Vertical Mapper is software that transforms point data into continuous grid surfaces that can be analyzed and visualized. It allows users to generate grid surfaces through interpolation of point data, modify grid colors and legends, generate contours, render grids in 3D, query multiple grid layers, and edit grids. Key industries that benefit include telecommunications for wireless network planning, public sector for flood risk analysis, insurance for risk analysis, and retail for customer analysis. The presentation provides examples of how Vertical Mapper has been used in these industries and highlights its capabilities for grid creation, visualization, analysis, and custom application development.

1. Exploring New Dimensions with Vertical Mapper
Tom Probert
EMEA Desktop Product Marketing Manager
February 2010
A presentation on the basic capabilities and
applications of Vertical Mapper

2. Disclaimer
• This presentation contains Pitney Bowes Business Insight forward
looking statements
• Road map information and final implementation details and delivery
dates are subject to change without prior notice

3. Introduction and Outline
• What does Vertical Mapper do?
• Target industries
• Example applications
• Positioning
• Vertical Mapper and Engage3D
• Roadmap

4. What does Vertical Mapper do?
• Vertical Mapper transforms point data into continuous surfaces, or
grids, which can be thematically mapped to visualize trends and
queried to reveal relationships between multiple grid layers. It
features one of the most powerful suites of tools available to edit,
analyze and visualize grids.
• Start with Point Data
• Generate a Grid Surface
• Modify Colour
• Create Legends
• Generate Contours
• Render in 3D
• Inspect Values
• Query Multiple Grids
• Edit Grids
- Change Projection
Click

5. Target Industries and Applications
• Vertical Mapper offers a wide range of capabilities that can
be used in a number of different industries and applications.
– Telecommunications and other utilities
• Wireless network engineering
– Public sector
• Flood plain analysis
– Insurance
• Risk analysis
– Retail
• Site location and customer analysis
– Health authorities
• Epidemiology, health risk analysis, medicine usage
analysis

6. Wireless Network Engineering
• Determine if line of sight exists between microwave links on towers.
– Determine required height of microwave link to achieve line of sight.
• Calculate “viewshed” of a tower to determine visibility with other
towers.
• Analyse the strength of signal coverage with respect to customer or
demographic data.
• Analyse the location of
customer issues (“trouble
tickets”) with respect to the
network.
• Compare predicted signal
strength with drive test data.

7. Retail Site Selection and Customer Analysis
• Visualise and analyse customer density.
• Perform predictive analysis – analyse a set of variables in one area
find those other areas that are most similar.
• Calculate trade areas around individual or multiple stores.
• Analyse the impact of new
locations on an existing
store network
(cannibalisation or
competitive analysis)
• Use querying capabilities
to determine areas of
highest sales potential.

8. Insurance Risk Analysis
• Analyse risk
exposure in various
types of disaster
scenarios.
• Improve underwriting
decisions on policies
by analysing
proximity to risk
factors.

9. The Role of Vertical Mapper
• Vertical Mapper adds complete raster grid based capabilities to
MapInfo Professional.
– Comprehensive grid creation capabilities
– Powerful and flexible grid analysis and visualisation
• Tightly integrated with MapInfo Professional.
– “Best of both worlds” – MapInfo Professional’s vector based
analytical capabilities and Vertical Mapper’s raster based
capabilities work seamlessly together.
• Very powerful feature set for a very reasonable price.

10. Vertical Mapper Capabilities

11. • You can create a grid in Vertical Mapper in a number of different ways:
• Interpolation
• Modeling
• Vector to Grid Conversion
• Importing
• Point Density
• Create grids from
images
Grid Creation

12. Grid Creation - Interpolation
• Vertical Mapper interpolation techniques are used in different
industry sectors.
Interpolating Numeric Grids
Health Care
Data on the blood lead levels
of children can be interpolated
to show risk areas.
Telecommunications
Drive test data can be
interpolated to show where
mobile phones can obtain a
signal.
Weather Forecasting
Temperature readings at
weather stations can be
interpolated to show changes
in air temperature.

