Cartographically Augmented Reality

Virtual environments of the Digital Earth were from its beginning quickly enriched by usage of the augmented reality. The following paper is focused on possibilities to include strictly cartographic methods of visual representation of data into the Digital Earth representation. The idea is to embed cartographically processed and visualized thematic information into the augmented reality without actually using a map. A map apart from factual information about concrete objects displays relationships between them and also gives overall information about spatial trends and distribution. Even if augmented reality cannot fully substitute a map as such, in some cases, the fusion of methods of cartographic representation with augmented reality is better solution for a user than simple use of the products at the same time or concurrently.