See Case Studies / Examples of this product at the Case Studies page.

Cool new Manifold option brings visual interface to topology repair and enhancement

30 April 1999 – Carson City:  Manifold Net has commenced shipments of Topology Factory, an optional package for Manifold System that identifies and fixes 14 common topological problems in geographic maps and CAD diagrams.  The product installs as an interactive display/repair console that provides a visual interface to make it easy to see complex topological problems in a simple display.   An interactive map view display allows stepping through incidents with highlighting of problems using color animation.  Topology Factory is also the perfect add-in to Manifold System for advanced map authoring, for uses such as "cookie cutting" map lines by boundaries and many more common tasks.  Price is only $45, with an instant download available from the Manifold Online Store via Internet.

"It's nice to get free maps and GIS data sets from Internet, but often such maps, especially the highly detailed international maps that may be obtained free from military sources, contain topological errors that limit their use in GIS," commented Dimitri Rotow, Product Manager. "Topology Factory is the perfect tool to identify, understand, and repair problems so that such maps may be easily deployed.  It's also a great way for organizations to upgrade maps that originated in CAD systems to the more rigorous standards required for serious GIS or networking analysis.  Not only is the visual interface a breakthrough, but the low price is a breakthrough as well."

Topology Factory Repairs Problems in Maps and CAD Diagrams -  Topological problems often arise in maps when the data used to create them come from non-topological CAD sources or from topologically illiterate GIS programs. For example, CAD programs are often used to draw maps that may appear OK when printed or viewed casually; however, maps drawn with CAD programs often contain topological errors such as lines that do not completely enclose areas, points that are not precisely located at the ends of lines and so on. One must "clean up" such maps if they are to be used within topologically aware analyses.

The clean up process usually involves removal of outright errors as well as the addition of topological information such as connection of lines to points and so on. Topology Factory automates this process for key classes of topological problems.

Visual Interface Makes it Easy - Certain classes of anomalies treated by Topology Factory, such as areas without boundaries or objects with separators, may be perfectly acceptable or even desired depending on the usage intended for a particular map. Whether or not such an anomaly is an error and should be "repaired" depends on the context of usage.   Topology Factory makes it easy to treat each instance on a case-by-case basis by displaying and animating problems in the Topology Factory Map View console.  Step through each case and see it flash on the screen. Repair just one instance or repair them all automatically.

Interactive Consoles - Topology Factory pops open within Manifold.  It can work with all layers, a specified layer or the selection, just like any Manifold solver.   The main Topology Factory console provides a report of treatable anomalies that have been found.  The lower panel provides a history of operations within Topology Factory. Note: the  background map in the web version of this Press Release is a section of Kosovo province in Serbia taken from the Manifold World collection.

Click on the thumbnail to open up a large screen image of Topology Factory at work.  Clicking on any specific anomaly opens up a context-sensitive Topology Factory Map View that displays anomalies in the context of the map and provides context-sensitive controls that may be used to repair the anomaly.

Sophisticated and Complete -  Like all Manifold products, Topology Factory provides a sophisticated and complete visual solution with no short cuts taken. Although the dialogs appear simple, they call immensely powerful topological and planimetric algorithms to automatically handle situations of mind-boggling complexity.   Topology Factory is database aware: it knows that objects with data attribute fields often need to be treated differently than objects without data attributes. Newly created objects and split objects can be set to automatically inherit data attributes.  Options allow customization of Topology Factory visualization, display and animation, and even simple dialogs are presented in a seamless and elegant way.  The product integrates perfectly with Manifold System and uses the solver output modes as does any solver.  There's even an Undo and Redo function built in. The Topology Factory online Help system covers all aspects of using the system and includes a mini-case study example. 

Functions / Anomalies Repaired

Unattached Points and Unattached Lines - Move points to lines or lines to points using a variety of sophisticated methods. For example, lines may be attached via snap action, extension of last segment, or proportional stretching.

Duplicated Objects - Remove object duplicates.  Options allow retaining objects that contain data fields.

Objects with Separators - What appear to be different objects in a map (different polygons/areas, lines, or even points) are often the same object in the map's database.  Splitting such complex objects into distinct objects without separators is often the first step in repairing a confused map that's been imported from an alien source.   Military maps often have such anomalies.

Areas without Boundaries - While many maps may "work" perfectly well when areas ("polygons") are unaccompanied by linear boundaries, one often wishes to create linear boundaries for areas as a step in other topological operations.

Undershoot - An undershoot occurs when a line approaches another line within the specified threshold distance but fails to actually touch. Topology Factory can automatically detect undershoots and repair them using Extend (add a straight segment), Snap (snap the final terminal point of the line to the attach point), and Stretch (proportional deformation of entire line to reach the target).

Overlaps - When areas overlap, it's not always clear in complex situations exactly how they overlap.  Topology Factory can animate overlapping areas to make it clear how they are actually shaped and what the true area of overlap is.  It can then resolve the overlap by creating new area objects or by assigning the area of overlap to one area or the other.

Self Loops - Suprisingly many maps intended for use in network analysis include self-loops. This anomaly must be repaired before such maps can be used in transportation analysis or other network tasks.

Intersections and Overshoots - An intersection occurs when two lines cross over.  An overshoot is a special case of intersection where a line was intended to stop at the target line but where it extends too far.  Topology Factory can split lines at intersections, truncate overshoots, and is even smart enough to know when a line self-intersects and that this may be treated as a special case.

Redundant / Invalid Metric - A "metric" is the sequence of inflection points and (possibly) separators that defines an object. This function repairs inaccurate metrics. Surprisingly many pathologies occur in maps and CAD diagrams that may prevent their data from being properly used or reused in other programs.   Manifold Topology Factory will automatically repair broken metrics.

Multiple Connections - Road networks and other maps and diagrams intended for network analysis should not normally included topologically redundant connections.  Topology Factory can fix these while retaining data attribute information.

Lines without End Points - A map cannot be used as a network for transportation and other studies if there are not network nodes (points) at the end of all links (lines). 

Self-Overlaps - Often called "bow ties" from the classic illustration, self-overlaps are topologically difficult to identify and treat in pathological cases.  Topology Factory handles even the worst cases with ease by splitting them into separate objects through the use of special algorithms.

Manifold Net is a privately held company that creates cool data visualization and manipulation software.

Contact: Dimitri Rotow, 800-556-5919 / dar@manifold.net

See Case Studies / Examples of this product at the Case Studies page

Back to Manifold Home Page