1.2. Activities of Hungarian Military Mapping between 1990-1995
In the period 1990-95 the organization of the Hungarian military mapping underwent significant
changes in line with those in politics and the transformation of the defence policy of the country. At
present the Hungarian Defence Mapping Directorate is performing its duties directly subordinated to
the Defence General Staff. Of its two institutions the Tóth Ágoston Hungarian Defence Mapping
Institute (MH TÁTI) is primarily responsible for military mapping and connected research in army
cartography, surveying and photogrammetry in order to satisfy the demands of national defence. The
other military mapping institution is the Hungarian Defence Cartographic Centre (MH KARTÜ),
separated from MH TÁTI on 1 January 1994, that prepares military topographic maps, publishes
maps not only for defence use and carries out R+D activities connected with its programme of
preparing various digital cartographic products.
Besides outright defence cartography one of the main activities of Hungarian military mapping is the
updating and publication of the topographic series of the country in scales between 1:25,000 -
1:200,000. These so called ordnance topographic series are prepared in Gauss-Krüger conformal
cylindrical projection, with international sheet lines. Updating works, that have started in 1985, were
completed in 1992 in all scales. With the termination of the Warsaw Pact military topographic maps,
formerly treated as secret, have become available for the public, and are sold openly since 1993.
The Hungarian Defence Cartographic Centre also produces and publishes tourist maps using the
updated 1:50,000 topographic series, with the effective participation of the Hungarian Touristic
Association. By 1995 tourist maps of the Kőszeg Mountains, Őrség, Gödöllő Hills, Cserehát,
Kemeneshát, the Zala Hills, a road map of Hungary in scale 1:550,000, and a general map of Hungary
in scale 1:500,000 were published.
The Centre has also published various city maps, among others, the first map of Budapest on
(homogeneously correct) scale 1:30.000. Traditional products of MH KARTÜ include plastic relief
maps; that of Budapest at scale 1:50,000 and of the Carpathian Basin at scale 1:1,250,000 are the
most notable ones. A relief map of Hungary at scale 1:200,000 in 35 parts and in small copy number
has also been completed.
Following long preparatory works the first colour town map based on digital ortophoto has also been
prepared in international co-operation (map of Kiskunfélegyháza). Further such photomaps are planned for publication.
An 8-piece folio of facsimile maps has also been published for map collectors. More are planned to
follow.
Military cartography has been busy since the early '80s with research on digital cartographic processes
and connected developments. Most notable results of MH TÁTI and MH KARTÜ in this field are
those below:
- DTA-200 Digital Cartographic Database
Completed in 1990 by manually digitizing the 1:200,000 scale military topographic series, the
database covers the entire territory of Hungary. Its updating is under way. The database, prepared in
AutoCAD environment, is also available in Intergraph PC environment and in either EOV
(Hungarian Uniform) or Gauss Krüger projection.
- DDM-10 and DDM-50 Digital Relief Models
Digital relief (elevation) models of the area of Hungary named DDM-10 and DDM-50 were prepared
on IBM-PCs and DEC VAX workstations in 1993 by scanning the contour fair draughts of the 1:50,000 military topographic series.
Both databases are available with sheet lines in either EOV or Gauss-Krüger projection.
- DTA-50 Digital Cartographic Database
The aim of its establishing is to change over to computer-assisted military topographic map
production and updating on the one hand, but also to create the digital cartographic basis for GI
systems of both military and civil (government and business) uses.
The fair draughts (separated by colour) of the 1:50,000 scale updated military topographic series
forms the basis of DTA-50. Data acquisition is being carried on since 1993 by interactive vectorized
processing - in MSFC/GEOVEC environment, on Intergraph workstations - of the raster database
(in turn obtained by scanning the quoted fair draughts). Content, structure, descriptive data of the
frame series with sheet lines have been defined according to standard prescriptions. The dataset
contains close to 700 types of objects in 12+1 thematic categories. Inclusion of the categories
"Relief" and "control points" has been performed by inserting (and completing) DDM-50 and GAB
(geodetic database) into the database. Planned completion is set by the end of 1995.
- BP 15 Digital City Map of Budapest
The creation of the digital version of the city map compiled on the 1:15,000 scale military city and
town map series on DEC VAX workstations began in 1994. The digital dataset includes the
residential, industrial blocks, non-built-in areas, forest and other vegetation covers, cultural,
administrative and social facilities, features of urban traffic, district and city boundaries, and selected
data of house numbering. Completion by symbols as well as by lettering began in 1995.
