Automated change detection for updating settlements at smaller-scale maps from updated larger-scale maps

Abstract

This paper presents a method for automated detection of changes between updated larger-scale (1:10,000) maps and to-be-updated smaller-scale (1:50,000) maps, with settlements as an example. In the method, (i) discrepancies between two maps are detected and recognized through an exhaustive comparison of map features; (ii) these discrepancies are then quantified and represented in a formalized way; (iii) with a combination of cause analysis and quantification of discrepancies, a series of rules are formulated to distinguish updates from discrepancies. Real-life data are used to verify the effectiveness of this method and the results suggest that the new method works well.

Keywords:

• change detection
• data update
• topographic map
• data matching
• map generalization
• map error

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the State 973 Project (2006CB701304) and a studentship (RGLT) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.