Production of Digital Maps for the German Authoritative Topographic-Cartographic
Information System ATKIS
Andreas Illert
Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie
(Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy)
Richard-Strauss-Allee 11
60598 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
email: illert@ifag.de
Abstract
For decades maps served as the basic media for storage and maintenance of geographic information.
Recently databases have taken over this role. With view to a homogenous national spatial data
infrastructure for Germany, the mapping agencies of the German states and the federal government
introduced the internal standard “Amtliches Topographisch – Kartographisches Informationssystem”
(ATKIS, Authoritative Topographic – Cartographic Information System). This paper describes the
concepts of ATKIS with emphasis put on the production of digital topographic maps.
1. Structure of the Official Surveying and Mapping in Germany
In Germany the responsibility for official surveying and mapping is assigned to the federal states, the
Laender. Each Land runs its own mapping agency, the Landesvermessungsamt. The state mapping
agencies control local agencies that are in charge of cadastral and urban surveying. In addition to
these organisations the federal government has installed two agencies at national level. The Amt fuer
Militaerisches Geowesen (AMilGeo) serves the Armed Forces, and the Bundesamt für Kartographie
und Geodaesie (BKG, formerly Institut für Angewandte Geodaesie IfAG) serves the general federal
administration. The states have assigned some of their tasks to BKG such as production of topographic
maps at scales smaller than 1: 100.000, distribution of geographical data to customers in need of
nation-wide coverage and geodetic tasks within the global geodetic framework.
The activities of the mapping agencies are coordinated by a committee named Arbeitsgemeinschaft der
Vermessungsverwaltungen der Laender der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (AdV). This committee
defines guidelines for the products and the services of its member organisations. The AdV plenary
meets twice a year. Members of the plenary are the top officials from the ministries and the presidents
of mapping agencies at state and federal level. The plenary takes decisions and elaborates general
guidelines. It has installed five permanent working groups dealing with geodesy, cadastre,
topography&cartography, information technology and principle affairs. The working groups are made
up of senior officials from the mapping agencies. They coordinate the technical issues and prepare the
decisions for the plenary. The actual work on standards and guidelines is performed in task forces by
experts from the mapping agencies.
One of the early achievements of AdV is a standard for the content and layout of topographic maps.
The maps at largest scale 1: 5.000 are not available in all states, but from the scale of 1: 25.000 a
homogenous nation-wide coverage has been created. Map series are produced at resolutions 1:50.000,
1:100.000, 1:200.000, 1:500.000 and 1:1.000.000. The individual mapping agencies use different
technical equipment, but the standards of AdV guarantee for a uniform design and quality of the maps
all over Germany.
In the German Democratic Republic the largest scale of topographic maps was 1:10.000. The other
scales produced in East Germany coincide with the concept of West Germany. After unification the
former German Democratic Republic was organised into 5 new federal states. Each of the new states
installed its mapping agency, increasing the number of state agencies in the AdV to 16.
At the European level we find a situation very similar to decentralised structure of Germany. Each
nation in the European Union runs its own national mapping agency. The national mapping agencies
are organised in a European organisation named Eurogeographics. Within Eurogeographics the
plenary of executive directors from the national mapping agencies meets once a year. Germany is
represented by the president of AdV, the president of BKG and the executive director of the state
survey agency of Northrhine-Westfalia. Eurogeographics has installed four working groups dealing
with geodesy, copyright issues, data quality and maintenance of topographic databases. The major
challenge to Eurogeographics is creation of pan-European products. Those European products will be
assembled from national contributions. A dataset of administrative boundaries has already been
completed. Upcoming projects are topographic datasets at resolutions 1: 250.000 and 1:1:000.000.
Figure 1 – Details from Topographic Maps 1: 50.000 (State Survey of Bavaria), 1: 200.000 and 1:
500.000 (Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Germany)
2. ATKIS concepts
In the early 80s the AdV recognised the increasing importance of Geographic Information Systems.
