GIS Field-Researched Maps for the Demanding Greece Traveler

Greek cartographers use MobileMapper 100 to produce first totally field-researched, information-rich maps for cyclists, hikers, climbers, canyoners and sailors

Athens, Greece, March 2, 2011 -- Terrain, an Athens-based cartographic company, is publishing the first highly detailed, large-scale maps (1:10,000 to 1:100,000) of Greece using GIS data exclusively acquired by mobile teams of cartographers. By foot, bike, auto and boat, Terrain surveyor teams, traveling with Ashtech MobileMapper 100 handheld smart GNSS receivers loaded with ArcPad, are mapping Greece in unprecedented rich detail, even its remotest regions.

According to Terrain’s chief cartographer Fotis Reppas, “We actually go every where, walk all trails, drive all roads, and sail around each and every island recording every single sight of interest. We do not rely on digitalization of satellite images.  In large-scale maps, there is no substitute for field research if you want a map that is both accurate and up-to-date.”  Reppas adds, “There is no way to tell, by satellite or aerial images alone, whether a dirt road is in good condition or whether a hiking trail – if visible at all -is clear and smooth. Even worse, the processing of data from satellite images, if not cross-checked by ground survey, may lead to enormous mistakes or inaccuracies - for example, a stream may be mistaken for a road. We record about 20 line types, such as asphalt, cement, gravel, narrow street, footpath, etc., and about 90 types of points of interest (POI), including for example castle, bus stop, thermal bath, camping, etc.
 
To record detailed field information, Terrain surveyors use MobileMapper 100 smart GNSS GIS receivers to achieve the desired one meter real-time accuracy that requires no post-processing. “One meter accuracy, translates into extremely accurate paper maps, which we print on waterproof, rip-proof Polyart paper, even in the demanding scales of 1:20,000. But it is in digital maps that this high accuracy becomes really important , where, by applying the zoom-in you can have on your GPS screen a map in the scale of 1:1,000 or even larger.”  The MobileMapper 100 excellent reliability and long battery life are also important to Terrain. “We can’t risk having to do a job twice because of faulty or untrustworthy equipment,” says Reppas.
 
Terrain purchased the MobileMapper 100 receivers from the JGC Company, Ashtech master distributor in Greece.  

 About JGC

Established in 1999, JGC distributes directly and through a network of dealers in Greece and neighbouring countries high tech positioning equipment used in land surveying, construction, hydrography, agriculture, GIS, reference stations, and laser scanning operations. More info at www.jgc.gr

About Terrain

Terrain is a cartographic and publishing company founded in Athens, Greece, in April 2008 by Stephanos Psimenos, travel writer, cartographer and publisher. Psimenos and his team of nine experienced cartographers, travel around Greece with state-of-the-art cartographic equipment to map the country in detail. More info about Terrain www.terrainmaps.gr

About Ashtech

Recognized as an industry innovator, Ashtech has been developing GNSS technology for more than 25 years.  Ashtech is the creator of BLADE technology, which introduces a unique patented method to the market using multiple GNSS constellations for high-accuracy positioning.  Ashtech has also introduced the MobileMapper^® series of products for GIS and mapping, as well as the ProFlex 500 and ProMark^™ series, including the ProMark 500, ProMark100 and ProMark 200, a well-recognized GNSS Land Survey product line currently on the market. Ashtech S.A.S. is privately held and headquartered in Carquefou, France, with offices in Beijing, China, and Singapore, as well as affiliates in Santa Clara, California (Ashtech LLC) and Moscow (Ashtech A/O LLC). For more information on Ashtech, visit www.ashtech.com.

  
Media contact: Claire Geffroy, Email Contact