EGIS (1994), copyright EGIS Foundation.
The development in the field of surveying as to satisfying the needs for land and geographical information systems is felt throughout European environment. To study the possibilities of unification and cooperation in the field of setting up surveying databases a detailed analysis was made for seven European countries or their administrative parts, members of the Alpine Adriatic region (part of Austria, Croatia, part of Germany, part of Hungary, part of Italy, Slovenia, and part of Switzerland). The article gives a review of the set up digital surveying thematic data and presents projects for the transition of maintaining classic forms of surveying data into digital one with special impact on topography, cartography and land cadastre. The European professional environment requires unification and standardization within individual state environments to be able to download data (through adequate instruments), execute additional processing, merge those of the same kind, and pass them to ever increasing number of users, who already operate in "Europe without borders".
Worldwide in the last decades the period of classic maps, charts, tables and lists of data elaboration is in the phase of intensive technical restructuring. Geographical information systems are progressively developing and along with them numerous databases. Also the Alpine-Adriatic region reflects the development of hardware and software tools, concepts, technologies and new knowledge.
The working community of the Alpine-Adriatic region was founded in 1978. The states, lands and provinces, which are connecting within the frame of the Alpine-Adriatic region, are: Austrian provinces: Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Salzburg, Upper Austria; Croatia, German federal land Bavaria; Hungarian counties Gyoer-Moson-Sopron, Vas, Zala, Somogy, Baranya; Italian regions Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Trento, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Slovenia, and Swiss canton Tessin. Within the working community current professional issues, concerning all members, are mutually discussed, and unified guidelines for a more harmonized development are suggested.
To obtain a better insight into the state-of-the-art and activities of the surveying field in individual Alpine-Adriatic region countries a questionnaire was prepared and sent to over 40 various addresses to countries e.g. provinces Alpine-Adriatic region members (Lipej 1994).
From the gathered material and replies (10) and in connection with other available material we can sum up basic characteristics into the following thematic groups:
The Federal office of metrology and surveying (Bundesamt fuer Eich- und Vermessungswesen -
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BEV), Vienna, is the state authority (BEV 1993c) that is among other tasks responsible for official topography and cartography and land cadastre data.
Nowadays, the main task of the Federal office of metrology and surveying is the establishment and management of surveying databases as the basis for land and geographic information systems (BEV 1993a). The already available land cadastre information are (BEV 1993b): topological relations among parcels, parcel numbers, coordinates and quality of border points and parcels, areas and addresses of parcels and quality of ground for the purpose of taxation in rural areas. To obtain this kind of information the following databases are maintained: database of parcels, database of coordinates, digital cadastral map.
Another important already set up database for the whole Austria is the digital terrain model, set up by the Federal office of metrology and surveying (BEV 1992). The data were captured with automatic registration by orthophoto production on 1:10 000 scale along with parallel profiles with a constant distance. Data density was fitted in to correspond to the conditions of the terrain (linear distance between 30 and 160 m).
At the Federal office of metrology and surveying, the development of topography and cartography, along with introducing automotive techniques of data processing, is taking the following two main routes: a setting up of a topographic data model and cartographic data models (BEV 1993c).
The first phase of setting up the topographic model comprised the whole Austrian network of roads and railways. The chosen data capture procedure was a combination of manual digitalization of orthophoto maps with digital photogrammetric restitution on analytical photogrammetric instruments. According to plans this phase is to be concluded till the end of 1994. Concurrently also hydrographic elements from not generalized original of a hydrography Austrian map on 1:50 000 scale are being digitized. Among cartographic models the priority goes to the elaboration of a cartographic model KM50 for the Austrian map on 1:50 000 scale. The cartographic model KM50 is elaborated concurrently with the automated digitalization (scanning) of reproducing originals of Austrian maps on 1:50 000 scale. Available for KM50 there were already in mid 1993 all in raster formats originals of maps on 1:50 000 scale with 508 dpi resolution.
