A. Juozapavicius: "Spatial Information Systems"

Catalog description:

Introduction to spatial data, geomatics, purposes and types of spatial problem, semantics of objects and surfaces, geometries for spatial data, manipulations of spatial data (interpolations, geometric operations, transformations), spatial analysis (attribute data, modelling, integration), spatial data retrieval and reasoning, multimedia spatial information systems.

The practical part of the course is based on Arc Explorer Java software. The description may be found here

The practical tasks and projects will be based on Arc Explorer Java software. The Windows version of it may be found here

Goals:

The fundamental methods for designing spatial information systems (including GIS, CAD, etc.) in both theory and practice are studied, together with the methods for analysis of data and database modeling. The students will learn important algorithms of data access, geometries and conceptual modeling of spatial data.

The content of the course:

1. Introduction to spatial information systems:
• spatial data organization;
• heterogeneity of uses of systems;
• components of spatial information systems.
2. Purposes and types of spatial problem:
• measurements and spatial relationships;
• categories of spatial;
• multi-faceted needs and main tools;
• implications for the design of spatial information systems.
3. Semantics: objects, surfaces, data:
• the information and non-spatial attributes;
• spatial characteristics of entities, entity types;
• continuous variations over and in space;
• spatial and non-spatial attributes together, some other aspects.
4. Geometries:
• positioning objects in spatial referencing systems;
• global referencing systems;
• coordinates and splines;
• fractals and space-filling curves.
5. Graphs, areas, ordering:
• netowrks and graphs, areas;
• error identification;
• polygons and areas, spatial relationship.
6. Tessellations:
• mosaics, tessellations and lattices;
• geometry of regular tessellations;
• fixed spatial resolutions;
• variable spatial resolutions, quadtree;
• hierarchical tessellations.
7. Transformations:
• basic operations on lines and points;
• operations on polygons;
• spatial data transformations;
• access to spatial data.
8. Spatial analysis:
• attribute data, integration, planar network entities;
• operations for quadtree tessellations;
• operations for iiregular polygons and graphs;
• integration and multiple representation.
9. Spatial data retrieval and reasoning:
• relational operators and relational algebra;
• SQL in geomatics;
• Peano relations and Peano-tuple algebra.
10. Spatial queries:
• point-in-polygon queries;
• region queries and vacant queries;
• distance and buffer zone, path queries;
• examples of multimedia queries, implications for spatial data.
11. Access and quality:
• spatial indexing;
• integrity constrains;
• the use of topology in creating integrity checking mechanisms;
• consistency checking for a terrain model.
12. Multimedia spatial information systems:
• hyperdocuments;
• multimedia image data;
• organization of collections of maps and images;
• hypermaps.

Manuscripts of lectures:

• Spatial data organization, components of IS, modelling, in word or pdf formats
• Data sources and types in remote sensing, data formats, in word or pdf formats
• Basics of image processing, resolution, Fourier transforms, in word or pdf formats
• Image enhancement in real space, segmentation, textures, in word or pdf formats
• Error correction and registration of image data, in word or pdf formats
• Geometries of spatial data, in word or pdf formats
• Fractals, a way to represent natural objects, in word or pdf formats
• Discretization of spatial objects, in word or pdf formats
• Tessellation of spatial objects, in word or pdf formats
• Transformation of spatial objects, in word or pdf formats
• Indexing of spatial data by quadtrees and other data structures, in word or pdf formats

Current textbook:

Robert Laurini, Derek Thompson, Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems. Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, Publishers, London, San Diego, New York 1998

Additional textbooks:

• L.Ammeraal, Algorithms and Data Structures in C++. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1996.
  
• R. Sedgewick, Algorithms in C++. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1992.
  
• S. K. Chang, E. Jungert, Symbolic Projection for Image Information Retrieval and Spatial Reasoning. Academic Press Limited, London, 1996.
• R. H. Gueting. Tutorial in Spatial Database Systems