On behalf of the AdV, experts from the mapping agencies developed concepts for the digital storage of
spatial information. They proposed two information systems: The Amtliche Liegenschaftskarte (ALK)
for the cadastre and the Amtliches Topographisch-Kartographisches Informationssystem (ATKIS) for
topographic information. Similar to the standards for topographic maps, the ALK and ATKIS provide
a standard for digital data that ensures that all products of AdV members have a uniform appearance to
the users.
Figure 2 – From Landscape to Digital Landscape Model and Map
ATKIS comprises of four types of digital products:
 Digital Landscape Models (DLM) describe the surface of the earth by means of structured
vector data. The DLM are defined in four levels of resolution, namely 1: 5.000 (Base-DLM),
1: 50.000 (DLM50), 1: 250.000 (DLM250) and 1: 1.000.000 (DLM1000).
 Digital Topographic Maps (DTK) describe the surface of the earth in a pictorial model. The
data is ready for visualisation on screen or other media. The DTK will be produced from DLM
at the map scales 1: 10.000 (DTK10), 1: 25.000 (DTK25), 1: 50.000 (DTK50), 1: 250.000
(DTK250) and 1: 1.000.000 (DTK1000).
 Digital Terrain Models (DGM) describe the third dimension of the surface of the earth.
 Digital Orthophotos (DOP) complement the ATKIS product family. The mapping agencies
use the DOP internally to update the DLM. At the same time the DOP are offered to
customers who are in need of original views on the landscape for their own applications.
The ATKIS concept lays down the data model, the content, the exchange format, the metadata, the
data quality and the conditions of use for each ATKIS product. The ATKIS standard does not define
the internal data formats and procedures, so each agency is free to use any GIS software that meets the
ATKIS requirements. At present ATKIS is implemented on several commercial GIS platforms,
including Siemens, Intergraph and ESRI. In addition to the GIS platforms specialised software
packages are used for applications such as map production, data capture from aerial images and
computation of DTM.
ATKIS Base-DLM
Code and name:
2316 Tower
Definition:
Tall building on a
relatively small
base, often part of
a larger building.
Acquisition criteria:
Height > 15 m
Geometry type:
– point
– area
DMS
Diameter
---- value in meters
FKT
Function:
1301 Water Tower
1302 Church Steeple,
Bell Tower
1303 Lookout Tower
1304 Control Tower
1305 Cooling Tower
1306 Lighthouse
1307 Watch Tower
1308 Radio Tower,
Telecomm. Tower
1309 Town Tower
1310 Winding Tower
1311 Derrick
1312 Castle Tower
9999 other
HHO
Height
---- value in meters
NTZ
Usage
1300 civil
1400 military
9999 other
WDM
Dedication
1202 historical
monument
9997 does not apply
ZUS
Status
1100 in use
1200 out of use
1400 preserved
1700 destroyed
Relationships
Object below:
'Thoroughfare'
ATKIS – DLM250
Code and name:
2316 Tower
Definition:
Tall building on a
relatively small
base, often part of
a larger building.
Acquisition criteria:
Height > 45 m, or
Height > 15 m if
isolated and outside
built-up areas.
Geometry type:
– point
DMS
---FKT
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
ATKIS – DLM1000
Code and name:
2316 Tower
Definition:
Tall building on a
relatively small
base, often part of
a larger building.
Acquisition criteria:
Height > 60 m and
outside built-up
areas.