The institution in charge of the surveying administrative field in Croatia is the Department for Cadastre and Surveying of Republic Croatia, within the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Housing-Communal Activities, Zagreb. On the territory of communes local surveying and land cadastre authorities join in with their work - about 100 in number for the whole country. The state's territory is covered by classic cartographic basics and the Croatian land cadastre data consists of attributive and graphical part.
For the needs of radio and television planning a digital relief model was made. The grid to read heights was a net of meridians and parallels for the topographic map on 1:25 000 scale. A new digital terrain model on the basis of contour digitization a topographic map on 1:25 000 scale is in preparation.
In the field of topography and cartography (Francula 1993) the general design of an elaboration of official topographic-cartographic information system - STOKIS will be prepared. The prepared study (Kovacevic et al. 1992) gives the basic concept of STOKIS, which will encompass the structure of all topographic objects and the relief of earth's surface taking into
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consideration their characteristics.
In the field of land cadastre a project called GEOPS - surveying spatial system of the Republic Croatia will be prepared. The project will be based on creating a mutual database of land cadastre and land register.
In Germany individual federal lands are completely and apart from the state in charge of official surveying tasks. In the federal land Bavaria the surveying and cadastral works are executed by the Bavarian State Ministry for finances (Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Finanzen, Vermessungsabteilung), Muenchen (BSF 1993). Within it there are the Bavarian State Office for Topography (Bayerisches Landesvermessungsamt), which among other fields covers also Topography, aerial photography, geographic information system GEOGIS and 5 district financial administrations (Bezirksfinanzdirektionen) with 79 surveying offices covering the field of the land cadastre and ground information system called GRUBIS.
The Bavarian State office for topography has set up and is maintaining the official basic geographic information system called GEOGIS (Geographische Grundinformationssystem) (Roder 1990, BSF 1993a), which stands for the Bavarian variant of ATKIS (Amtliches Topographisch-Kartographisches Informationssystem). It consists of seven object groups: surveying-cartographic information, built-up areas, traffic, vegetation, hydrography, administrative division and altitude situation, described by a digital terrain model. Within these groups data are subdivided into layers and connected with different attributive data. Basics for GEOGIS 25 is topographic map on 1:25 000 scale, which can be reduced to 1:50 000 or 1:100 000 scales. Basics for GEOGIS 500 is general map of Bavaria in 1:500000 scale.
Digital terrain model was set up by the evaluation of aerial photographs or by contour lines digitization. It is available in raster form with a point distance of 50 m (made for the whole country) to 200 m. At the moment the setting up of digital terrain model with a point distance of 10-20 m and 0,5 m accuracy is in progress.
Apart from the GEOGIS project scanned data of the originals of topographic map on 1:50 000 scale (200 lines per cm) and topographic map on 1:100 000 scale were set up (Roder 1990).
The official parcel and ground information system (GRUBIS - Grundstuecks- und Bodeninformationssystem) represents a modern form of data presentation of land cadastre surveys connected with descriptive data of parcel position, usage and ground quality. The GRUBIS is formed by ALB (Automatisierte Liegenschaftsbuch), which replaced land cadastre books, and the DFK (Digitale Flurkarte), which replaced analog cadastral plans. The ALB consists of databases dealing with parcels, owner's data and data connecting a parcel number with the position of the parcel in the land register. The DFK (Wollmann 1992) is adapted to the requirements of modern graphic data processing as its content is roughly divided into the following layers: geodetic and parcel points, borders, buildings, descriptions and topography. The most used DFK scales are 1:1 000 and 1:5 000.
In Hungary the surveying field is taken care of institutionally (Remetey-Fueloepp 1993): The National surveying and mapping agency, supervised by the Department of lands and mapping, Ministry of agriculture, Budapest, with the following institutional network: Institute of geodesy, cartography and remote sensing, multi-level network of 133 Land offices and three state-owned enterprises.
