Making Maps Navigable - Programming GPS and OpenStreetMap Applications with Java - page 103

Chapter 8

Making Maps Navigable

8.1 Introduction

After pre-processing digital map deliveries, this chapter will show how to
divide the map into a cartographic, a network, and an administrative part.
The network represents the heart of a navigation system and it has to
be converted into a format suited for effective routing. A NavigableMap is
created to route from any point in the network to any other point chosen
from a destination list.
In the next chapter a real object will be equipped with this navigable
map to be able to sense its environment and to provide a means to make a
choice where to go.

8.2 Map Compiler Branches

Processing a map delivery is the first step of a map compilation. Unneces-
sary information can be removed, while product-specific attributes remain
in the optimized map file(s). The compiler generalizes the product portfo-
lio on the front end and refines each product toward the back end. It has
to be flexible and competitive and maintained and performance optimized,
while ensuring backward compatibility using regression testing.
It would require an unreasonable amount of resources to build a com-
piler to exclusively process a Europe map, to extract Germany, and then
to extract a Regensburg image for the RGB projects. After designing the
processing chain for RGB , the compiler should be applicable to all cities and
all products should work with the MovingObjects application.
A map is compiled according to the product coverage and feature set.
For a navigation system, a map image is provided for the users' orientation
and the moving vehicle is drawn on top of this map. The system does not
depend on the projection of a map display. It works with the nodes of
a map and is basically build to navigate along a given road network to a
destination provided by the user.

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