A deformation analysis method for artificial maps based on geographical accuracy and its applications

Artificial maps are widely used for a variety of purposes, including as tourist guides to help people find geographical objects using simple figures. We aim to develop an editing system and a navigation system for artificial maps. Artificial maps made for tourists show suitable objects for traveling users. Therefore, if the artificial map has a navigation system, users can get geographical information such as object positions and routes without performing any operations. However, artificial maps might contain incorrect or superfluous information, such as some objects on the map being intentionally enlarged or omitted. For developing the system, there are two problems: 1. extraction of geographical information from the raster graphics of the artificial map and 2. revision of inaccurate geographical information on the artificial map. We propose a deformation-analyzing method based on geographical accuracy using optical character recognition techniques and comparing gazetteer information. That is, our proposed method detects the tolerance level for deformation according to the purpose of the artificial map. Then, we detect a certain position on the artificial map using deformation analysis. In this paper, we develop a prototype system and we evaluate the accuracy of extracting information from the artificial map and detecting positions.