Egocentric design of map-based mobile services

In contrast to geocentric maps that remain up-to-date for a relatively long period and aim at communicating geoinformation in a balanced way to diverse users, egocentric maps are intended for short-term usage and individual users. There is an increasing awareness of egocentric map design for mobile applications - a phenomenon resulted from the rapid technical progresses and the growing demand on personalised geoservices. Some design patterns of egocentric maps in stationary cartographic systems are reusable and adaptable to mobile usage context, with the immediate usability being the essential constraint drawing together the research challenges involved in the design process.