science

Rubbersheeting

Rubbersheeting is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rubbersheeting rather than just read about it. In short: In cartography and geographic information systems, rubbersheeting is a form of coordinate transformation that warps a vector dataset to match a known geographic space. This is most commonly needed when a dataset has systematic positional error, such as one digitized from a historical map of low accuracy.

Key takeaways

Rubbersheeting belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rubbersheeting to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rubbersheeting from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In cartography and geographic information systems, rubbersheeting is a form of coordinate transformation that warps a vector dataset to match a known geographic space. This is most commonly needed when a dataset has systematic positional error, such as one digitized from a historical map of low accuracy. The mathematics and procedure are very similar to the georeferencing of raster images, and this term is occasionally used for that process as well, but image georegistration is an unambiguous term for the raster process.

Applications in history and historical geography Rubbersheeting is a useful technique in HGIS, where it is used to digitize and add old maps as feature layers in a modern GIS. Before aerial photography arrived, most maps were highly inaccurate by modern standards. Rubbersheeting may improve the value of such sources and make them easier to compare to modern maps.

Software ESRI's ArcGIS 8.3+ has the capability of rubbersheeting vector data, and ArcMap 9.2+ may also rubber-sheet raster layers. Autodesk's AutoCAD Map 3D and AutoCAD Civil 3D (which includes most of AutoCAD Map 3D's functionality) allows a user to rubbersheet vector data, and Autodesk's Raster Design (an add-in product for AutoCAD-based products) allows a user to rubbersheet raster data. Blue Marble Geographics' Global Mapper allows a user to rubbersheet raster data. Cadcorp Spatial Information System software (SIS Map Modeller) is offering a tool for rubbersheeting data layers. QGIS Georeferencer plug-in provides a number of transformation types including Thin Plate Spline, which enables full rubber-sheeting. QGIS is a free open-source GIS package. Allmaps is a free and open source program that support in-browser rubber-sheeting of IIIF images using WebGL technology.

See also Image rectification Image registration

References

Further reading White, Marvin S. Jr.; Griffin, Patricia (January 1985). "Piecewise Linear Rubber-Sheet Map Transformation". The American Cartographer. 12 (2): 123–131. doi:10.1559/152304085783915063. "Image Correction". Geog 482: The Nature of Geographic Information. Penn State Department of Geography. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015. "Fundamentals of georeferencing a raster dataset". ArcGIS for Desktop. ESRI. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rubbersheeting

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rubbersheeting claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rubbersheeting before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rubbersheeting ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rubbersheeting

In research: Rubbersheeting appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rubbersheeting in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rubbersheeting is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cartography, Historical geographic information systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rubbersheeting outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rubbersheeting in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rubbersheeting means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rubbersheeting out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rubbersheeting in simple terms?

Why does Rubbersheeting matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rubbersheeting?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rubbersheeting.