Need directions? Are you good at getting lost? Then GPS is just the technology you’ve dreamed of, and GPS For Dummies is what you need to help you make the most of it. If you have a GPS unit or plan to buy one, GPS For Dummies, 2nd Edition helps you compare GPS technologies, units, and uses. You’ll find out how to create and use digital maps and learn about waypoints, tracks, coordinate systems, and other key point to using GPS technology. Get more from your GPS device by learning to use Web-hosted mapping services and even how to turn your cell phone or PDA into a GPS receiver. You’ll also discover: Up-to-date information on the capabilities of popular handheld and automotive Global Positioning Systems How to read a map and how to get more from the free maps available online The capabilities and limitations of GPS technology, and how satellites and radio systems make GPS work How to interface your GPS receiver with your computer and what digital mapping software can offer Why a cell phone with GPS capability isn’t the same as a GPS unit What can affect your GPS reading and how accurate it will be How to use Street Atlas USA, TopoFusion, Google Earth, and other tools Fun things to do with GPS, such as exploring topographical maps, aerial imagery, and the sport of geocaching Most GPS receivers do much more than their owners realize. With GPS For Dummies, 2nd Edition in hand, you’ll venture forth with confidence!

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a groundbreaking guide that provided African American travelers with crucial information on safe places to stay, eat, and visit during the era of segregation in the United States. This essential resource, originally published from 1936 to 1966, offered a lifeline to black motorists navigating a deeply divided nation, helping them avoid the dangers and indignities of racism on the road. More than just a travel guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book stands as a powerful symbol of resilience and resistance in the face of oppression, offering a poignant glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of the African American experience in the 20th century.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 301: Collecting, Processing, and Integrating GPS Data Into GIS includes a discussion of the benefits and problems of integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) data with data from geographic information systems (GIS) and a six-step method designed to help improve the quality of maps and reduce the severity of problems associated with GPS-GIS integration.

For most of the twentieth century, maps were indispensable. They were how governments understood, managed, and defended their territory, and during the two world wars they were produced by the hundreds of millions. Cartographers and journalists predicted the dawning of a “map-minded age,” where increasingly state-of-the-art maps would become everyday tools. By the century’s end, however, there had been decisive shift in mapping practices, as the dominant methods of land surveying and print publication were increasingly displaced by electronic navigation systems. In After the Map, William Rankin argues that although this shift did not render traditional maps obsolete, it did radically change our experience of geographic knowledge, from the God’s-eye view of the map to the embedded subjectivity of GPS. Likewise, older concerns with geographic truth and objectivity have been upstaged by a new emphasis on simplicity, reliability, and convenience. After the Map shows how this change in geographic perspective is ultimately a transformation of the nature of territory, both social and political.

This book explores the concept of a map as a fundamental data type. It defines maps at three levels. The first is an abstract level, in which mathematic concepts are leveraged to precisely explain maps and operational semantics. The second is at a discrete level, in which graph theory is used to create a data model with the goal of implementation in computer systems. Finally, maps are examined at an implementation level, in which the authors discuss the implementation of a fundamental map data type in database systems. The map data type presented in this book creates new mechanisms for the storage, analysis, and computation of map data objects in any field that represents data in a map form. The authors develop a model that includes a map data type capable of representing thematic and geometric attributes in a single data object. The book provides a complete example of mathematically defining a data type, ensuring closure properties of those operations, and then translating that type into a state that is suited for implementation in a particular context. The book is designed for researchers and professionals working in geography or computer science in a range of fields including navigation, reasoning, robotics, geospatial analysis, data management, and information retrieval.

Geocomputation with R is for people who want to analyze, visualize and model geographic data with open source software. It is based on R, a statistical programming language that has powerful data processing, visualization, and geospatial capabilities. The book equips you with the knowledge and skills to tackle a wide range of issues manifested in geographic data, including those with scientific, societal, and environmental implications. This book will interest people from many backgrounds, especially Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users interested in applying their domain-specific knowledge in a powerful open source language for data science, and R users interested in extending their skills to handle spatial data. The book is divided into three parts: (I) Foundations, aimed at getting you up-to-speed with geographic data in R, (II) extensions, which covers advanced techniques, and (III) applications to real-world problems. The chapters cover progressively more advanced topics, with early chapters providing strong foundations on which the later chapters build. Part I describes the nature of spatial datasets in R and methods for manipulating them. It also covers geographic data import/export and transforming coordinate reference systems. Part II represents methods that build on these foundations. It covers advanced map making (including web mapping), "bridges" to GIS, sharing reproducible code, and how to do cross-validation in the presence of spatial autocorrelation. Part III applies the knowledge gained to tackle real-world problems, including representing and modeling transport systems, finding optimal locations for stores or services, and ecological modeling. Exercises at the end of each chapter give you the skills needed to tackle a range of geospatial problems. Solutions for each chapter and supplementary materials providing extended examples are available at https://geocompr.github.io/geocompkg/articles/. Dr. Robin Lovelace is a University Academic Fellow at the University of Leeds, where he has taught R for geographic research over many years, with a focus on transport systems. Dr. Jakub Nowosad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geoinformation at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, where his focus is on the analysis of large datasets to understand environmental processes. Dr. Jannes Muenchow is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the GIScience Department at the University of Jena, where he develops and teaches a range of geographic methods, with a focus on ecological modeling, statistical geocomputing, and predictive mapping. All three are active developers and work on a number of R packages, including stplanr, sabre, and RQGIS.

Digital street maps with rich features are the foundation of many applications. However, creating and maintaining up-to-date digital maps often involve many labor-intensive tasks, making the mapping process time-consuming and expensive. This thesis explores automated techniques for enriching digital street maps from aerial imagery and GPS data.