The computer animated film: A dynamic cartography

Abstract

In the mid 1960's it became evident that the computer animated film offered great potential for developments in the field of cartography. The following example is a realization of that perception. Traffic crash coordinate data from Washtenaw County Michigan for the years 1968-1970 has been assembled and subsequently displayed in a computer generated film animation. The symbol display algorithm is written so that as a crash increases in severity of injury, the larger the symbol and the longer it is displayed. Two crash sequences are displayed: the first in chronological order from 1968-1970 by 24 hour increments, and the second for a composite week by 15 minute increments. The result is a computer animated film about 7 minutes duration.