Generating approximate region boundaries from heterogeneous spatial information: an evolutionary approach

Spatial information takes different forms in different applications, ranging from accurate coordinates in geographic information systems to the qualitative abstractions that are used in artificial intelligence and spatial cognition. As a result, existing spatial information processing techniques tend to be tailored towards one type of spatial information, and cannot readily be extended to cope with the heterogeneity of spatial information that often arises in practice. In applications such as geographic information retrieval, on the other hand, approximate boundaries of spatial regions need to be constructed, using whatever spatial information that can be obtained. Motivated by this observation, we propose a novel methodology for generating spatial scenarios that are compatible with available knowledge. By suitably discretizing space, this task is translated to a combinatorial optimization problem, which is solved using a hybridization of two well-known meta-heuristics: genetic algorithms and ant colony optimization. What results is a flexible method that can cope with both quantitative and qualitative information, and can easily be adapted to the specific needs of specific applications. Experiments with geographic data demonstrate the potential of the approach

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Institutional Plan, FY 1997--FY 2002

Three major initiatives are described, which are proposed to strengthen ORNL`s ability to support the missions of the Department: neutron science, functional genomics, and distributed computing at teraflop speeds. The laboratory missions, strategic plan, scientific and technical programs, enterprise activities, laboratory operations, and resource projections are also described

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1990 phase 1 projects

The research objectives of the 280 projects placed under contract in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 1990 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 program are described. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses in response to NASA's 1990 SBIR Phase 1 Program Solicitation. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 280, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. The document also includes Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference in the 1990 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA field center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number

Past, Present and Future of a Habitable Earth

This perspective of this book views Earth's various layers as a whole system, and tries to understand how to achieve harmony and sustainable development between human society and nature, with the theme of " habitability of the Earth." This book is one effort at providing an overview of some of the recent exciting advances Chinese geoscientists have made. It is the concerted team effort of a group of researchers from diverse backgrounds to generalize their vision for Earth science in the next 10 years. The book is intended for scholars, administrators of the Science and Technology policy department, and science research funding agencies. This is an open access book

Past, Present and Future of a Habitable Earth

This perspective of this book views Earth's various layers as a whole system, and tries to understand how to achieve harmony and sustainable development between human society and nature, with the theme of " habitability of the Earth." This book is one effort at providing an overview of some of the recent exciting advances Chinese geoscientists have made. It is the concerted team effort of a group of researchers from diverse backgrounds to generalize their vision for Earth science in the next 10 years. The book is intended for scholars, administrators of the Science and Technology policy department, and science research funding agencies. This is an open access book