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Based on the introduction of the new reference system (Hungarian Datum 1972) a uniform national mapping system (EOTR) with a projection system of reduced obligate Mercator was set up in 1976. The new cartographic map series are partly completed for the whole country. The Hungarian land cadastre consists of cadastre maps and land registration. Gyoer is also among municipalities, where digital cadastre maps are available.
The Geodetic and geophysical research institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Sopron is responsible for maintaining the following databases (Zavoty 1993): observation data of the observatory near Sopron, geodynamical data for the Carpathian basin, magnetotellurics measurements results, geomatics database and ionosphere database.
In the field of topography and cartography, no digital topographic maps with full coverage are available at present, except for the digitized version of the 1:100 000 scale EOTR map with reduced content, called OTAB1. In 1993 a new multi-sector project has been launched in order to develop the infrastructure as required by the establishment of a 1:10 000 scale digital topographic database. The technological chain and the products have to meet with domestic and international requirements.
Not long ago an automatic land cadastre map production has started using some user-made software like the Interactive Map Editor Software, called ITR. Based on the agreement signed by the European communities and the Ministry of agriculture in December 1990, the modernization of the Hungarian land cadastre begun in 1992 within the frame of the PHARE Programme.
The Italian Military geographic institute (IGMI), Firenze, is a state agency for the field of basic surveying works, civil and military cartography and research and experimentation works. The Ministry for finance - General department for land cadastre and technical services, Rome, is the Italian state agency for the field of land cadastre records. In connection with the land cadastre administration there is the Register authority of property of real estates.
The IGMI produces in the digital way (IGMI 1993): vector orographic data, derived from the world map on 1:500 000 scale; vector orographic data, derived from maps on 1:25 000, 1:50 000 and 1:100 000 scales; vector hydrographic data, derived from maps on 1:25 000 scale; vector data on administrative territorial units, taken from maps on 1:100 000 scale; raster cartography, partly completed maps on 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 scales, and satellite map on 1:100 000 scale.
The setting up data in the Cadastral information system (C.I.S.) are organized in several integrated databases (BEV 1993b). Data regarding the geometric (graphic) or alphanumeric information are stored in a kind of a related database. Cadastral databases are also integrated in several experimental geographical information systems.
In the prototype phase is an IGMI project for setting up digital terrain model (IGMI 1993a).
The Surveying and mapping administration of Republic Slovenia, Ljubljana, acting as a part of the Ministry for environment protection and physical planning, is among other tasks responsible for the set up and maintenance of data in the field of topography and land cadastre. On the communes' level 44 local surveying and mapping administrations are involved in carrying out
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official surveying tasks.
The digital terrain model 100*100 m was set up in 1985 and some corrections followed in 1990s.
Digital data for territorial divisions from the ROTE (Register of territorial units) and from the EHIS (Evidence of house numbers) were set up from topographic maps on 1:5 000 e.g. 1:10 000 scales in the 1990s (Lipej 1990).
Since 1989 the Surveying and mapping administration of Republic Slovenia has been managing several projects in the field of setting up Slovene geoinformational infrastructure. All new created databases will be object-oriented and structured as to the demands of GIS tools, DBMS (Data Base Management System) and user applications.
In the field of a topographic database setting up the following projects are being performed: digital topographic database (partial) project, infrastructure objects and devices project, geographical names project, and register of spatial units project.
The digital topographic database project covers a setting up of a database for relief, hydrography, buildings and infrastructure objects and devices (IGF 1993). The database will be set up using as the basis the existing maps on 1:5 000 e.g. 1:10 000 scales. The objects and signs catalogues for this level were prepared in 1993. The infrastructure objects and devices project (energy, communal, traffic and telecommunication infrastructure) - an object catalogue on 1:5 000 e.g. 1:10 000 scales with some amendments for greater scales was prepared in 1993. The geographical names project - basic source for data capture will be basic topographic maps on 1:5 000 e.g. 1:10 000 scales. Two databases partly connectable are to be set: the attribute one for the recording of official geographical names and the graphic-attributive one. The register of spatial units project - the database of spatial units e.g. territorial divisions of space is to contain adequately connected and amended attributive and graphic records of ROTE and EHIS.
