Efficient query processing on large spatial databases A performance study

Processing of spatial queries has been studied extensively in the literature. In most cases, it is accomplished by indexing spatial data using spatial access methods. Spatial indexes, such as those based on the Quadtree, are important in spatial databases for efficient execution of queries involving spatial constraints and objects. In this paper, we study a recent balanced disk-based index structure for point data, called xBR + -tree, that belongs to the Quadtree family and hierarchically decomposes space in a regular manner. For the most common spatial queries, like Point Location, Window, Distance Range, Nearest Neighbor and Distance-based Join, the R-tree family is a very popular choice of spatial index, due to its excellent query performance. For this reason, we compare the performance of the xBR + -tree with respect to the R ∗ -tree and the R + -tree for tree building and processing the most studied spatial queries. To perform this comparison, we utilize existing algorithms and present new ones. We demonstrate through extensive experimental performance results (I/O efficiency and execution time), based on medium and large real and synthetic datasets, that the xBR + -tree is a big winner in execution time in all cases and a winner in I/O in most cases

Bulk Insertions into xBR+ -trees

Bulk insertion refers to the process of updating an existing index by inserting a large batch of new data, treating the items of this batch as a whole and not by inserting these items one-by-one. Bulk insertion is related to bulk loading, which refers to the process of creating a non-existing index from scratch, when the dataset to be indexed is available beforehand. The xBR + -tree is a balanced, disk-resident, Quadtree-based index for point data, which is very efficient for processing spatial queries. In this paper, we present the first algorithm for bulk insertion into xBR+ -trees. This algorithm incorporates extensions of techniques that we have recently developed for bulk loading xBR+ -trees. Moreover, using real and artificial datasets of various cardinalities, we present an experimental comparison of this algorithm vs. inserting items one-by-one for updating xBR+ -trees, regarding performance (I/O and execution time) and the characteristics of the resulting trees. We also present experimental results regarding the query-processing efficiency of xBR+ -trees built by bulk insertions vs. xBR+ -trees built by inserting items one-by-one

An Efficient Algorithm for Bulk-Loading xBR+ -trees

A major part of the interface to a database is made up of the queries that can be addressed to this database and answered (processed) in an efficient way, contributing to the quality of the developed software. Efficiently processed spatial queries constitute a fundamental part of the interface to spatial databases due to the wide area of applications that may address such queries, like geographical information systems (GIS), location-based services, computer visualization, automated mapping, facilities management, etc. Another important capability of the interface to a spatial database is to offer the creation of efficient index structures to speed up spatial query processing. The xBR + -tree is a balanced disk-resident quadtree-based index structure for point data, which is very efficient for processing such queries. Bulk-loading refers to the process of creating an index from scratch, when the dataset to be indexed is available beforehand, instead of creating the index gradually (and more slowly), when the dataset elements are inserted one-by-one. In this paper, we present an algorithm for bulk-loading xBR + -trees for big datasets residing on disk, using a limited amount of main memory. The resulting tree is not only built fast, but exhibits high performance in processing a broad range of spatial queries, where one or two datasets are involved. To justify these characteristics, using real and artificial datasets of various cardinalities, first, we present an experimental comparison of this algorithm vs. a previous version of the same algorithm and STR, a popular algorithm of bulk-loading R-trees, regarding tree creation time and the characteristics of the trees created, and second, we experimentally compare the query efficiency of bulk-loaded xBR + -trees vs. bulk-loaded R-trees, regarding I/O and execution time. Thus, this paper contributes to the implementation of spatial database interfaces and the efficient storage organization for big spatial data management

Automatic 3D Building Detection and Modeling from Airborne LiDAR Point Clouds

Urban reconstruction, with an emphasis on man-made structure modeling, is an active research area with broad impact on several potential applications. Urban reconstruction combines photogrammetry, remote sensing, computer vision, and computer graphics. Even though there is a huge volume of work that has been done, many problems still remain unsolved. Automation is one of the key focus areas in this research. In this work, a fast, completely automated method to create 3D watertight building models from airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point clouds is presented. The developed method analyzes the scene content and produces multi-layer rooftops, with complex rigorous boundaries and vertical walls, that connect rooftops to the ground. The graph cuts algorithm is used to separate vegetative elements from the rest of the scene content, which is based on the local analysis about the properties of the local implicit surface patch. The ground terrain and building rooftop footprints are then extracted, utilizing the developed strategy, a two-step hierarchical Euclidean clustering. The method presented here adopts a divide-and-conquer scheme. Once the building footprints are segmented from the terrain and vegetative areas, the whole scene is divided into individual pendent processing units which represent potential points on the rooftop. For each individual building region, significant features on the rooftop are further detected using a specifically designed region-growing algorithm with surface smoothness constraints. The principal orientation of each building rooftop feature is calculated using a minimum bounding box fitting technique, and is used to guide the refinement of shapes and boundaries of the rooftop parts. Boundaries for all of these features are refined for the purpose of producing strict description. Once the description of the rooftops is achieved, polygonal mesh models are generated by creating surface patches with outlines defined by detected vertices to produce triangulated mesh models. These triangulated mesh models are suitable for many applications, such as 3D mapping, urban planning and augmented reality

Topologies for ad-hoc networks utilizing directional antennas with restricted fields of view

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, February 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64).ORCLE (Optical/RF Combined Link Experiment), is an airborne network in which aircraft have multiple directional antennas that are restricted in their pointing direction. A pair of aircraft in ORCLE can be linked if they both have an antenna pointing at each other. Four topology algorithms, which coordinate the pointing of the antennas and attempt to maximize a connectedness metric, are presented and analyzed using a custom 2D simulation platform. Three of the algorithms are based on the Relative Neighbor Graph (RNG): the first constrains the RNG to requirements of the ORCLE network, the second augments the constrained RNG with edges from the Delaunay Triangulation, and the third algorithm tries to improve on the second by adding edges to reduce the diameter. The final algorithm uses a novel concept of overlapping sets of nested convex hulls to select the links of the network. All algorithms are stateless and interface with a Target Transition Layer, which gradually migrates topologies to prevent a large number of edges from being lost simultaneously. Scenes with varying node density, number of terminals per node, fields of view, and re-targeting delays are used to test the algorithms against a wide range of possible situations.by Brian C. Anderson.M.Eng