TopoFusion

TopoFusion GPS Mapping software designed to plan and analyze trails using topographic maps and GPS tracks.

TopoFusion
Developer(s)
  • Scott Morris
  • Alan Morris
[1]
Initial release2002 (2002)
Stable release
5.51 / 5 August 2018 (2018-08-05)[2]
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeGPS Mapping
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.topofusion.com
As of27 October 2018

History

The software was created in 2002 by two brothers who were outdoor bikepacking enthusiasts and felt software could help them plan better trails.[3] They developed the first version of the software in 2002 and one included it as part of his doctorate dissertation on GPS Driven Trail Simulation and Network Production.[4] In 2004 the developers and one other jointly presented the paper Digital Trail Libraries which illustrated some of the graph theory algorithms used by the software.[5][1] As of 2018 the software remains supported with refined functionality and improved support for additional maps and GPS Devices.[6]

Features

The software was designed to plan and analyze trails.[7] When used for planning proposed routes may be planned and checked against different maps, and the result(s) downloaded to a GPS tracking device.[7] Topofusion is particularly noted for eased of switch and combining maps and for capability of simultaneously managing multiple trails.[8] After a trail has been executed the resultant GPS log can be uploaded to TopoFusion and the actual route analyzed with the addition of any photographic images recorded on route.[7]

The product is marketed as a fully featured 'professional version and a more basic version with reduced functionality at lower cost. A fully featured trial version which is not time limited is available which restricts usability by watermarking map display tiles by overlaying the word 'DEMO'.[2] The software is available directly Microsoft Windows only,[9] however TopoFusion has claimed users have reported success using VMWare Fusion and Parallels emulation on Mac OS.[3][10]

Applications

TopoFusion has been found useful by those engaged in the sport of geocaching.[11]

The software has been used in assisting analysis of GPS routes. A survey reported in 2004 of GPS tracking of motorists visiting the Acadia National Park in Maine, United States was assisted by use of Topofusion to review the scenes visited.[12] It has also been used in studies of agriculture transportation logistics.[1]

TopoFusion can also assist in determining where photographs have been taken on a trail and can geocoded photo the image or tag it onto a map. For this to be successful the digital camera's time must be synchronized with the GPS unit time, and both the GPS track and digital images made available to Topofusion. The time when the image was taken can then be matched to the time on the GPS log and this enables the image to be enhanced with geocode fields when Real-time geotagging was not available when the image was taken. TopoFusion can also optionally annotate maps with images.[13]

References
  1. Lauer, Johannes; Zipf, Alexander (2010-05-11). Painho, Marco; Santos, Maribel Yasmina; Pundt, Hardy (eds.). A workflow for improving the availability of routable data (OSM) for logistics in agriculture - using data from Telematics-systems and community-based quality management (PDF). The 13th AGILE International Conference on Geographic Information Science. Guimarães, Portugal. ISBN 978-989-20-1953-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  2. "TopoFusion download page". TopoFusion. Archived from the original on 2007-01-07. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  3. "The Complete Route Planning Guide: Get out of the ether". BIKEPACKING LLC. 16 June 2016. Topofusion. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. Scott Morris. GPS Driven Trail Simulation and Network Production (PhD).
  5. Morris, S.; Morris, A.; Barnard, K. (2004-06-07). "Digital trail libraries". In Chen, Hsinchun; Wactlar, Howard; Chen, Ching-chih; Lim, Ee-Peng; Christel, Mike (eds.). Proceedings of the 2004 Joint ACM/IEEE Conference on Digital Libraries. JCDL '04 ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries 2004. Tucson, Arizona, United States: IEEE. pp. 63−71. doi:10.1109/JCDL.2004.1336099. ISBN 1-58113-832-6. Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  6. "TopoFusion Pro Revision History". TopoFusion. Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  7. "About TopoFusion". TopoFusion. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  8. Gardiner, Geoff (2009-12-31). "Gadget Guy – TopoFusion Pro" (PDF). The Dog House (11th ed.). susark9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  9. McNamara, Joel (10 Oct 2008). GPS for Dummies. p. 254. ISBN 978-0470156230.
  10. "Frequently Asked Questions". TopoFusion. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  11. McNamara, Joel (10 October 2008). Geocaching for Dummies. ISBN 9781118054383. TopoFusion.
  12. Hallo, Jeffrey C.; Manning, Robert E.; Valliere, William; Budruk, Megha (2005). "A Case Study Comparison of Visitor Self Reported and GPS Recorded Travel Routes" (PDF). In Bricker, Kelly (ed.). Proceedings of the 2004 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-326. Newtown Square, PA: Northern Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 174−176. doi:10.2737/NE-GTR-326. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 27 October 2018.{{cite conference}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. Erle, Schuyler; Gibson, Rich; Walsh, Jo (19 Jun 2005). Mapping Hacks: Tips & Tools for Electronic Cartography (1st ed.). O'Reilly Media. p. 34. ISBN 978-0596007034.
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