10 replies to this topic

[Bjorn]

Hi! I just launched the Thematic Mapping Engine (TME). TME enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The engine returns a KMZ file that you can open in Google Earth or download to your computer. So far only prism maps are supported, but other thematic mapping techniques will be added in the upcoming weeks.

This project is initialised by a master's thesis in Geographical Information Science at University of Edinburgh. Happy for any feedback!

Bjorn

http://blog.thematicmapping.org

[mika]

Quite cool actualy

[Esther Mandeno]

Yes, very nice. And quick too! I imagine that non-profits would love this. Good project.

[mika]

Have you already tried combining your engine with the new browser embeded ge? That would be a nice feature - creating a theme and displaying it straight away in a browser. No need to switch between applications :-)

Also have you tried creating similar overlays for yahoo maps, virtual earth or perhaps world wind? I know they aren't as popular as ge, but perhaps users would appreciate flexibility of your app?

[Bjorn]

Hi mika,

Thanks for your feedback. I've tried to visualise a KMZ file from TME with the new Google Earth plugin:
http://thematicmappi...e-earth-api.php
The plugin seems to have good KML rendering capabilities, but it's not yet possible to use the time slider control. I don't want to make TME dependent of a plugin, but I plan to add a preview button for this purpose.

Other geobrowsers like Virtual Earth, Yahoo Maps and World Wind have so far limited KML support. This is likely to improve, as KML is becoming the official (OGC) standard for geobrowsers.

Bjorn

[mika]

Cool, I am looking forward to seeing the missing functionality then. If you don't mind, please keep us posted on the development progress!

[ELeFevre]

Very cool project and great blog! It's one of my favorites...actually it's a favorite around the office. Well done.

[Bjorn]

Sean Gorman has a blog post about "NeoCartography" which is related to the work I'm doing. Might be of interest.

Do we need new guiding priciples for web cartography?

[Bjorn]

Mika,

It's now possible to render thematic maps with the Google Earth plugin.
See blog post.

Bjorn

[mika]

It's now possible to render thematic maps with the Google Earth plugin.

I like it! Glad you managed to incorporate the plugin. Makes the service much more interactive. Hopefully google will add the missing functionality soon. And support opera too....

[Bjorn]

Thematic Mapping Engine (TME) now supports proportional symbols and choropleths in addition to prism maps.

http://blog.thematic...n-thematic.html

I would appreciate feedback from a cartographic perspective.