GISTAM 2015 Abstracts

Area 1 - Data Acquisition and Processing
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 2 - Modeling, Representation and Visualization
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 3 - Knowledge Extraction and Management
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 4 - Domain Applications
Full Papers Short Papers

Area 1 - Data Acquisition and Processing

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 11
Title:

Inferring Geo-spatial Neutral Similarity from Earthquake Data using Mixture and State Clustering Models
Authors:

Avi Bleiweiss
Abstract: Traditionally, earthquake events are identified by prescribed and well formed geographical region boundaries. However, fixed regional schemes are subject to overlook seismic patterns typified by cross boundary relations that deem essential to seismological research. Rather, we investigate a statistically driven system that clusters earthquake bound places by similarity in seismic feature space, and is impartial to geo-spatial proximity constraints. To facilitate our study, we acquired hundreds of thousands recordings of earthquake episodes that span an extended time period of forty years, and split them into groups singled out by their corresponding geographical places. From each collection of place affiliated event data, we have extracted objective seismic features expressed in both a compact term frequency of scales format, and as a discrete signal representation that captures magnitude samples in regular time intervals. The distribution and temporal typed feature vectors are further applied towards our mixture model and Markov chain frameworks, respectively, to conduct clustering of shake affected locations. We performed extensive cluster analysis and classification experiments, and report robust results that support the intuition of geo-spatial neutral similarity.
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Paper Nr: 26
Title:

DIFPL - Distributed Drone Flight Path Builder System
Authors:

Manu Shukla, Ziqian Chen and Chang-Tien Lu
Abstract: Drones have become ubiquitous in performing risky and labor intensive areal tasks cheaply and safely. To allow them to be autonomous, their flight plan needs to be pre-built for them. Existing works do not precalculate flight paths but instead focus on navigation through camera based image processing techniques, genetic or geometric algorithms to guide the drone during flight. That makes flight navigation complex and risky. In this paper we present automated flight plan builder DIFPL which pre-builds flight plans for drones to survey a large area. The flight plans are built for subregions and fed into drones which allow them to navigate autonomously. DIFPL employs distributed paradigm on Hadoop MapReduce framework. Distribution is achieved by processing sections or subregions in parallel. Experiments performed with network and elevation datasets validate the efficiency of DIFPL in building optimal flight plans.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 32
Title:

3D Seismic Waveform Classification Study based on High-level Semantic Feature
Authors:

Xiaohan Du, Feng Qian and Xiangqin Ou
Abstract: With the improvement of Natural energy exploration technologies, the Seismic interpretation member need to deal with more and more information and parameters. How to better use seismic characteristic parameter to detect hydrocarbon becomes increasingly complex. In this article, we deeply studied the seismic waveform classification, and propose a seismic waveform classification method based combine various characters. After reducing the dimensions of seismic wave, we classify it using the high-level semantic feature extraction technique in pattern recognition. Experiments proved that, the classification result improved in continuity and details, and reduced the redundancy of seismic signal, increased performance of classification.
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Paper Nr: 46
Title:

Data Collection and Management for Stratigraphic Analysis of Upstanding Structures
Authors:

Elisabetta Donadio and Antonia Spanò
Abstract: Stratigraphic analysis, used in principle for study of archaeological excavation, has been adapted and applied to upstanding structures with the same aim to reconstruct a building’s history. Stratigraphy, as well as data excavation management, has found a useful and versatile tool in geographic information systems (GISs). Such systems allow support of this kind of analysis, which is mainly related to the reconstruction of the chronological sequence, statistical analysis, and their representation. This paper examines the process that leads to the production of information and storage in a GIS, applicable for the management of the stratigraphy of an upstanding structure. This process involves data acquisition, processing, 3D modelling, 2D representation, graphical entities, and their topological relationships, determinations, and representations. We also touch on the relationship between 3D GIS and 2D GIS; even if complex 3D archives are currently achievable, from another point of view it can be also useful for carrying out a 2D workflow aiming at achieving sharable guidelines that are valuable for specialists in Cultural Heritage conservation.
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Area 2 - Modeling, Representation and Visualization

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 12
Title:

Modeling and 2D/3D-visualization of Geomagnetic Field and Its Variations Parameters
Authors:

Andrei V. Vorobev and Gulnara R. Shakirova
Abstract: In the modern World, specialists in biology, medicine, geophysics, geology, technics and many other sciences pay great attention to correlation between external geomagnetic variations (GVM) with possibilities of objects and systems existence and evolution. Well-known scientific publications give a quite wide review of approaches to estimation of weak magnetic fields parameters, creation of magnetometric information measurement systems on their base and definition of their metrological characteristics. But today due to the recently formulated relevance of geomagnetic field (GMF) and its variations parameters monitoring there is no unified and effective approach to development of geoinformation magnetometric systems. In spite of the wide variety of specialized geoinformation systems (GIS) there are no advanced hard- and software, which provide a calculation, geospatial connection, visualization and analysis of GMF and its variations parameters calculation results. It is important to mention, that due to low-efficiency, limited functionality and incorrect work of the known solutions the topicality, scientific and applied interest to such a solution development continuously increases.
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Paper Nr: 13
Title:

Local Deforestation Patterns in Mexico - An Approach using Geographiccally Weighted Regression
Authors:

Jean Francois Mas and Gabriela Cuevas
Abstract: This study identifies drivers of deforestation in Mexico by applying Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to cartographic and statistical data. A wall-to-wall multitemporal GIS database was constructed incorporating digital data from Global Forest Change (2000-2012); along with ancillary data (road network, settlements, topography, socio-economical parameters and government policies). The database analysis allowed assessing the spatial distribution of deforestation at the municipal level. The statistical analysis of deforestation drivers presented here was focused on the rate of deforestation during the period 2007-2011 as dependent variable. In comparison with the global model, the use of GWR increased the goodness-of-fit (adjusted R2) from 0.46 (global model) to 0.58 (average R2 of GWR local models), with individual GWR models ranging from 0.52 to 0.64. The GWR model highlighted the spatial variation of the relationship between the rate of deforestation and its drivers. Factors identified as having a major impact on deforestation were related to topography (slope), accessibility (road and settlement density) and marginalization. Results indicate that some of the drivers explaining deforestation vary over space, and that the same driver can exhibit opposite effects depending on the region.
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Paper Nr: 17
Title:

Querying Open Street Map with XQuery
Authors:

Jesús M. Almendros-Jiménez and Antonio Becerra-Terón
Abstract: In this paper we present a library for querying Open Street Map (OSM) with XQuery. This library is based on the well-known spatial operators defined by Clementini and Egenhofer, providing a repertoire of XQuery functions which encapsulate the search on the XML document representing a layer of OSM, and make the definition of queries on top of OSM layers easy. In essence, the library provides a repertoire of OSM Operators for points and lines which, in combination with Higher Order facilities of XQuery, facilitates the composition of queries and the definition of keyword based search geo-localized queries. OSM data are indexed by an R-tree structure, in which points and lines are enclosed by Minimum Bounding Rectangles (MBRs), in order to get shorter answer time.
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Paper Nr: 21
Title:

Managing and 3D Visualization of Real-time Big Geo-referenced Data from Las Palmas Port through a Flexible Open Source Computer Architecture
Authors:

José P. Suárez, Agustín Trujillo, Conrado Domínguez, José M. Santana and Pablo Fernández
Abstract: Nowadays, new technologies assist the capture and analysis of data for all kinds of organizations. A good example of this trend are the seaports that generate data regarding the management of marine traffic and other elements, as well as environmental conditions given by meteorological sensors and buoys. However, this enormous amount of data, also known as “Big Data”, is useless without a proper system to visualize and organize them. Governments are fully aware of this and promote the creation of visualization and control systems that are useful to port authorities. In the line of management systems based on GIS, the SmartPort project has been developed. SmartPort offers a rich-internet application that allows the user to visualize and manage the different sources of information of a port environment. The “Big Data” management is based on the FI-WARE tools and architecture, as well as “The Internet of Things” solutions for the data acquisition. At the same time, the Glob3 Mobile SDK for the development of map apps will support the 3D visualization of the port’s scenery and its data sources.
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Paper Nr: 22
Title:

Plane-Sweep Algorithms for the K Group Nearest-Neighbor Query
Authors:

George Roumelis, Michael Vassilakopoulos, Antonio Corral and Yannis Manolopoulos
Abstract: One of the most representative and studied queries in Spatial Databases is the (K) Nearest-Neighbor (NNQ), that discovers the (K) nearest neighbor(s) to a query point. An extension that is important for practical applications is the (K) Group Nearest Neighbor Query (GNNQ), that discovers the (K) nearest neighbor(s) to a group of query points (considering the sum of distances to all the members of the query group). This query has been studied during the recent years, considering data sets indexed by efficient spatial data structures. We study (K) GNNQs, considering non-indexed data sets, since this case is frequent in practical applications. And we present two (RAM-based) Plane-Sweep algorithms, that apply optimizations emerging from the geometric properties of the problem. By extensive experimentation, using real and synthetic data sets, we highlight the most efficient algorithm.
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Paper Nr: 24
Title:

3D Reconstruction and Visualization of Alternatives for Restoration of Historic Buildings - A New Approach
Authors:

Lemonia Ragia, Froso Sarri and Katerina Mania
Abstract: This paper puts forward a 3D reconstruction methodology applied to the restoration of historic buildings taking advantage of the combined speed, range and accuracy of a total geodetic station. The measurements of geo-referenced points produced a fully interactive and photorealistic geometric mesh of an historic monument named ‘Neoria’. ‘Neoria’ is a Venetian building located by the old harbour at Chania, Crete, Greece. The integration of tacheometry acquisition and computer graphics puts forward a novel integrated software framework for the accurate 3D reconstruction of a historical building. The main technical challenge of this work was the production of an accurate 3D mesh based on a sufficient number of tacheometry measurements acquired fast and at low-cost. Interpolation methods ensured that a detailed geometric mesh was constructed based on a few points. Advanced interactive functionalities are offered to the user in relation to identifying restoration areas and visualizing the outcome of such works in a fully interactive application based on game engine technologies. Moreover, the user could photorealistically visualize the actual or restored monument and calculate distances between points.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 15
Title:

Trafforithm - A Traffic-aware Shortest Path Algorithm in Real Road Networks with Traffic Influence Factors
Authors:

Lin Qi and Markus Schneider
Abstract: The shortest path computation between two given locations in a road network is an important problem that finds applications in a wide range of fields. There has been a lot of research efforts targeting at the preciseness and performance of finding shortest paths in road networks. However, rarely of them have really taken into account the influence of traffic factors such as traffic lights, road conditions, traffic jams and turning cost. In other words, existing approaches are rather purely based on the topology of the network, but forgot that there are multiple factors in a real road network that impact the accuracy of the algorithm. The contribution of our paper is twofold. First, we present a generic two-layered framework for moving objects in road networks environment and demonstrate the important role of traffic factors on path finding and route planning. Second, we develop an efficient parallel shortest path algorithm in road networks with the consideration of traffic influence factors. Detailed analysis presented shows that our parallel TRAFFic-aware shortest path algORITHM (Trafforithm), is accurate and practical.
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Paper Nr: 20
Title:

A Geospatial Tangible User Interface to Support Stakeholder Participation in Urban Planning
Authors:

Valérie Maquil, Luís De Sousa, Ulrich Leopold and Eric Tobias
Abstract: The complexity of urban projects today requires new approaches to integrate stakeholders with different professional backgrounds. Traditional tools used in urban planning are designed for experts and offer little opportunity for participation and collaborative design. This paper introduces the concept of Geospatial Tangible User Interfaces (GTUI), and reports on the design and implementation of such a GTUI to support stakeholder participation in collaborative urban planning. The proposed system uses physical objects to interact with large digital maps and geospatial data projected onto a tabletop. It is implemented using a PostGIS database, a web map server, the computer vision framework reacTIVision, a Java based TUIO client, and GeoTools. Based on a series of comments collected during an evaluation workshop with stakeholders in the fields of urban and energy planning, we discuss how maps projected on a table and physical objects can be an new approach to participatory bottom-up urban planning.
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Paper Nr: 34
Title:

Towards Sentiment-driven Maps Showing Touristic Attractiveness
Authors:

Sarah Tauscher and Karl Neumann
Abstract: User generated texts on tourism-related social network sites do not only contain factual information, but also valuable opinions and ratings of locations. Nevertheless, most maps on these sites only show markers where something described in a user generated text is located. In particular, no further information is derived from the text and displayed on the maps. Moreover, generalization operations are not employed, although in most cases aggregation and displacement of the user generated content would be necessary to achieve more readable maps. Therefore, we propose a method which automatically creates user-sentiment enriched maps. We use natural language processing tools in order to mine user sentiments for specific places from user generated texts and we propose specially designed point symbols which represent the corresponding mined user sentiment for each location. Additionally, we propose a heuristic, based on Voronoi diagrams, which slightly displaces the aforementioned symbols in case they are very close. This makes the provided map easier to read.
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Paper Nr: 47
Title:

Integrating GIS and Numeric Weather Prediction Model with Wheat Simulation Model for Optimal Wheat Production Locations in Arid Regions
Authors:

R. Al-Habsi, Y. A. Al-Mulla, Y. Charabi, H. Al-Busaidi and M. Al-Belushi
Abstract: The upgrade rate of self-sufficiency in wheat depends largely on the amount of water and land to achieve the quantity and proportion of self-sufficiency target. The climatic and soil conditions, however, are dynamic conditions. Hence, these conditions seriously limit the capability of providing the optimum tempo-spatial required data to assist in improving the wheat production unless specialized sensors are utilized along with excessive work. That implies the crucial need of using computer simulation models. The general objective is of this study was to delineate the best location for wheat production in arid regions such as Oman through linking Wheat Simulation Model (WSM) with Numeric Weather Prediction Model (NWPM) in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The GIS application software used in this study was the ESRI ArcGIS. Four field trials, over two seasons, have validated positively the linkage of the developed WSM with GIS. The developed model can be promoted as a tool of improving wheat cultivation through making the most of available water in wheat production and increasing the growing acreage of wheat in arid regions like Oman.
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Paper Nr: 29
Title:

Architectural Heritage Semantic Data Managing and Sharing in GIS
Authors:

Elena Cerutti, Francesca Noardo and Antonia Spanò
Abstract: GIS can be effective instruments for managing Architectural Heritage data, in order to query the data for preservation purposes and to realize advanced analysis. These capabilities can be improved using some tools developed by the fields of informatics and internet services such as standards, ontologies and object-oriented programming. The official standards (languages and models) permit the encoding of data so that they can be effectively shared and integrated, concurrent with the knowledge and integration of data in Cultural Heritage (CH). Moreover, an even better interoperability of data can be achieved using open-source management software that normally features more standard data formats and can be used by everyone. These tools have been used in the research presented here for managing different kinds of data (spatial, non-spatial, images) on different views, in a unique database respecting the standards codes. In this way some schemas have been defined, and they can be exported to reach effective data interoperability.
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Paper Nr: 41
Title:

Determining Geometric Primitives for a 3D GIS - Easy as 1D, 2D, 3D?
Authors:

Britt Lonneville, Cornelis Stal, Berdien De Roo, Alain De Wulf and Philippe De Maeyer
Abstract: Acquisition techniques such as photo modelling, using SfM-MVS algorithms, are being applied increasingly in several fields of research and render highly realistic and accurate 3D models. Nowadays, these 3D models are mainly deployed for documentation purposes. As these data generally encompass spatial data, the development of a 3D GIS would allow researchers to use these 3D models to their full extent. Such a GIS would allow a more elaborate analysis of these 3D models and thus support the comprehension of the objects that the features in the model represent. One of the first issues that has to be tackled in order to make the resulting 3D models compatible for implementation in a 3D GIS is the choice of a certain geometric primitive to spatially represent the input data. The chosen geometric primitive will not only influence the visualisation of the data, but also the way in which the data can be stored, exchanged, manipulated, queried and understood. Geometric primitives can be one-, two- and three-dimensional. By adding an extra dimension, the complexity of the data increases, but the user is allowed to understand the original situation more intuitively. This research paper tries to give an initial analysis of 1D, 2D and 3D primitives in the framework of the integration of SfM-MVS based 3D models in a 3D GIS.
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Area 3 - Knowledge Extraction and Management

