Routes visualization: Automated placement of multiple route symbols along a physical network infrastructure

摘要

Thispapertacklestherepresentationofroutescarriedbyaphysicalnetworkinfrastructureonamap.Inparticular,thepaperexaminesthecasewhereeachrouteisrepresentedbyaseparatecoloredlinearsymboloffsetfromthephysicalnetworksegmentsandfromotherroutes—asonpublictransitmapswithbusroutesoffsetfromroads.Inthisstudy,theobjectiveistoautomatetheplacementofsuchroutesymbolswhilemaximizingtheirlegibility,especiallyatjunctions.Theproblemismodeledasaconstraintoptimizationproblem.Legibilitycriteriaareidentifiedandformalizedasconstraintstooptimize,whilefocusingonthecaseofhikingroutesinaphysicalnetworkcomposedofroadsandpedestrianpaths.Twosolvingmethodsaretested,basedonbacktrackingandsimulatedannealingmeta-heuristicsrespectively.Encouragingresultsobtainedonrealdataarepresentedanddiscussed.