This is the Cartography Playground, a simple and interactive website for explaining cartographic algorithms, problems and other matters.
It is aimed at students of cartography who want to refresh and deepen their knowledge.

Cartography Playground is build as part of bachelor's and master's theses at the Chair of Cartography and Visual Analytics at the Technical University of Munich.

Please use an up to date, modern browser like Firefox or Chrome with JavaScript enabled and SVG support to make sure all playgrounds work as intended.

Douglas-Peucker algorithm

Douglas-Peucker algorithm

Play with the algorithms parameter to reduce a piecewise linear curve.

Contour lines to profile

Contour lines to profile

Learn how to extract height profiles from Contour lines - the representation for elevation in topographic maps.

Map design

Map design

Learn and fiddle around with some general design principles for map design - especially color and font.

Clustering comparison

Clustering comparison

Compare the centroid-based clustering method k-Means and the density based method DBSCAN.

Cartographic generalization

Cartographic generalization

Get to know and play with different methods of cartographic generalization.

Quiz

Quiz

Test your knowledge about cartography with this mix of questions.

Kernel density estimation

Kernel density estimation

Kernel density estimation is used to estimate the unknown density function in probability theory.

Delaunay Triangulation and Voronoi Diagram

Delaunay Triangulation and Voronoi Diagram

Generate the Delaunay Triangulation and the Voronoi Diagram for a set of points.

Koppe Accuracy

Koppe Accuracy

Get to know the Koppe-Accuracy and test elevation values on a map.

Data Classification Methods

Data Classification Methods

Explore various possibilities to classify thematic data in a map.

Toepfer Selection Criterion

Toepfer Selection Criterion

Generalize a map in different scales by applying the Töpfer Selection Criterion

North Orientations

North Orientations

Explore the different North Orientations

Placement of Dynamic Labelling

Placement of Dynamic Labelling

Explore the principles of placing labels

Depth Cues

Depth Cues

Explore the various depth cues

Color Model

Color Model

Get to know the different color models in cartography field