Section: New Software and Platforms

MapMosaic

Keywords: Geo-visualization - Data visualization

Scientific Description: GIS software applications and other mapping tools enable users to correlate data from multiple layers and gain insight from the resulting visualizations. However, most of these applications only feature basic, monolithic layer compositing techniques. These techniques do not always support users effectively in their tasks, as we observed during interviews with GIS experts. MapMosaic is a novel approach based on dynamic visual compositing that enables users to interactively create and manipulate local composites of multiple vector and raster map layers, taking into account the semantics and attribute values of objects and fields in the composit-ing process. We evaluated MapMosaic's interaction model against that of QGIS (a widely-used desktop GIS) and MAPublisher (a professional cartography tool) using the "Cognitive Dimensions" framework and through an analytical comparison, showing that MapMosaic's model is more flexible and can support users more effectively in their tasks.

Functional Description: MapMosaic is a novel approach to combine geographical layers based on dynamic visual compositing that enables users to interactively create and manipulate local composites of multiple vector and raster map layers. It takes into account the semantics and attribute values of objects and fields in the compositing process. MapMosaic aims at better supporting GIS users in their tasks such as correlating data from multiple layers and gaining insight from the resulting visualizations.

Release Functional Description: First public release.

• Participants: Maria Jesus Lobo, Caroline Appert and Emmanuel Pietriga

• Contact: Emmanuel Pietriga

• Publications: MapMosaic: Dynamic Layer Compositing for Interactive Geovisualization - An Evaluation of Interactive Map Comparison Techniques

• URL: http://ilda.saclay.inria.fr/mapmuxing/mapmosaic/index.html