Thesauri Design to improve access to Cartographic Heritage in the context of the Spatial Data Infrastructures

Tecnologías de la Información Geográfica, ontologías, Información Geográfica, interoperabilidad. The access of historians and document management specialists to documentary funds and old cartography is at times arduous due to the scattering of maps throughout different map libraries. Thus, it would be of interest to be able to access all available information remotely, following the Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) guidelines. DIGMAP is a cooperative project between six European countries that proposes to develop a solution for indexing, searching and browsing, through a thesaurus, in the European collections of digitized historical maps. It will be possible to match them with the geographic areas covered by each map in the collection and to find it on them, based on standard and open data models. These results will be useful for local digital map libraries, especially if it is of historical – cultural importance, or as interoperable components for wider and distributed systems. This project takes advantage of thesauri technologies to develop three major subsystems: On one hand, the gazetteer for managing and providing access to multilingual information relating to geographic features like geographic coordinates, names of places or areas and historical events related with the geographic points, places or areas (with dates or time intervals); The authority file to maintain and provide easy access to the author’s information and identification and disambiguating from similar and duplicate authors; and on the other hand, the map services for providing access to map information in raster and vector formats. The paper presents an early overview on the DIGMAP project, particularly focusing on the multilingual Thesauri aspects with the aim of providing solutions for the cartographic heritage framework, applying the main Spatial Data Infrastructures guidelines. ISO 19112 (Spatial Reference by Geographic Identifiers) will also be considered and its geographic identifiers issues

Collaborative custodianship through collaborative cloud mapping : challenges and opportunities

Collaborative custodianship refers to an arrangement where a number of custodians work together to produce integrated datasets for a spatial data infrastructure (SDI), e.g. local authorities contributing address or street data to a national SDI dataset. Collaborative cloud mapping allows for ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand, configured and tailor-made mapping with resources shared between various entities collaborating on a specific initiative, such as an SDI or for disaster management. This paper presents the results of a workshop in South Africa during which case studies from the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria of collaborative custodianship of address data were presented, and OpenStreetMap as a case study of collaborative cloud mapping. Subsequently, challenges and opportunities for implementing similar initiatives in the context of the South African SDI were debated in break-away sessions. The results from these sessions were analysed using the PESTEL framework

Improving the Availability of Space Research Spatial Data*

The rapid development of space technology and the increased interest in space exploration have resulted in the intensive observation of celestial bodies, mostly in the solar system, over the past decade with the prospect of an upward trend in the future. Large amounts of collected data on space bodies impose the need to develop the Spatial Data Infrastructure of Celestial Bodies at the general level to enable standardized organization and storage of these data, and their efficient use and exchange. To approach the development of such an infrastructure, it is necessary to investigate what data, as well as how and to what extent, are collected through space observation. It is also necessary to investigate how this data can be obtained. This paper provides an overview of planetary spatial data archives, data storage and retrieval methods, and their shortcomings in the context of easy search, download and interpretation of data, all with the aim of establishing Spatial Data Infrastructure of Celestial Bodies that would make space data more accessible to the public and non-planetary scientists

3D Cadastres Best Practices, Chapter 5: Visualization and New Opportunities

This paper proposes a discussion on opportunities offered by 3D visualization to improve the understanding and the analysis of cadastre data. It first introduce the rationale of having 3D visualization functionalities in the context of cadastre applications. Second the publication outline some basic concepts in 3D visualization. This section specially addresses the visualization pipeline as a driven classification schema to understand the steps leading to 3D visualization. In this section is also presented a brief review of current 3D standards and technologies. Next is proposed a summary of progress made in the last years in 3D cadastral visualization. For instance, user’s requirement, data and semiotics, and platforms are highlighted as main actions performed in the development of 3D cadastre visualization. This review could be perceived as an attempt to structure and emphasise the best practices in the domain of 3D cadastre visualization and as an inventory of issues that still need to be tackled. Finally, by providing a review on advances and trends in 3D visualization, the paper initiates a discussion and a critical analysis on the benefit of applying these new developments to cadastre domain. This final section discusses about enhancing 3D techniques as dynamic transparency and cutaway, 3D generalization, 3D visibility model, 3D annotation, 3D data and web platform, augmented reality, immersive virtual environment, 3D gaming, interaction techniques and time

Mapping and the Citizen Sensor

Maps are a fundamental resource in a diverse array of applications ranging from everyday activities, such as route planning through the legal demarcation of space to scientific studies, such as those seeking to understand biodiversity and inform the design of nature reserves for species conservation. For a map to have value, it should provide an accurate and timely representation of the phenomenon depicted and this can be a challenge in a dynamic world. Fortunately, mapping activities have benefitted greatly from recent advances in geoinformation technologies. Satellite remote sensing, for example, now offers unparalleled data acquisition and authoritative mapping agencies have developed systems for the routine production of maps in accordance with strict standards. Until recently, much mapping activity was in the exclusive realm of authoritative agencies but technological development has also allowed the rise of the amateur mapping community. The proliferation of inexpensive and highly mobile and location aware devices together with Web 2.0 technology have fostered the emergence of the citizen as a source of data. Mapping presently benefits from vast amounts of spatial data as well as people able to provide observations of geographic phenomena, which can inform map production, revision and evaluation. The great potential of these developments is, however, often limited by concerns. The latter span issues from the nature of the citizens through the way data are collected and shared to the quality and trustworthiness of the data. This book reports on some of the key issues connected with the use of citizen sensors in mapping. It arises from a European Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST) Action, which explored issues linked to topics ranging from citizen motivation, data acquisition, data quality and the use of citizen derived data in the production of maps that rival, and sometimes surpass, maps arising from authoritative agencies