Geometry type:
– point
Diameter
value in meters
Function:
FKT
Function:
Water Tower
1301 Water Tower
Church Steeple,
Bell Tower
Lookout Tower
Control Tower
Cooling Tower
Lighthouse
1306 Lighthouse
1308 Radio Tower,
Telecomm. Tower
1309 Town Tower
1310 Winding Tower
1308 Radio Tower,
Telecomm. Tower
9999 other
9999 other
HHO
Height
HHO
Height
---- value in meters
---- value in meters
WDM
Dedication
1202 historical
monument
9997 does not apply
Table 1 – Derivation of feature catalogue 1:250.000 and 1:1:000.000 from Base-DLM by example of
the feature type 2316 ‘Tower’. Status: 1.1.1997
The conceptual model and the content of the DLM are laid down in the feature catalogue. This
document describes how the phenomena of the real world are structured into feature types. Feature
types are identified by a feature type code and a feature type name. Features may be described in more
detail by feature attributes and feature relationships. The catalogue provides a definition for each
feature type. The acquisition criteria specifies the threshold values for portrayal in the dataset. The
geometry type of the feature may be point, line and/or area.
The initial ATKIS concept aims at a continuous data flow from the Base-DLM to the smaller scales by
means of automated conceptual generalisation. For this purpose the conceptual model of the small
scale models forms a perfect subset of the conceptual model of the Base-DLM. The feature types and
attributes of the DLM50, DLM250 and DLM1000 are selected from the Base-DLM and keep their
name, code and definition. Only the acquisition criteria and the geometry type are adapted to the lower
resolution. Table 1 demonstrates this concept by example of the feature type ‘Tower’
The content and layout of the DTK are laid down in the Symbol Catalogue. This document defines
the map symbols, their colours, their shape, their size and the rules for transition of DLM features to
map features. The rules include the concepts for map generalisation. Map legend and map grid are also
defined in the symbol catalogue.
Further components of the ATKIS concept are the specification for metadata and the EDBS format for
the exchange of DLM data. The EDBS allows for incremental update, which means that in case of
updates the customers does not need to re-install the entire dataset but replace only those objects that
have actually changed.
With regard the pricing of ATKIS products the AdV has discussed several options. At the one hand
data should by distributed at a low price to encourage the usage of ATKIS, on the other hand
politicians demand for cost recovery. As a compromise, the AdV has agreed on a pricing model that
depends on the extension of the data in square kilometers and on the number of workstations where
the data is to be used on. Significant discounts are offered to customers of large areas and users with
many workstations. Special rates apply for value-added resellers of the data.
Due to the ATKIS guidelines the state mapping agencies produce the data as homogenous as possible,
but nevertheless inconsistencies occur. In most cases the inconsistencies do result either from the
different commercial GIS platforms or from a lack of detail in some parts of the ATKIS specification.
Examples are different interpolation methods for splines or internal limitations on the number of
vertices. The inconsistencies put considerable workload on users who are in need of full German
coverage. As a consequence the German federal government has installed a geodata-centre at the BKG
for centralised data collection, harmonisation and distribution of the ATKIS data to the federal
authorities. For compensation of the state’s expenses on data acquisition, the federal ministry of the
Interior pays a fixed annual amount of money to the AdV for internal usage rights within the federal
government. Private customers are also served by the geodata-centre if they buy data that covers more
than one state. Otherwise the customer has to contact the sales department of the responsible state
mapping agency.
3. Implementation of ATKIS Digital Landscape Models
The initial ATKIS concept was approved by the AdV plenary in 1989. Implementation started
immediately. The data for the Base-DLM were captured by means of digitisation from topographic
maps. Implementation strategies at the individual states differ due to heterogeneous data sources and
acquisition tools. The eastern states use the topographic base map 1: 10.000 of the former GDR. The
western states digitise from base maps 1: 5.000 or 1: 25.000. Orthophotos are used to improve
timeliness of the data. Further detail is added from digital and analogue sources of other agencies such
as the road administration or German railways. The implementation of the Base-DLM is performed in
three phases. The first stage comprises about half of the content of the feature catalogue. Compilation
of the first stage of the Base-DLM has been completed in 2001. Now the second stage is on the way
where the state mapping agencies add more detail and update the DLM in parallel. The third stage will
start next year and lead to a full implementation of the feature catalogue until the year 2008.
