More and more mountaineers are using specialist forms of computer technology to help them when navigating difficult and remote terrain.
Increasingly they are supplementing or even replacing two-dimensional maps - like traditional Ordnance Survey maps - with computer-based visualisation and multimedia technologies, including those which run on PCs, laptops and portable handheld / palmtop computers.
This Geovisualisation software allows three-dimensional representations of mountainous terrains to be created that can be inspected and manipulated on computer screens. While conventional maps require a walker to interpret contour lines in order to estimate the height or gradient of a particular route, this software allows information to be viewed directly using an animated computer model of the same section of terrain.
The development of these facilities is driven by the belief that the technology is more effective than conventional 2D maps for helping understand and navigating challenging environments. However, scant research has been undertaken to establish whether this assumption is true.
Now scientists at the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with the city’s Macaulay Institute, have begun research to put this to the test.
Dr David Pearson, of the University’s School of Psychology, is leading the study. He said: “The aim of the project is to compare the effectiveness of 3D computer models as planning and navigational aids against 2D maps of the same environments.
“We plan to gather evidence that will allow a better evaluation of the potential impact of such Geovisualisation methods for mountain environments in Scotland.”
Experienced mountaineers, mountain rescue teams, casual weekend walkers and tourists are among those who are using this new and expanding technology.
While Geovisualisation techniques have been used extensively in geological exploration, they are also being employed in other areas such as meteorology, engineering and chemistry.
Dr Pearson added: “There are a growing number of very large 3D datasets representing the surface and subsurface of the Earth as well as the oceans and the atmosphere. Computer-based Geovisualisation is a very effective tool for representing, exploring and analysing data of such complexity.”
The researchers, which include Dr Michael Wood at the University’s Department of Geography and Environment, Dr Colin Calder of the University’s Learning Technology Unit and Professor David Miller of the Macaulay Institute, are now recruiting volunteers onto their study.
Dr Pearson added: “We are in the process of recruiting people who take part in hillwalking or orienteering activities who would like to put this technology to the test. Volunteers don’t need to own this type of kit and they don’t have to have any experience of Geovisualisation.”
Anyone in the Aberdeen area interested in getting involved in the one-year study funded by the British Academy should email: d.g.pearson@abdn.ac.uk