In the field of the land cadastre a digital land cadastre is to be set up with graphic data of land cadastral maps in a digital form and their connectability with the attributive data in the corporate database. Within the project methodologic-technological solutions have been elaborated and by the aid of computer software solutions are tested on six pilot local surveying and mapping administrations. The building cadastre project is defined as an official record of basic data on buildings serving as a technical base for conducting legal relation on buildings and parts of buildings. In connection with the land register, which is the evidence legal relation as to the individual kind of real estate, the building cadastre will be the evidence of objective condition of an individual building. A computer-aided prototype of the functioning of the main part was elaborated.
Maps on 1:250 000, 1:50 000 and partly on 1:5 00 scales are to be scanned till mid 1994.
The state tasks of covering the field of basic administrative surveying works is performed by: the Bundesamt fuer Landestopographie, in charge of the field of topography and cartography, digital terrain model, aerial survey etc., and the Eidgenoessische Vermessungsdirektion in Bern, acting within the Federal office for physical planning with cantonal branch offices (6) and 20 cantonal surveying authorities for the field of land cadastre and other tasks.
The Federal office of topography started with a project called DIKART (Digitale KARTe) in
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the first half of the 1980's (Rickenbacher 1992). The first project aim was the setting up of a digital height model (DHM25) and a digital topographic base (areal and linear elements as forests, glaciers, built-up areas and traffic network, water network, administrative divisions for the whole country and the second aim to get the know-how of computer cartographic processing.
The Federal office of topography is establishing a digital height model DHM25 (L+T 1992a), derived from the Swiss national topographic map on 1:25 000 scale. The basic model contains digitized height content such as: vectorized contours, vectorized lake contours and digitized spot heights. The matrix model DHM25 is derived from the basic model through interpolation and has a grid of 25 m. For generalized models, a larger grid can be extracted from the original matrix, for example: 50 m (DHM25/50), 100 m (DHM25/100) or 250 m (DHM25/250).
The Federal office of topography is also establishing scanned maps in raster format, the so-called pixel maps (L+T 1992b). The pixel maps are scanned with a resolution of 20 1/mm (508 dpi) according to different colors of the original map. An exception is the PM25/16L which has a resolution of 16 1/mm and is a by-product of the DMH25. All six types of above mentioned classic maps are available in color raster - different number of colours and different numbers of scanned originals. Pixel maps are not updated directly. Plans for the future are to scan the maps as soon as they are updated and printed.
As the existing survey no longer meets the current demands, a new concept - the project Reform of the Official Survey - (RAV-Reform der amtlichen Vermessung) was legalized in 1990 (RAV 1990). The essence of the reform is that in addition to the land cadastre data also topographic data and other elements in digital form are provided. The whole content is according to the setting up concept of the spatial information system subdivided into 8 layers: geodetic points, land cover, point and linear elements, geographical names, land ownership, pipelines, altitudes, administrative divisions.
In the originally defined project, which has been tested since 1986 in 6 pilot projects, 11 layers were schemed, yet due to a practical set up later 3 have been eliminated: servitudes, limitation of private rights and land use. It is foreseen the new concept is enforced for the whole state territory gradually till the year 2000 (RAV 1987).
At present as European countries tend to forward close mutual cooperation and state borders are losing their meaning due to the promotion of goods, services, capital, people, interests and information transfer, users are having more and more demands as to unique spatial data for areas greater than those within state limits. In response a great deal of expert work is taking place at the preparation of studies and European projects. It may be that projects in the field of geoinformatics are not quite keeping pace with other branches, so this article concentrates primarily on surveying and official surveying basin for geographic information systems. A sample of European countries and provinces connecting within the Alpine-Adriatic region was a good base to study details and versatilities in estimating the state-of-the-art in individual states and in analyses of the estimated developmental guidelines.
