Quality of spatial information for municipal infrastructure management

Management of municipal infrastructure involves many processes such as planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of various assets. Municipal infrastructure management systems require gathering and combining a large amount of data from different sources. These data consist of spatial and non-spatial data for describing the process information about each facility. In recent years, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are widely used in municipal infrastructure management to spatially locate the elements of roads, sewers and water networks. However, the data used in these systems are collected from different sources using different methods with little information about the quality of the data. Problems regarding spatial data quality can affect all fields that use geographic data. Furthermore, the aging of municipal infrastructure assets combined with limited maintenance budgets presents unprecedented challenges to municipalities and public work agencies. A new integrated Municipal Infrastructure Management System (MIMS) is required to perform better quality performance for optimizing maintenance, repair and replacement activities. In this research, first a literature review is conducted about the existing MIMS software solutions, various spatial technologies are introduced, and data standards and quality concepts are discussed. Then, a new framework for MIMS spatial data quality assurance process is proposed. This framework is developed to cover all aspects of data quality and several practical methods for achieving spatial data quality assurance. One case study with four implementations is used to demonstrate the applications of the proposed approach

Προδιαγραφές ανάπτυξης Υποδομής Χωρικών δεδομένων σε περιφερειακό επίπεδο

Το παρόν κείμενο αποτελεί τις βασικές προδιαγραφές ανάπτυξης μιας Υποδομής Χωρικών Δεδομένων (ΥΧΔ)1 για τη Ροδόπη σε επίπεδο Περιφέρειας Ανατολικής Μακεδονίας - Θράκης, που υλοποιείται στο πλαίσιο της Δράσης 1 του έργου "Προστασία και Ανόρθωση Υδατικών και Δασικών Πόρων Νομού Ροδόπης"

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN OPEN ACCESS GEOPORTAL

GeoPortal Systems are being considered one of the most important object in interoperability concept for Spatial data Management. With the developing technology of the information age, the need for accessing to spatial data is caused to effort for establishing national, regional and local information systems by institutes and organizations. Sharing and accessing of spatial datasets between institutes and organizations are being more important within interoperability concept.In this study, Open Access GeoPortal System is designed and applied to establish a common platform for institutes/organizations to analyze, interact, view, query and share spatial data. Open Access GeoPortal System, which is aimed to develop effective solutions in the field of using and sharing spatial data and establish interoperability concept, intends to provide an infrastructure for users to realize functions related with spatial data on web without installing any software. Open Access GeoPortal System is providing standardization stage acceleration, interoperability concept establishment and solutions to problems of spatial data thanks to the developed functions and processes which are working on international standardization organizations as like INSPIRE, ISO, W3C and OGC

Human Machine Interaction

In this book, the reader will find a set of papers divided into two sections. The first section presents different proposals focused on the human-machine interaction development process. The second section is devoted to different aspects of interaction, with a special emphasis on the physical interaction

Spatial ontologies for architectural heritage

Informatics and artificial intelligence have generated new requirements for digital archiving, information, and documentation. Semantic interoperability has become fundamental for the management and sharing of information. The constraints to data interpretation enable both database interoperability, for data and schemas sharing and reuse, and information retrieval in large datasets. Another challenging issue is the exploitation of automated reasoning possibilities. The solution is the use of domain ontologies as a reference for data modelling in information systems. The architectural heritage (AH) domain is considered in this thesis. The documentation in this field, particularly complex and multifaceted, is well-known to be critical for the preservation, knowledge, and promotion of the monuments. For these reasons, digital inventories, also exploiting standards and new semantic technologies, are developed by international organisations (Getty Institute, ONU, European Union). Geometric and geographic information is essential part of a monument. It is composed by a number of aspects (spatial, topological, and mereological relations; accuracy; multi-scale representation; time; etc.). Currently, geomatics permits the obtaining of very accurate and dense 3D models (possibly enriched with textures) and derived products, in both raster and vector format. Many standards were published for the geographic field or in the cultural heritage domain. However, the first ones are limited in the foreseen representation scales (the maximum is achieved by OGC CityGML), and the semantic values do not consider the full semantic richness of AH. The second ones (especially the core ontology CIDOC – CRM, the Conceptual Reference Model of the Documentation Commettee of the International Council of Museums) were employed to document museums’ objects. Even if it was recently extended to standing buildings and a spatial extension was included, the integration of complex 3D models has not yet been achieved. In this thesis, the aspects (especially spatial issues) to consider in the documentation of monuments are analysed. In the light of them, the OGC CityGML is extended for the management of AH complexity. An approach ‘from the landscape to the detail’ is used, for considering the monument in a wider system, which is essential for analysis and reasoning about such complex objects. An implementation test is conducted on a case study, preferring open source applications

