we devised a unique reward function that integrates exploration and exploitation strategies. The exploration strategy allows the robot to achieve the shortest running time and movement trajectory, enabling efficient traversal of unmapped environments. Moreover, the exploitation strategy introduces active closed loops to enhance map accuracy. We conducted experiments using the simulation platform Gazebo to validate our proposed model. The experimental results demonstrate that our model surpasses other Active SLAM methods in exploring and mapping unknown environments, achieving significant grid completeness of 98.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing of colonial legal spatialities in the Age of Discovery has traditionally been studied by historians, human geographers, and cartographers. Seldom have legal scholars examined it. This essay aims to fill the gap in legal research and assesses processes of spatial production that took place in colonies by adopting a legal-geographical approach. Special attention is paid to how the English, and later British Empires manufactured both terrestrial and oceanic spaces. The essay maintains that, within what this article calls the 'Anglo/British Empire', the integrated geographies of land and sea were facilitated by some intrinsic qualities of the English common law. Its legal coding devised a holistic approach that captured the whole earth even beyond the divide between land and sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem that the low-density canopy of greenhouse crops affects the robustness and accuracy of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms, a greenhouse map construction method for agricultural robots based on multiline LiDAR was investigated. Based on the Cartographer framework, this paper proposes a map construction and localization method based on spatial downsampling. Taking suspended tomato plants planted in greenhouses as the research object, an adaptive filtering point cloud projection (AF-PCP) SLAM algorithm was designed. Using a wheel odometer, 16-line LiDAR point cloud data based on adaptive vertical projections were linearly interpolated to construct a map and perform high-precision pose estimation in a greenhouse with a low-density canopy environment. Experiments were carried out in canopy environments with leaf area densities (LADs) of 2.945-5.301 m2/m3. The results showed that the AFPCP SLAMalgorithm increased the averagemapping area of the crop rows by 155.7% compared with that of the Cartographer algorithm. The mean error and coefficient of variation of the crop row length were 0.019 m and 0.217%, respectively, which were 77.9% and 87.5% lower than those of the Cartographer algorithm. The average maximum void length was 0.124 m, which was 72.8% lower than that of the Cartographer algorithm. The localization experiments were carried out at speeds of 0.2 m/s, 0.4 m/s, and 0.6 m/s. The average relative localization errors at these speeds were respectively 0.026 m, 0.029 m, and 0.046 m, and the standard deviation was less than 0.06 m. Compared with that of the track deduction algorithm, the average localization error was reduced by 79.9% with the proposed algorithm. The results show that our proposed framework can map and localize robots with precision even in low-density canopy environments in greenhouses, demonstrating the satisfactory capability of the proposed approach and highlighting its promising applications in the autonomous navigation of agricultural robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]