At the start date of ATKIS production the tools for automated model generalisation were not
considered fit for the purpose. Therefore the small scale DLM are not derived from the Base-DLM but
digitised from map series at corresponding scales. BKG has used the map series Joint Operation
Graphics 1: 250.000 (JOG250) as source for the DLM250 and the topographic map 1: 500.000 as
source for the DLM1000. Both DLM are now available for the whole territory of Germany, but with a
reduced content due to limitations in the map source. The DLM will be improved to full compliance
with the feature catalogue in the next years.
The DLM50 is not available at present. Only one of the 16 state mapping agencies will start
compilation of the DLM50 in 2002. Three other mapping agencies launch a joint research &
development project on production of the DLM50 by means of automated model generalisation from
the Base-DLM. Several states have not revealed their plans yet. It appears that a full coverage at the
resolution 1: 50.000 is not likely before the year 2010.
In ATKIS the third dimension is portrayed by means of isolines, relief lines (embankments,
escarpments, cliffs etc.) and digital terrain models. Emphasis is put on the latter. Compilation methods
include photogrammetry, laser scanning, computation from isolines and combinations thereof. As a
consequence the digital terrain models differ between the states with respect to accuracy, grid size and
availability. The AdV plans to harmonize the individual products and create a homogenous terrain for
the whole of Germany with accuracy corresponding to the map scale 1: 25.000 for the whole of
Germany.
Update of all DLM is in progress. To meet the requirements of users the feature types road, railway,
airport, administrative boundaries and protected areas will be updated continuously with a delay of
only a few months. For this purpose the mapping agencies install an internal communication network
with other governmental organisations such as the road administration or the statistical office. Feature
types that are not included in the priority list will be updated in a five year cycle similar to the former
analogue maps.
4. Implementation of ATKIS Digital Topographic Maps
One objective of the ATKIS concept was conversion of map production procedures from conventional
to digital methods. The result are digital maps that do not only serve the internal purpose of publishing
but constitute a product on their own. An increasing number of customers use raster maps for display
on computer screens with own data overlaid in the foreground. The ATKIS concept addresses this
trend and offers Digital Topographic Maps (DTK) . The scales of DTK coincide with the scales of the
previous topographic map series, except for the base scale which is going to be 1: 10.000 instead of
1: 5.000 and the scale 1: 200.000 which is abandoned in favour of the European scale 1: 250.000. The
DTK are distributed in TIFF raster format.
The ATKIS concept aims at a digital data flow. Therefore the DTK shall be produced from DLM data.
This objective is not yet met due to deficits in the automated map generalisation. While GIS
developers in the industry and at universities are working hard on finding solutions for the problem,
the mapping organisations have installed preliminary products that bypass the difficulties.
4.1 Presentation graphics
Presentation graphics are intended for fast and easy display of DLM data without demands on accurate
map graphics. The idea is to apply automatic visualisation tools and avoid any manual postprocessing.
Therefore simple graphics have to be used. Text may be placed with automatic procedures. Only a
subset of DLM features may be displayed at a time to reduce graphic conflicts. If conflicts occur these
have to be tolerated, e.g. symbols overlapping other objects or text obscuring important features.
Nevertheless the presentation graphics are suitable for many applications, including the quality check
of DLM. Nowadays presentation graphics can be created easily with many commercial GIS packages
such as ESRI ArcView or Intergraph Microstation.
Figure 3 – Presentation graphics for the Base-DLM using ESRI ArcView
4.2. Preliminary DTK
With official topographic maps the shortcomings of presentation graphics are not tolerated. The map
has to be free of graphic conflicts between the map features. The minimum distances between map
symbols have to be secured for the benefit of the map reader. These requirements call for the
application of map generalisation procedures such as displacement, simplification and aggregation.