- R+D Connected with the DTA-50 Database
Originally the digital processing technology for the 1:50,000 scale military series had been worked out for two systems.
Experimental works of processing and
preparation of standards were done on DEC-VAX workstations. According to the set technology
preprocessing began on these workstations in LaserScan environment. Final processing and control
was planned on the Intergraph net acquired and commissioned in 1993. In order to accelerate work
the full technology was worked out for the Intergraph platform. According to standard prescriptions
feature and category tables were established, and digital conventional signs were compiled. Transfer
of the existing digital datasets (GAB, DDM-50) and their incorporation into the Intergraph environment are under development.
Research works are being carried on into the applicability in
various fields of the completed DTA-50 database. Preparation of the correction technology of the
completed database is under way based on experimental works done on Intergraph Image Station.
The aim of the experiments is to obtain comparisons and record the differences between the
orthophotographs and the digital topographic database prepared by ortho- and
stereophotogrammetric processing and application of DDM-50.
Creation of the standards for the digital topographic map is considered as the most important result of
all research efforts.
A condition for creating digital maps and databases, is the definition of their requirements and
parameters, and by facilitating their efficient use. In view of this logic the standard "Requirements of
Military Digital Topographic Maps (MDTM)" was prepared in 1994. Considering that this standard
is the first of its kind in Hungary, it will have prime importance for the preparation of such documents
later on.
The standard covers the folowing subjects:
- geodetic and sheet line system of MDTM,
- content of the conceptual data model of MDTM, where features, connected attributes, grouping and coding of features
and relations between them are defined through tables of features and attributes. During the compilation of feature tables efforts were made for easy compatibility with DIGEST
recommendations. The entire structure is built up hierarchically by subjects enabling further enlargement,
- graphic, digital, textual and numerical base materials considered for use,
- accuracy of digital topographic maps,
- control of digital topographic maps,
- applied projection systems,
- the possibility of connection between the computer systems.
As supplement to the standard the following are included:
- table of features of MDTM,
- attribute tables,
- glossary of terms with Hungarian and English indices.
Experts of military mapping have put considerable efforts into the study of problems of professional
history, the recording of topographic surveys, aerial photography and scientific activities in general.
Some 15 articles in general have dealt with the history of the Institute, its different fields of activities
and its products. This aim was also served by the published volumes: History of the Hungarian
Military Mapping I-II., The Tóth Ágoston Mapping Institute of the Hungarian Army Between 1919-1994.
The publication of 'Bibliography of Military Mapping', listing the titles of works published in the subject during the past 75 years should
also be mentioned in this context.
The collection of objects of professional history also dates back several decades. Relics of the
Institute's 75 years of work are displayed in a small museum. During the past few years the collection,
first displayed in 1981, was enlarged by memorial rooms for topography, aerial photogrammetric
mapping, and a set of memorial objects dating back to the years 1919-1945 was also added. The
museum is mainly visited by students of surveying and mapping, as well as by interested groups of
different professional societies.
Hungarian Defence and especially its Mapping Service Directorate place high priority on both
standard and postgraduate training of cartographic professionals. The Surveying Section of the
Kossuth Lajos Military Academy was set up in 1991 enabling the training of artillery-surveying
students. This means that the Army Mapping Service will have a safe supply of specialists trained in
both military and mapping disciplines. The Artillery Department of the Academy has 40 first-grade
students, while 12, 19 and 11 undergraduates in its 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades respectively.
In order to improve the cartographic and geographic knowledge of Hungarian army officers the
Department of Mapping and Military Geography was established in 1995 at the Zrínyi Miklós Military Academy.
Within the frame of scientific training the MH TÁTI is a designated place of research of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences. During the past few years two persons obtained their academic
doctor's degree, and three others achieved or are about to achieve their PhD's.
The Mapping Service Directorate and its subordinate organs place great emphasis on maintaining and
increasing both its domestic and foreign professional contacts. Relations are intensive with
institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture (Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing
(FÖMI), Satellite Geodetic Observatory), with cartographic chairs of Budapest universities, and with
other institutions of R+D.
Foreign contacts are also given high priority. Besides the good relations with military services of
neighbouring countries co-operation with the US Defence Mapping Agency, covering practically all
aspects of cartography, should be mentioned.
László Buga
Hungarian Defence Cartographic Centre
(MH KARTÜ), Budapest
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