CONCEPT OF REAL SCALE MAP AND THE ALLOCATION OF REFERENCE POINTS IN UBIQUITOUS MAPPING

T. Morita

Hosei University

morita@hosei.ac.jp

The notion of ubiquitous mapping is the model of future map where people utilize maps in anywhere, at anytime, and for any purpose. It was derived from ubiquitous computing, where computers are spilled out in real space and people utilize them in anywhere through the infrastructure of advanced information and communication systems. Thus it is not a single solution of technical problem of mapping but an environment of total map use in the information society. There are four basic components in ubiquitous mapping, real space, map, user, and infrastructure of information technology. A good coordination between these components is needed to be function as a total system. For the coordination, it is primordial to have not only a common image of the total system but also some common components of the system. It might be reference points which are located in real space as well as annotated in map, verified by user in real space and in map, and connected each other by ubiquitous computing facilities, play the role of common components. Reference points are utilized finally in a real space as for the confirmation of the place. We can see the view of real space as it is, but to memorize and to communicate it is necessary to interpret the structural characteristics of the space into a spatial model. A map is a sort of spatial model representing the structure of the space. It might be similar for reference points whose allocation pattern may be represented as a map. In this condition reference points are physically distributed in real space and at the same time they are described in a reduced scale as a map represented through map symbol and annotation. A real space and a spatial model (map) meet there through reference points in a real scale, which is a “real scale map”. The deployment of reference points in real space with a direct representation in the spatial model allows the model to more accurately and intuitively display the structure of the space. The framework of this concept is described, and the basic requirements for the allocation of reference points are discussed.