Interesting story in today's Telegraph
news.telegraph.co.ukmain.jhtml;$sessionid$HZ4QW0QYN2QKLQFIQMFCFOpen ↗
FOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2003/12/26/nramb26.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/12/26/ixhome. html
Ramblers take digital path By Nigel Bunyan (Filed: 26/12/2003)
Ramblers could soon be using computer-generated 3-D maps to negotiate their way across
mountain ranges.
Scientists at Liverpool John Moores University have developed the virtual maps by combining
satellite technology with Ordnance Survey records.
The system will work by linking a chip in a rambler's palm-held computer to a satellite orbiting
the Earth.
Virtual walks along hills and dales can be displayed on the screen, with a zoom facility to show the
holder's exact position on any footpath. Trials of the Location Activated Nomadic Discovery system
will be held this summer in a 25km-square area around Penrith, Cumbria.
If they are successful, the computers should be available for hire at visitor information centres in
the Lake District. Alternatively, walkers with their own personal digital assistant will be able to
buy a flash card.
Jason Taylor, of the university's International Centre for Digital Content, said: "It is aimed at
hikers who want more precise mapping, as well as visitors who wander round the shops. Not everybody
can read the contours on traditional, flat paper 2-D maps. With these 3-D maps, you can see the
footpath and the hills ahead rather than having to interpret them."
Ramblers taking part in the trials will also be able to call up 24-hour weather reports or book a
room for the night.
Mr Taylor said: "If you wanted to walk up a Lake District peak, the system tells you where you are
on the map by means of a red dot. It keeps updating as you move along, so the dot moves."