The map generalisation procedures still present an obstacle in the process of map creation from the
DLM. In order to provide digital maps as fast as possible, the mapping agencies have decided not to
wait for improvements in automated generalisation but to scan the existing topographic maps and
market the raster data as preliminary DTK.
In view of accuracy and flexibility the mapping agencies do not scan the paper maps but the original
printing foils. These printing foils are at least separated into the three primary colours plus a black foil.
Usually the map production units have structured the printing foils further into thematic layers such as
isolines and hydrography. The mapping agencies scan the printing foils at resolutions around 800dpi.
Then they adjust the layer position, cut out the map image along the edges, define a spatial reference
by relating the corners of the map with geographical coordinates and store the data in an image
database. After all topographic maps are scanned the image database provides a seamless coverage
which is structured into the thematic layers of the printing foils.
Unless the real DTK can be produced from the DLM the preliminary DTK will be maintained and
kept up to date. For this purpose most mapping agencies have acquired hybrid mapping software that
allows for processing of raster data as well as symbolisation of vector data. Systems in use are for
instance pce-RASCON, Siemens and ALK-Giap. For the update of the preliminary DTK the change
information including new objects, changed objects and eliminated objects is extracted from the DLM
in vector format. The mapping software then converts the vector data into the map symbols defined by
the ATKIS symbol catalogue. Extinction masks are created in case of eliminated objects. The symbols
are edited manually to fit into the context of the existing map. Finally the new map symbols are
converted from vector to raster format and imported to the raster image of the preliminary DTK,
overwriting the outdated information at the position of the update patches. The hybrid mapping
software is used also for the creation of legends, geographic grids and map frames.
The costs for the mapping software are not significant when compared with the costs for the hardware.
The scanner-plotter is simply the most expensive device in the system, with prices at the order of 0.5
Million US Dollars. However, the transition from analogue to digital processing has not accelerated
the map production very much. The state mapping agency of Northrine-Westfalia for instance reports
a processing time of 90 hours per map sheet with the digital mapping software compared to 103 hours
with the analogue procedure (Oster, 1997). The major advantage of the digital procedure is the storage
of map originals as digital files instead of films. The digital files can be copied many times without
any loss of quality, the originals do not suffer from ageing, and chemical processes in map
reproduction are reduced to a minimum.
Based on the raster databases of the preliminary DTK50 the mapping agencies have launched a
multimedia product called TOP50. Each state publishes a CD-ROM that contains the topographic
maps 1: 50.000 of the entire state plus overview maps at scales 1: 200.000 and 1: 1.000.000. The CDROM includes a viewing software that allows for zoom, pan, print, measurements and overlay of GPS
tracks. 3-D perspective views can be created using a DTM. Named Locations can be found in the map
from a gazetteer. The pixel resolution of the maps on the CD-ROM is much lower than then master
data but still O.K. for viewing on the screen. The low resolution justifies a price for the CD-ROM that
is much lower then the price for the master data, which makes the CD-ROM a product for the general
public.
Figure 4 – Searching a location by name in the Multimedia CD-Rom Top50
4.3 Production of DTK
With the most urgent needs satisfied by the preliminary DTK, the production of the real DTK could
commence. The first step towards a new digital map was the preparation of a symbol catalogue with
definitions for the map graphics. The layout of the new map is adjusted to the capabilities of digital
production techniques. Minimal dimensions for map features have been enlarged to avoid difficulties
in raster data processing. The variety of type fonts for map text has been reduced to a few simple fonts
without serifs. On the other hand the new map design takes advantage of modern publishing
techniques by using much more colour than the previous topographic maps. The DTK will be
referenced to the European Geodetic Reference System ETRS89 and the UTM map projection. The
Gauss-Krueger-Grid will be displayed together with the UTM grid.