Evident from the introduction the starting-point position in individual countries of the Alpine-Adriatic region varies as to the existent fund and organization of surveying data, available hardware and software, experts familiar with developmental activities, and financial and political support given to suggested professional solutions. In spite of some differences much thought, standardization and activities are taking the same direction of shaping the basic geoinformational structure.
The question is how to make a selection of elements which are integrated into a unique database, how to standardize them properly and how to ensure their inner and external
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connectability. The final aim in the restructure as well of surveying as other data must be time saving in production and cartography basics maintenance, less costly maintenance, faster and more objective decision-making, greater data reliability and higher standard of processing, faster data and information access and others. These are the primary questions to be solved on time and on a high professional level by interdisciplinary national teams in individual countries. A help may be the advantages and shortcomings of the realized solutions in neighboring countries, if due to open and sincere cooperation they can get suitable vital information. Apart from establishing professional solutions the organizational and financial management of projects is of importance too, though in some environments it does not get enough attention but very slowly it establishes itself also in surveying. The greatest advantage of a timely and unique standardization of surveying data is by all means the formation of a fundamental basics to set up information systems in environment, agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, water economy, pedology, geology, statistics and in numerous other fields of work. In all countries and states from these branches there are already emerging demands for their work essentially needed digitized surveying data, which are at present available in different countries.
European initiative for associating in the field of geoinformation is developing within the CERCO association, even more so in the projects of MEGRIN (Multi-purpose European Ground-Related Information Network; formally founded in June 1993) and EUROGI (European Umbrella Organization for Geographical Information; formal foundation is expected in 1994). Two of more important ongoing MEGRIN tasks are (Salge et al. 1992): providing a Geographical data description directory service (data products available from official mapping authorities), and creating an Administrative area boundary dataset (dataset of all administrative area boundaries for European states to the LOC II level - commune, including the position of the administrative center if possible). EUROGI intends with its numerous foreseen tasks to strengthen governmental, commercial, research, development and educational base for the European geoinformation community.
The executed review of the work done in countries and provinces of the Alpine-Adriatic may not be thoroughly in balance as it was based on material gathered from these countries and other relevant materials we managed to obtain. In spite of that we hope not to have left out major projects whereas numerous minor data of possible interest had to be left out due to the presentation limitations. Among the data of seven reviewed countries we may form two rough groups as to the intensiveness of transit from managing surveying data into digital form: the developed countries executing operative projects for years and offering cartographic and cadastral data for further basics of creating other spatial information systems, and countries only just planning or executing project and pilot solutions for the wholesome restructure of surveying data. Especially for the second group experience of the developed ones could be a great help not to start solving already solved problems anew. Doubtlessly the Alpine-Adriatic environment - which has to be developed not only on territory of individual countries and provinces but also on border regions with international cooperation - is one of the places to exchange strategic and operative experience. Especially the cooperation in the surveying branch is to recommended in the field of the land cadastre, which on the part of this territory results from the same old Austria-Hungary land cadastre plans and by new approaches in these countries we meet with identical demands. To get easier access to elaborating projects as a starting-point we ought to have already prepared research guidelines, which would combine foreign results with special environments in individual countries. The research work ought to monitor all the time the development in Europe and the world, in neighboring countries and of course in one's own environment.
To elaborate a review of solutions of classic and automated forms of managing above all surveying data for the territory of seven countries, among themselves on the whole or just with some parts connected into the Alpine-Adriatic association is none too great an achievement if we disregard the difficulties in acquiring reliable information, versatility of languages, in which the materials were prepared, and understanding of legality of individual parts in question. In spite of everything this search for legality proved to be a challenge which we hope has given
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results to be of use to planners of a modern surveying and the role the profession itself has to establish and to popularize to even larger extent as to its share in covering land and geographic information systems.
The authoress wishes to express her thanks to the Province Styria, Austria, for enabling this minor research project and especially to Univ. Doc. Dr. Norbert Bartelme, Technical University Graz, Austria, for advice and professional help.
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