Evaluating an animated and static time series map of District Six: A visual and cognitive approach

Visualization of spatial information is an important aspect in the representation of map displays. Maps today are visually adapted to a variety of mediums in displaying spatial information temporally and as time series phenomena. GIS technology has incorporated tools for analysing these spatio-temporal trends. However map users are overwhelmed by the amount of information in these map displays and therefore experience cognitive overload. In this study we find that static and animated maps have their respective advantages in the visualization of the map reader by placing participants through a structured set of questions. All these facets exist in the visual and cognitive realm of the map reader. District Six is a unique area that has experienced significant spatial change in the last century, mainly attributed to its political history. This has been depicted in a conventional static and animated time series map representation which has been designed to facilitate the understanding of the spatial change that occurred during this unique period of history. In this paper a  methodology has been investigated and implemented in the design of the map, by enhancing the map reader’s experience in visualising time series spatial data. We conclude further that visual intention and attention are cognitive facets that collectively strengthen the map reader’s ability in learning spatial information

An Innovative Approach for Improvement of Communications through Visual Schedule Model in Road Construction

Innovative Visualisation Technologies applied to construction simulation and optimisation have the potential to improve communications and coordination amongst the construction team. In this context and in the drive for innovation in the construction management, a framework for automatic generation and visualisation of construction processes in road construction has been conceived, designed and developed. The framework is composed of road design data, quantities of cut and fill, productivity models, algorithms for modelling ground profiles and road profile visualiser. The paper details a Visual Schedule Model (VSM) that has been developed in the course of this research to realise the framework outlined above. The model is currently being evaluated using real life case study. Conclusions and future development have also been presented

Improving Communication of Scheduling Information of Earthworks using 4D Visualisation Model in Road Projects

Innovative visualization technology applied to construction simulation and optimization has the potential to improve communications and coordination amongst the project stakeholders. In this context and in the drive for innovation in construction management, this paper introduces a framework of a 4D prototype for the automatic generation of visual terrain surfaces during earthwork construction processes. The framework has been designed and developed by integrating road design data, quantities of cut and fill, productivity models, algorithms for modelling terrain profiles and a road profile visualiser. The paper details the prototype of 4D visualization model (4DVM) that has been designed and developed in this research using innovative methodology where 4D models of terrain surfaces are generated based on coordinate data and the productivity of earthwork. The model has been demonstrated with a case study that was used to validate the model. The 4DVM is intended to assist project planners/construction managers in logical decision making processes for construction scheduling and resource planning. It will also improve the communication gap amongst the construction team and consequently improve site coordination and operation

Automatic generation and visualisation of location-based scheduling

Accurate and visual information of working locations is vital for efficient resource planning and location-based scheduling of earthworks, which is missing in existing linear schedules. Thus, construction managers have to depend on subjective decisions for resources allocation and progress monitoring from location aspects. This has caused uncertainties in planning and scheduling, and consequently delays and cost overruns of projects. A framework of prototype model was developed using the theory of location-based planning to overcome the above issues. This paper focuses on a case study experiments to demonstrate the functions of the model, which includes automatic generation of location-based earthwork schedules and visualization of cut-fill locations on a weekly basis. An arithmetic algorithm was developed by incorporating road design data, sectional quantities, variable productivity rates, unit cost and haulage distance. The model provides weekly information of locations, directions and cut-fill quantities of earthwork under different selections: construction sequences of cut/fill sections, site access points and equipment sets. The paper concludes that the model assists in identifying the correct locations and visualizing the space congestion during earthwork operations. Hence, project resources including heavy equipment and construction materials should be allocated more effectively and correctly from the location viewpoints and ultimately to improve site productivity and reduce production cost in linear projects

Time Delay Estimation in Mobile Sensors for Underwater Networking

The time synchronization between any two sensor nodes in an Ad-hoc Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs) could be destroyed due to motion of these wireless sensors which induced Doppler shift. This synchronization obstacle can be sorted out by exploiting the mobility between sensor nodes. In the proposed system, the time delay between sensor nodes in both divergence and convergence scenarios are estimated based on estimating the time scaling factor. An improvement is introduced in terms of packet structure in order to challenge the channel effect and accurate estimation over the speed up to ±2 m/s. To verify the proposed system robustness, different levels of the nodes speeds have been considered in the simulation. Obtained results show that the proposed system is robust against severs channel conditions. Keywords: UWSNs, time delay, time synchronization