The present content of the Base-DLM second Stage is not sufficient for the production of the DTK10
and DTK25. Missing features include relief details, fences, walls, hiking trails, isolines and - most
crucial - the buildings. At present the Base-DLM only portrays built-up areas. The detailed outlines of
individual buildings will be added from the cadastre to the Base-DLM during the third stage of DLM
production. At present the building data for the DTK have to be derived directly from the cadastre
information system ALK.
The proposed production lines differ in details between the individual state mapping agencies. The
following example is implemented at the state survey of Brandenburg (Neupert, 2000):
1. conversion of DLM objects to map symbols according to the ATKIS symbol catalogue
2. extraction of buildings from the ALK,
generalisation of building outlines to scales 1:10.000 and 1:25.000
3. Scan-vectorisation of isolines from the existing topographic maps
4. manual generalisation of map objects to scale 1: 25.000,
the generalised geometry is stored in the DLM.
5. manual placement of map text,
the text positions are stored in the DLM.
6. conversion from vector format (postscript) to raster format (TIFF),
the TIFF images are stored in the seamless DTK database
7. add map frame, grid, legend and title
8. conversion to printing foils cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Similar production lines are installed at most state surveying agencies. Many of the agencies use the
software CHANGE of Hannover University, Institute for Cartography for the generalisation of
buildings. This software selects the buildings by threshold of area size, simplifies the contour, merges
buildings when situated close to each other and performs several other operations of map
generalisation (Schulz, 2000). After generalisation from ALK to DTK10 the number of buildings is
reduced by 50%.
A considerable amount of manual work is required for the steps of map generalisation and text
placement. Several commercial GIS products offer tools that support the operator with these tasks. For
instance texts can be placed at default positions with overlap of objects being minimised, and conflicts
in the map graphics can be detected automatically and prepared for queued editing. Within the
interactive session the operator can apply algorithms from generalisation toolboxes, while the fullyautomated generalisation of complex map data is still a matter of research. The text positions and the
map geometry adapted in the interactive session are stored in the DLM .
The production of DTK has started at most of the state mapping agencies. The task continues with
different pace, depending on the funding and the number of staff provided by the state government.
Step by step the preliminary DTK will be replaced by the real DTK, produced from the Base DLM.
Figure 5 – Detail from a DTK25 prototype, produced at the State Survey of Bavaria.
Published in the Kartographische Nachrichten, 2/2000, Kirschbaum Verlag Bonn
5. Evolution of ATKIS
The experts of AdV keep a permanent eye on the fast evolution in GIS to adapt the ATKIS concept to
the requirements of the users. Since 1989 many small and medium changes have been introduced to
the concept. Yet the AdV is about to re-engineer the concept in view of the upcoming international
standards.
The major improvement of the new concept will be the integration of the cadastral information system
ALK with the topographic information system ATKIS. Both systems remain separate implementations
maintained by different departments, but the data models and services shall be harmonised. For this
purpose the experts from AdV develop a conceptual schema that can be used for both applications.
Unique methods for data maintenance, data exchange and quality evaluation will be defined for both
information systems. The feature catalogues of ALK and ATKIS are checked for inconsistencies. For
instance the two catalogues define different codes and attribute domains for the feature type ‘building’.
These inconsistencies will be eliminated.
The new concept is based on the upcoming international standards IS 191xx of theInternational
Standardisation Organisation (ISO). Following the recommendations of ISO the ATKIS concept will
be described by means of the Unified Modelling Language (UML). The present AdV standard for data
exchange, the EDBS, will be replaced by a new exchange format based on the ISO standards. Being a
potential profile of the ISO standards the new ATKIS concept is at the same time aligned with the
recommendations of the Open GIS consortium, as OGC and ISO maintain a formal liason.
Current plans expect the approval of the new ATKIS concept by the AdV plenary in the year 2002.
Then the German Mapping agencies have to implement the standards in close cooperation with the
vendors of the commercial GIS systems. The migration of the cadastre data and the topographic data
to the new data models is expected to start in the year 2005.
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