Definition of electronic cartography

We have gotten used to using our smartphone for everything, even to consult directions on a map, so that they have notably decreased the people who, in the middle of the street, ask us for this or that address, since they consult it in its mobile instead of asking.

To do this, they use a program that allows them access to a system of mapping electronics, consisting of a map in Format electronic so that we can operate elements on it and carry out queries such as, for example, locating specific points on the map, or calculating routes between two points.

These operations can be done in an automated way, by the same telephone, thanks to the fact that the data is found in digital format, with which it is possible to treat them numerically and through algorithms mathematicians.

Electronic mapping can include various elements, both geophysical and political.

Among them we have, for example, heights, cities, rivers, national and regional borders, or even the relief of the seabed. We can also see the geographic area that we want, by doing

zoom to see the smallest details captured by the system, or to cover a larger area.

We have various electronic mapping systems and services but, furthermore, these are not necessarily limited to the applications that provided by the companies, but may be licensed for use in other applications or even for certain uses by consumers.

Thus, we have companies that provide the maps for GPS systems, such as TomTom, and also those that use their mapping systems for GPS applications. Username final. The latter is the case of

Google Maps, the most popular and used system, available mainly through its web interface and the app for the Android operating system.

Google Maps allows companies and businesses to add their locations and information in the map system so that they can be consulted by users. It also offers information on buses and trains, including timetables (not on all lines).

We can point out two points for the system to calculate the optimal route between the two, indicating if we will make the journey on foot, in transport private vehicle (such as our car or motorcycle), or by public transport (train and bus; taxi is not included here, which would be like a car).

We can also see the information of the map with images of satelite superimposed, which allows us to identify visual marks on the ground, and has the possibility of include 3D designs of buildings and landforms, so that we can navigate between these maps in three dimensions.

The other mapping systems and maps for users provide functionalities similar to those of Google Maps, starting with Apple Maps, from the company of the bitten apple for its computational and mobile platforms, so that we can access them from a computer Apple Mac, iPhone phone, or tablet iPad.

Here Maps is the heir to the OVI maps of the Finnish multinational Nokia, which passed into the hands of a consortium of companies in 2015 carmakers formed by Audi, BMW and Daimler, with the intention of using it in their vehicles, although they have also kept the version for Android.

Bing Maps is Microsoft's alternative, available for Windows in all its versions and through the web, offering the same services as the others. Maintaining your own map system is a strategic necessity for large technology companies.

The last option worthy of mention is the only one that escapes precisely this last point, since it is a free initiative, managed by the users themselves, and which is nourished by selfless collaborative work, placed under free license. Is about

OpenStreetMap, which provides basic electronic mapping services, and can be freely used by any developer in their creations.

In addition to mapping, address search, route, and 3D design services, the major map services also provide added functionality. to be able to navigate in a kind of virtual reality through maps, through photographs of streets and buildings, which allow for photorealistic navigation.

They also include blueprints of some interiors, such as sports stadiums or convention centers, always thinking of public places that can accommodate large concentrations of people.

Some also allow maps to be inserted into web pages, with the aim, for example, of geographically locating (geolocate) the headquarters of the company that owns the page or indicate a meeting place.

Photos: Fotolia - Peart / Nataly-Nete

Topics in Electronic Cartography