13. Grid Creation – Classified Grids

14. Raster
Create grids from raster images
• Import Raster Data as Vertical Mapper Grid
– Example 1: Calculate the area of RF signal coverage from an
image
GridContour

15. Create grids from raster images
• Import Raster Data as Vertical Mapper Grid
– Example 2: Calculate the total roof area from an aerial photo
GridRaster Query
ContourSmooth Final

16. Grid Creation
• The ability to import a variety of grid formats enhances the
flexibility of Vertical Mapper. The import utility can auto-detect
and convert these commonly used grid formats.
Importing
• ArcGrid ASCII Export
• ASCII Classified Grid
• CRC-500
• Geological Survey of
Canada Grid
• DTED
• CDED
• GeoSoft
• MONA
• UK Ordnance
Survey Grid
• USGS DEM
• SDTS
• MapInfo Grid

17. Grid Visualization
• Vertical Mapper provides many ways of modifying the display of
a grid—from simply changing the colours to rendering the grid in
3D.
• Modifying Grid Colours
• Contouring
• Cross Sections
• 3D Viewing
• Grid Calculations
• Slope and Aspect

18. Grid Visualization and Analysis
Contours can be generated
from any type of grid. This
example has used elevation
data.
Contour Lines and
Regions

19. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
You can analyze a grid by
calculating statistics on grid
values that fall under a
given point, along a line or
within a region.
In this example, tornado
density values for the state
of Texas are examined. In
addition, the coordinate
location of the maximum
and minimum values are
provided.
Point, Line and Region Inspection
Click

20. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
Here are some examples of
how Vertical Mapper can
return information about a line
object.
Point, Line and Region Inspection

21. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
Grid Querying

22. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
Grid Querying

23. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
• In a viewshed analysis a single location is chosen as the viewing location
from which you calculate those areas that are visible and invisible to this
location.
Viewpoint Analysis
• Elevation
• Tower Location
• Viewshed Creation
• Viewshed Legend
• Viewable Area Only
Tower
Location
In this map, the blue symbol in the centre represents
tower or viewpoint location. The green polygon
represents the viewable area from the tower.

24. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
Slope and Aspect
Slope
Aspect
Slope = steepness/gradient
Aspect = the direction the grid
cell is facing

25. Grid Visualisation and Analysis
In a point-to-point analysis you
specify two viewing locations.
Vertical Mapper not only
determines if locations are
intervisible but also what
changes are required to make
locations intervisible. The results
can be shown on a map or in a
graph.
Point-to-Point Analysis
Tower
LocationsStart
Line
Here
End
Line
Here

26. Grid Visualization: 3D
The Vertical Mapper GridView
module enables you to render
grids in 3D. This type of
visualization is commonly used
to present elevation information.
3D Viewing

27. • In addition, GridView can render any type of Vertical Mapper grid
while providing you with control of every aspect of the scene, such
as viewing angles, image draping, adding multiple grids layers, and
applying a background scene.
3D Viewing
• Viewing Angles
• Drape Files
• Multiple Layers
• Background Scene
Grid Visualization: 3D

28. • Vertical Mapper runs seamlessly with MapInfo Professional. You
can access Vertical Mapper from three different points within the
software.
Using Vertical Mapper
• Menu
• Grid Manager
• Toolbar

29. Differences between Vertical Mapper
and MapInfo Professional
• MapInfo Professional offers a very limited set of grid creation and
visualisation capabilities (grid thematic map)
– Limited methods to build the grid and limited control
over the results. Visualisation only, no analytical capabilities.
• Vertical Mapper offers more robust grid creation and visualisation
capabilities as well as analysis and data management
capabilities.
– More methods to create grids.
• Interpolation, point density, importing, raster to grid conversion,
location profiler and grid models.
• Support for both classified grids and numeric grids.
– A variety of ways to analyse and query grids.
– Tools for managing grid data

30. Custom Applications with Vertical Mapper
• VM SDK
– C based API
– Can be called from MapBasic
• “Include” files make the VM capabilities easy to use in a
MapBasic application
• Sample applications
• VM SDK is supported for desktop deployments only.
– Our MapXtreme 2008 developer kit does offer some grid
creation and visualisation capabilities.

31. Tom Probert
EMEA Desktop Product Marketing Manager
tom.probert@pb.com
More information:
Vertical Mapper:
http://www.pbinsight.com/verticalmapper