Nickel and Nöllenburg – DRAWING k-LINEAR METRO MAPS 2019

Description

This concise 5-page research paper, authored by Soeren Nickel and Martin Nöllenburg from TU Wien, presents a significant advancement in automated metro map layout. It introduces the first global optimization approach for drawing k-linear schematic metro maps, generalizing the well-established octilinear (k=4) mixed-integer linear programming (ILP) model by Nöllenburg and Wolff (2011) to support an arbitrary number of equidistant slopes (k-linearity). Visually rich, the document effectively uses several figures to showcase concrete examples, including k=3, k=4, and k=5 layouts for the Vienna and Washington D.C. metro networks, along with performance metrics in a clear table. This meticulously structured academic work, supported by FWF funding, offers a trustworthy and valuable resource for researchers in graph drawing and network visualization, demonstrating a robust algorithmic solution to a complex cartographic challenge.