The Real-Time Animation of Three-Dimensional Maps

Abstract

With recent developments in computer processing techniques it is now possible and feasible to display three-dimensional cartographic objects dynamically. The cartographer has immediate control of the image being produced while it is being generated and one can control such features as the viewing point while examining the display. If the cartographic object is a single Z surface, this procedure is called surface exploration. Similarly, the sequential representation of a surface that is changing over time can be accomplished and is referred to as spatiotemporal display. Such computer displays allow the cartographer more flexibility than conventional static maps or even conventional cartographic animations, and as the complexity of the surface increases, the potential benefit of such dynamic control also increases.