Spatial ontologies for architectural heritage

Informatics and artificial intelligence have generated new requirements for digital archiving, information, and documentation. Semantic interoperability has become fundamental for the management and sharing of information. The constraints to data interpretation enable both database interoperability, for data and schemas sharing and reuse, and information retrieval in large datasets. Another challenging issue is the exploitation of automated reasoning possibilities. The solution is the use of domain ontologies as a reference for data modelling in information systems. The architectural heritage (AH) domain is considered in this thesis. The documentation in this field, particularly complex and multifaceted, is well-known to be critical for the preservation, knowledge, and promotion of the monuments. For these reasons, digital inventories, also exploiting standards and new semantic technologies, are developed by international organisations (Getty Institute, ONU, European Union). Geometric and geographic information is essential part of a monument. It is composed by a number of aspects (spatial, topological, and mereological relations; accuracy; multi-scale representation; time; etc.). Currently, geomatics permits the obtaining of very accurate and dense 3D models (possibly enriched with textures) and derived products, in both raster and vector format. Many standards were published for the geographic field or in the cultural heritage domain. However, the first ones are limited in the foreseen representation scales (the maximum is achieved by OGC CityGML), and the semantic values do not consider the full semantic richness of AH. The second ones (especially the core ontology CIDOC – CRM, the Conceptual Reference Model of the Documentation Commettee of the International Council of Museums) were employed to document museums’ objects. Even if it was recently extended to standing buildings and a spatial extension was included, the integration of complex 3D models has not yet been achieved. In this thesis, the aspects (especially spatial issues) to consider in the documentation of monuments are analysed. In the light of them, the OGC CityGML is extended for the management of AH complexity. An approach ‘from the landscape to the detail’ is used, for considering the monument in a wider system, which is essential for analysis and reasoning about such complex objects. An implementation test is conducted on a case study, preferring open source applications

WEBSIG NW Angola : sistema de informação geológica do NW de Angola

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Geographic Information Systems and ScienceNo contexto geológico regional, o NW de Angola é a parte mais a sul do Aulocógeno do Congo Ocidental, que é uma estrutura regional Africana que se estende desde o Gabão até Angola (NSUNGANI, et al., 2012). A parte costeira do NW de Angola corresponde à Bacia Sedimentar do Baixo Congo, com forte potencial em hidrocarbonetos, e a parte interior do NW de Angola é potencialmente rica em minerais metálicos cobre, zinco, ouro, etc. (ARAUJO, et al., 1992). As instituições empenhadas no estudo da geologia do NW de Angola defrontam algumas dificuldades no tratamento dos dados oriundos deste processo, assim como defrontam dificuldades na divulgação da informação resultante. O principal objectivo deste projecto é desenvolver uma aplicação WebSIG para armazenamento e disponibilização da informação resultante do estudo da geologia do NW de Angola. Pretende-se que o resultado final seja um sistema direccionado para o desenvolvimento e integração de uma base de dados espacial multivariada, necessária para a análise de grandes volumes de dados provenientes do estudo da geologia do NW de Angola

The Analysis of Open Source Software and Data for Establishment of GIS Services Throughout the Network in a Mapping Organization at National or International Level

