XFlowMap: Cross-Scale Generalization and Mapping of Massive Origin-Destination Data

TL;DR

XFlowMap introduces a novel framework for cross-scale visualization of massive origin-destination datasets, enabling clearer pattern detection and interpretation across multiple spatial scales.

Contribution

The paper presents a new framework that integrates cross-scale flow pattern detection, automated generalization, and a novel cartographic representation for OD data.

Findings

Effectively extracts meaningful cross-scale flow patterns.

Produces clear, information-rich flow maps for large datasets.

Supports both static and interactive flow map exploration.

Abstract

Mapping large origin-destination (OD) datasets remains challenging because flow maps become cluttered, meaningful patterns occur at multiple spatial scales, and existing flow-mapping approaches frequently rely on predefined aggregation units or manual generalization. This paper presents XFlowMap, a framework for the cross-scale generalization and mapping of massive OD data. Specifically, the framework integrates cross-scale flow pattern (cluster) detection, automated flow map generalization, and a new cartographic representation for analyzing and visualizing complex origin-destination flow structures. The approach detects salient flow patterns at their appropriate origin and destination scales, extracts high-level structures, and generates a new flow map representation that supports holistic interpretation of complex origin-destination flow patterns. A scan-statistic-based procedure is developed to evaluate and generalize cross-scale flow clusters. The detected clusters are then visualized using a novel flow symbol that integrates location, direction, strength, and OD scales in a single representation. The framework supports both area-based and point-based OD data, is robust to sparse and noisy datasets, and enables comparative mapping of stratified flow data. Experiments with synthetic data and U.S. migration data demonstrate that the method effectively extracts meaningful cross-scale flow patterns and produces clear, information-rich flow maps for large mobility datasets, supporting both static presentation and interactive exploration.