Automatic Generalisation
Every day, changes occur in the Dutch landscape. Since geo-information is at the heart of many decisions, map users rely on the actuality of topographic maps. One of the responsibilities of the Dutch Kadaster is the production of topographic maps at various map scales.
New production line topographic maps
Kadaster updates its topographic base dataset (TOP10NL) in a one year cycle from aerial photography. Until 2013, actuality was an issue in the derivation of smaller map scales. These products were traditionally generalised by hand and it was impossible to meet the actuality demands with the current budget and staff size.
We started using automatic generalisation in early 2013 to produce smaller-scale maps following successful tests in 2011 and 2012. The Netherlands is one of the first countries in the world to use fully automated generalisation to produce topographical maps.
Advantages
- Compliance with legal obligations
- Cost effectiveness
- An actuality for all map series of at least two years
- All small scale map series are derived from the same source
- Uniformity
- Improvement of the source base data
International advice
Many of Kadaster’s counterpart organisations in other countries have already shown an interest in this development. In response to this interest, Kadaster offers several kinds of support to National Mapping Organisations (NMOs) to start with automatic generalisation.
More information
Kadaster invites National Mapping Organisations with an interest in automatic generalisation to contact Kadaster's secretary GeoInfo for more details. Please do so by using our contact form.