Please what tools and equipment do you recommend for setting up a cartographic unit within AIS from Data capture through to the production of the various charts. Thank you.
For me when setting up a cartographic office or Service always starts with the current and future plans for the production. If you have to produce updates for 1000 charts a year then the requirement is going to be different from the production of 100 charts.
The other considerations are also work-related, as in "what other work will the cartographic office have to produce". For example, I have seen carto offices that also produce the maps and data for municipal and state governments for the whole state, in this case the software needed to be very GIS focused and professional. Also, you need to consider the integration with other departments when selecting software.
A major consideration for software for the chart work is plotting in Latitude and Longitude using WGS-84 and a reasonable selection of CRS and projection models. It is essential to be able to accurately plot the aeronautical data in order to fulfill data quality requirements and ensure the integrity of presentation and labeling in the production environment.
The two main software technologies that are good for charting are CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and GIS (Geographic Information systems). Usually, the level of data that you have will necessitate choosing one or the other type of system, but since the advent of Aeronautical Data with GML geometries, more and more Cartographic facilities are moving to use GIS.
Once you have decided on your production software you will need to look at a reasonably specified Computer to run the software on. It is never a good idea to run minimum specification so look for a good processor, separate GPU card with its own onboard RAM, and multiple screen support. 2 are a minimum, but 3 or even 4 monitors are not uncommon for your workstation 24" Monitors with 1080p resolution as a minimum.
If you have the need to process larger terrain and obstacle datasets you may also need server technology or upgraded network and hardware connections to the server. Up to 10Gb networking is now available, but expensive, likely that 1 gigabit will suffice unless the data transfer is extreme.
For proofing purposes, you will need to consider the final product output options and get a proofing device/printer to meet your needs. Luckily most charts are now electronic delivery by PDF and so print/proofing is on the decline which helps reduce costs. However, if you do have clients expecting print products your choice of software for post-production and hardware for proofing will be affected.
This one is tough one to tackle as each cartographer has their own preference of tools they would like to use, very similar like asking a developer which programming language you recommend to learn or a graphic artist which software you use for your illustrations.
Usually from an AIS perspective you wouldn't be doing data capture on the field (surveying of obstacles or ground truth) you would be more in charge of drafting some letters of agreements so you receive it in a format you are able to input into your database.
The tools you are able to use may also depend on the amount of resources you have available both monetary and of skilled staff to do the integration. With today's move towards AIXM and SWIM we are seeing that we need tools and workflows that allow users to have a seamless experience.
In my personal case I tend to prefer GIS tools over CAD in an aeronautical charting environment, even if you can have CAD tools with GIS capabilities, just the aesthetics of a CAD output kills it for me as it looks and feels raw and unfinished like a technical drawing that you give someone else to build the final thing. The best looking charts will definitely need to go to some graphic design software but we don't have that luxury as we don't produce one off maps but we need to have a production system that is basically capable of spitting data-driven charts every AIRAC cycle if required.
I would definitely invest more in either adding cartographers by trade or transferable knowledge, a good motivated and highly trained cartographer can make nice aeronautical charts even from powerpoint if required. I have personally used ESRI ARCGIS and QGIS both of them are capable of doing aeronautical charts, QGIS is basically what we have shown in the videos. I would get a workstation to handle the cartographic software, the biggest improvement you can do is to use SSD and not HDD anymore. If you need a printer I would use a laser one as the print quality is superior but honestly we are doing more electronic files than print.
The specific specs will depend on your overall system architecture so definitely more details are needed in order to give a better solution
For me when setting up a cartographic office or Service always starts with the current and future plans for the production. If you have to produce updates for 1000 charts a year then the requirement is going to be different from the production of 100 charts.
The other considerations are also work-related, as in "what other work will the cartographic office have to produce". For example, I have seen carto offices that also produce the maps and data for municipal and state governments for the whole state, in this case the software needed to be very GIS focused and professional. Also, you need to consider the integration with other departments when selecting software.
A major consideration for software for the chart work is plotting in Latitude and Longitude using WGS-84 and a reasonable selection of CRS and projection models. It is essential to be able to accurately plot the aeronautical data in order to fulfill data quality requirements and ensure the integrity of presentation and labeling in the production environment.
The two main software technologies that are good for charting are CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and GIS (Geographic Information systems). Usually, the level of data that you have will necessitate choosing one or the other type of system, but since the advent of Aeronautical Data with GML geometries, more and more Cartographic facilities are moving to use GIS.
Once you have decided on your production software you will need to look at a reasonably specified Computer to run the software on. It is never a good idea to run minimum specification so look for a good processor, separate GPU card with its own onboard RAM, and multiple screen support. 2 are a minimum, but 3 or even 4 monitors are not uncommon for your workstation 24" Monitors with 1080p resolution as a minimum.
If you have the need to process larger terrain and obstacle datasets you may also need server technology or upgraded network and hardware connections to the server. Up to 10Gb networking is now available, but expensive, likely that 1 gigabit will suffice unless the data transfer is extreme.
For proofing purposes, you will need to consider the final product output options and get a proofing device/printer to meet your needs. Luckily most charts are now electronic delivery by PDF and so print/proofing is on the decline which helps reduce costs. However, if you do have clients expecting print products your choice of software for post-production and hardware for proofing will be affected.
This one is tough one to tackle as each cartographer has their own preference of tools they would like to use, very similar like asking a developer which programming language you recommend to learn or a graphic artist which software you use for your illustrations.
Usually from an AIS perspective you wouldn't be doing data capture on the field (surveying of obstacles or ground truth) you would be more in charge of drafting some letters of agreements so you receive it in a format you are able to input into your database.
The tools you are able to use may also depend on the amount of resources you have available both monetary and of skilled staff to do the integration. With today's move towards AIXM and SWIM we are seeing that we need tools and workflows that allow users to have a seamless experience.
In my personal case I tend to prefer GIS tools over CAD in an aeronautical charting environment, even if you can have CAD tools with GIS capabilities, just the aesthetics of a CAD output kills it for me as it looks and feels raw and unfinished like a technical drawing that you give someone else to build the final thing. The best looking charts will definitely need to go to some graphic design software but we don't have that luxury as we don't produce one off maps but we need to have a production system that is basically capable of spitting data-driven charts every AIRAC cycle if required.
I would definitely invest more in either adding cartographers by trade or transferable knowledge, a good motivated and highly trained cartographer can make nice aeronautical charts even from powerpoint if required. I have personally used ESRI ARCGIS and QGIS both of them are capable of doing aeronautical charts, QGIS is basically what we have shown in the videos. I would get a workstation to handle the cartographic software, the biggest improvement you can do is to use SSD and not HDD anymore. If you need a printer I would use a laser one as the print quality is superior but honestly we are doing more electronic files than print.
The specific specs will depend on your overall system architecture so definitely more details are needed in order to give a better solution