Federal agencies and their partners collect and manage large amounts of geospatial data but it is often not easily found when needed, and sometimes data is collected or purchased multiple times. In short, the best government data is not always organized and managed efficiently to support decision making in a timely and cost effective manner. National mapping agencies, various Departments responsible for collection of different types of Geospatial data and their authorities cannot, for very long, continue to operate, as they did a few years ago like people living in an island. Leaders need to look at what is now possible that was not possible before, considering capabilities such as cloud computing, crowd sourced data collection, available Open source remotely sensed data and multi source information vital in decision-making as well as new Web-accessible services that provide, sometimes at no cost. Many of these services previously could be obtained only from local GIS experts. These authorities need to consider the available solution and gather information about new capabilities, reconsider agency missions and goals, review and revise policies, make budget and human resource for decisions, and evaluate new products, cloud services, and cloud service providers. To do so, we need, choosing the right tools to rich the above-mentioned goals. As we know, Data collection is the most cost effective part of the mapping and establishment of a Geographic Information system. However, it is not only because of the cost for the data collection task but also because of the damages caused by the delay and the time that takes to provide the user with proper information necessary for making decision from the field up to the user’s hand. In fact, the time consumption of a project for data collection, processing, and presentation of geospatial information has more effect on the cost of a bigger project such as disaster management, construction, city planning, environment, etc. Of course, with such a pre-assumption that we provide all the necessary information from the existing sources directed to user’s computer. The best description for a good GIS project optimization or improvement is finding a methodology to reduce the time and cost, and increase data and service quality (meaning; Accuracy, updateness, completeness, consistency, suitability, information content, integrity, integration capability, and fitness for use as well as user’s specific needs and conditions that must be addressed with a special attention). Every one of the above-mentioned issues must be addressed individually and at the same time, the whole solution must be provided in a global manner considering all the criteria. In this thesis at first, we will discuss about the problem we are facing and what is needed to be done as establishment of National Spatial Data Infra-Structure (NSDI), the definition and related components. Then after, we will be looking for available Open Source Software solutions to cover the whole process to manage; Data collection, Data base management system, data processing and finally data services and presentation. The first distinction among Software is whether they are, Open source and free or commercial and proprietary. It is important to note that in order to make distinction among softwares it is necessary to define a clear specification for this categorization. It is somehow very difficult to distinguish what software belongs to which class from legal point of view and therefore, makes it necessary to clarify what is meant by various terms. With reference to this concept there are 2 global distinctions then, inside each group, we distinguish another classification regarding their functionalities and applications they are made for in GIScience. According to the outcome of the second chapter, which is the technical process for selection of suitable and reliable software according to the characteristics of the users need and required components, we will come to next chapter. In chapter 3, we elaborate in to the details of the GeoNode software as our best candidate tools to take responsibilities of those issues stated before. In Chapter 4, we will discuss the existing Open Source Data globally available with the predefined data quality criteria (Such as theme, data content, scale, licensing, and coverage) according to the metadata statement inside the datasets by mean of bibliographic review, technical documentation and web search engines. We will discuss in chapter 5 further data quality concepts and consequently define sets of protocol for evaluation of all datasets according to the tasks that a mapping organization in general, needed to be responsible to the probable users in different disciplines such as; Reconnaissance, City Planning, Topographic mapping, Transportation, Environment control, disaster management and etc… In Chapter 6, all the data quality assessment and protocols will be implemented into the pre-filtered, proposed datasets. In the final scores and ranking result, each datasets will have a value corresponding to their quality according to the sets of rules that are defined in previous chapter. In last steps, there will be a vector of weight that is derived from the questions that has to be answered by user with reference to the project in hand in order to finalize the most appropriate selection of Free and Open Source Data. This Data quality preference has to be defined by identifying a set of weight vector, and then they have to be applied to the quality matrix in order to get a final quality scores and ranking. At the end of this chapter there will be a section presenting data sets utilization in various projects such as “ Early Impact Analysis” as well as “Extreme Rainfall Detection System (ERDS)- version 2” performed by ITHACA. Finally, in conclusion, the important criteria, as well as future trend in GIS software are discussed and at the end recommendations will be presented

Framework de integração para o modelo estratégico de colaboração e mineração de dados espaciais na WEB

