An Overview Study of Automated Inland Waterway Topographic ContourMapping

Abstract—With the continuous optimization of methods for acquiring high-resolution and high-precision elevation data, the efficiency of traditional manual contouring plotting has become increasingly difficult to satisfy the rapid growth of practical demands. Automatic contouring technology, leveraging its ability to automatically generate contour lines from discrete point elevation data, has significantly reduced labor and resource costs while ensuring consistent results. This has led to its widespread application in terrain analysis. The capability of current general algorithms and software to capture subtle geomorphological features when dealing with the complexity of inland water terrains remains limited. This paper reviews some of the mainstream algorithms in automatic contouring, including interpolation methods based on regular grids and irregular triangular meshes, as well as line-tracing methods. Additionally, it elucidates several major automatic contouring software systems, such as the EPS software system developed by Tsinghua Shanwei Company and the ArcGIS platform, and emphasizes the application prospects of hybrid programming techniques combining VC++ and MATLAB in this field. Future research should focus on developing specialized contouring algorithms tailored for the unique geomorphology of inland water areas, designing integrated and efficient hybrid algorithm systems, and developing professional integrated software. Automation technologies should be incorporated throughout the entire mapping workflow to further enhance the accuracy and applicability of inland water contouring.