MAPS AND DATA FOR AIR, SEA AND LAND NAVIGATION - DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

P. Kete

Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Department of Cartograpy and Topography, Ljubljana, Slovenia

primoz.kete@geod-is.si

Nowadays, data for air, sea and land navigation are of great importance for any country. They ensure safety of aerial, nautical and land traffic for passengers, cargo and vehicles. Mapping for air and sea navigation is standardized by ICAO and IHO, meanwhile data and map standards for car navigation are set within commercial companies to conform market demands. Acquisition of up to date navigational data in digital form is divided into public and private sector. Official data, which also have legal value, can be supplied only by national institutions.

Bigger countries have separate institutions for acquisition and maintenance of air and sea navigational data. With regular and sufficient funding, best possible data for national territory and beyond is assured. Market for land (ie. car) navigation data is managed mainly by big international companies, which fight for their dominance with wide coverage, best level of detail, larger set of points of interest and of course with precise and updated information.

In smaller countries data production and mapping can be concentrated in one single institution. Slovenia is a good example of such condition, where differences and similarities in map production and data management for every type of navigation can be observed within a homogeneous cartographic team. In Slovenia, different ministries are authorized for air and sea traffic, however they lack professional and technical capacities for production of geoinformation. Geodetic Institute of Slovenia (GI) performs this duties under their mandate, and, additionally provides data for car navigation.

VFR (Visual Flight Rules) type of military aeronautical charts, paper nautical charts, electronic navigational charts (ENC), sailing directions, topographic maps at different scales, topographic databases at different levels of detail and LBS data were produced for national institutions (Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Environment) and for private companies (TeleAtlas, ViaSat). Many factors have impact on navigation products: standards, data acquisition techniques, topologic demands, object types, accuracy, map design, navigation procedures and equipment, special objects and aids to navigation and terrain morphology. Differences and similarities of data management and mapping for the three navigation types will be shown, based on practical experiences and products.