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Florianópolis, 2011Após o levantamento da situação de alguns municípios brasileiros com relação a produção e ao tratamento de dados espaciais, ficou detectada a carência de infraestruturas, de informações e por consequência, a falta de mecanismos colaborativos com suporte a mineração de dados para análise espacial. As dificuldades aumentam com a disseminação de diferentes estruturas de dados espaciais a exemplo de padrões CAD/GIS produzidas através do rápido avanço das tecnologias de informação, sendo reais os desafios para implementação de uma infraestrutura interoperável e foco de várias discussões. Entretanto o acesso a esses dados via internet e os problemas ocasionados na troca dos mesmos estão relacionados diretamente a natureza particular de cada padrão adotado, por isso devem ser analisados e adequados para colaboração. Inicialmente a hipótese do trabalho visa intensificar a interoperabilidade entre dados espaciais e a integração de sistemas, tornando possível estabelecer canais de comunicação para um ambiente colaborativo visando ações potenciais e cooperativas. A partir disso, a pesquisa apresenta uma investigação sobre os aspectos relevantes que influenciam na engenharia de projetos, originando o desenvolvimento do protótipo denominado OpenCGFW (Collaborative Geospatial Framework Web), visando o reconhecimento de estruturas, integração, manipulação e colaboração, em sintonia com esforços da INDE, OGC e W3C. Inicialmente são realizados estudos e revisões sobre os assuntos diretamente relacionados à interoperabilidade. Também são abordados temas relacionados ao armazenamento, tratamento e colaboração computacional especificamente entre os dados geográficos produzidos por diferentes instituições públicas. Para construção do framework foi aplicado o método MCDA-C (Multicritério de Apoio à Decisão - Construtivista) para identificação dos aspectos fundamentais e elementares. A partir disso o trabalho também descreve os resultados obtidos na implementação das etapas de um padrão de projeto para apoiar nas atividades e na avaliação de geosoluções livres. Durante a discussão, são apresentados os resultados através experimentos e aplicações para mapas digitais na web visando a integração de várias bases de dados distribuídas ao cadastro técnico multifinalitário para uso das principais técnicas de mineração de dados espaciais. Ao final, o trabalho discute a hipótese e a contribuição da pesquisa, visando atender principalmente às características regionais, buscando contribuir para o avanço tecnológico do país ao intensificar o uso de padrões abertos e geotecnologias livres na colaboração e gestão do conhecimentoAfter surveying the situation in some municipals Brazilian with respect to production and processing of spatial data, it was detected the lack of infrastructure, of information, and therefore the lack of mechanisms to support collaborative for data mining and spatial analysis. The difficulties increase with the spread of different structures of spatial data standards like ie: CAD / GIS produced by the rapid advancement of information technology, and real challenges to implementation of an interoperable infrastructure and it focus of several discussions. However access to this data via the Internet and the problems caused in the same exchange are directly related to the particular nature of each standard adopted, so it they should must be analyzed and appropriate for collaboration. Initially, the hypothesis of the study aims to enhance interoperability between spatial data and systems integration, making it possible to establish communication channels for a collaborative environment aimed at potential and cooperative actions. From this, the study presents an investigation into the relevant aspects that influence the projects engineering, resulting in the development of the prototype called OpenCGFW (Collaborative Geospatial Framework Web), to the recognition of structures, integration, manipulation and collaboration, in tuning with efforts GSDI-INDE, OGC and W3C. Initially, studies and reviews on subjects directly related to interoperability. Are also discussed issues related to storage, processing between collaboration computational and specifically geographic data produced by different public institutions. For construction of the framework was applied MCDA-C method (Multicriteria Decision Aid - Constructivist) to identify the fundamental and elementary. From this work also describes the results obtained in implementing the steps of a design pattern to support the activities and evaluating free geo-solutions. During the discussion, are present the results through experiments and applications of the web mapping for digital maps to integrate multiple databases distributed of the multipurpose cadaster and use of the main techniques of spatial data mining. At the end, the work discusses the hypothesis and the contribution of research, mainly to meet the regional characteristics, seeking to contribute to the technological advancement of the country intensifying the use of open standards, the free geo-solutions collaboration and knowledge managemen