High Quality Geographic Services and Bandwidth Limitations

Arzu Coltekin and Tumasch Reichenbacher
Additional contact information
Arzu Coltekin: GIScience-GIVA, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
Tumasch Reichenbacher: GIScience-GIVA, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland

Future Internet, 2011, vol. 3, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: In this paper we provide a critical overview of the state of the art in human-centric intelligent data management approaches for geographic visualizations when we are faced with bandwidth limitations. These limitations often force us to rethink how we design displays for geographic visualizations. We need ways to reduce the amount of data to be visualized and transmitted. This is partly because modern instruments effortlessly produce large volumes of data and Web 2.0 further allows bottom-up creation of rich and diverse content. Therefore, the amount of information we have today for creating useful and usable cartographic products is higher than ever before. However, how much of it can we really use online? To answer this question, we first calculate the bandwidth needs for geographic data sets in terms of waiting times. The calculations are based on various data volumes estimated by scholars for different scenarios. Documenting the waiting times clearly demonstrates the magnitude of the problem. Following this, we summarize the current hardware and software solutions, then the current human-centric design approaches trying to address the constraints such as various screen sizes and information overload. We also discuss a limited set of social issues touching upon the digital divide and its implications. We hope that our systematic documentation and critical review will help researchers and practitioners in the field to better understand the current state of the art.

Keywords: online maps; virtual globes; high resolution data; bandwidth limitations; level of detail; cartographic design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/3/4/379/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/3/4/379/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jftint:v:3:y:2011:i:4:p:379-396:d:15337

Access Statistics for this article

Future Internet is currently edited by Ms. Grace You

More articles in Future Internet from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().