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 28
Title:

Integration of a Food Distribution Routing Optimization Software with an Enterprise Resource Planner
Authors:

Pedro J. S. Cardoso, Gabriela Schütz, Jorge Semião, Jânio Monteiro, João Rodrigues, Andriy Mazayev, Emanuel Ey Vieira, Micael Viegas, Carlos Neves and Sérgio Anastácio
Abstract: i3FR is a system for optimizing the distribution of fresh goods, using a fleet of vehicles, which must be integrated with an existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, while avoiding disruption of established schedules and procedures. In terms of delivery optimization, the most similar problem in literature is the wellestablished and experimented Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW), which is, by nature, a multiple objective problem where the number of vehicles and the total traveled distance must be minimized. In this paper, the overall architecture of the i3FR system is presented, which includes several modules and services (such as ERP, routing optimization and data acquisition modules), and the communication between them. The novelty in the proposed architecture comprises: (i) the application to a fresh goods distribution network, with multiple restrictions on goods’ acclimatization; (ii) a data acquisition system which includes vehicle data and environmental data from the vehicles’ refrigerated volumes, such as temperature; and (iii) the integration of the VRPTW optimization system with an existing ERP. A case-study is described and validates the overall implementation. The main contribution of paper is the proposal of a multi-layered architecture to integrate existing ERP software with a route optimization and a temperature data acquisition module.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 18
Title:

A Digital Library System for Semantic Spatial Information Extraction from Images
Authors:

Michalis Foukarakis, Lemonia Ragia and Stavros Christodoulakis
Abstract: Spatial information delivery is of high importance today for mobile applications. Knowledge about spatial objects includes not only location of the user, direction and time, but also knowledge of the semantics of the spatial objects. These semantics can be related to the user profile and user’s interests at the time, which can be expressed using domain specific ontologies, such as cultural ontologies, nature ontologies, tourism ontologies and others. The system then should screen this information and deliver it to the mobile user device. The system uses as input digital images taken from a simple, modern digital camera. In this paper we present a digital library system for image storage, image handling and extraction of spatial information based on the semantics spatial information that the system manages.
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Paper Nr: 25
Title:

Twist, Shift, or Stack? - Usability Analysis of Geospatial Interactions on a Tangible Tabletop
Authors:

Catherine Emma Jones and Valérie Maquil
Abstract: Maps as learning, exploration and analysis tools have great power to aid understanding of complex phenomena and to instigate and engage discussion. To date, web-mapping platforms have largely contributed to the public availability of geospatial information. Tangible user interfaces (TUI) as an emerging class of interfaces, have a clear potential for improving collaboration around geospatial data, as well as increase geospatial understanding, but to realise this potential they must be easy and straightforward to learn and use. To date, there is a lack of research centred on human interactions with geospatial tangible applications. This paper reports on the results of an initial qualitative usability study carried with novice users on a geospatial tangible table. It discusses aspects related to cartographic elements, object manipulations, and offline interactions, to create an initial set of usability guidelines for geo-tangible tables.
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Paper Nr: 43
Title:

The Urbangene Project - Experience from a Crowdsourced Mapping Campaign
Authors:

Jens Ingensand, Marion Nappez, Stéphane Joost, Ivo Widmer, Olivier Ertz and Daniel Rappo
Abstract: Geospatial crowdsourcing applications are emerging systems that enable researchers to collect important information that otherwise would be difficult to obtain. In biodiversity monitoring, crowdsourcing is a promising approach as it benefits from a large group of people with an often underestimated biodiversity and taxonomy knowledge. Despite its huge potential, crowdsourcing approaches are still underrepresented in biodiversity monitoring. We here evaluate a participatory crowdsourcing web mapping platform that was developed to get information about geographic locations and biodiversity characteristics of urban ponds in the Geneva crossborder region. An important fraction of urban ponds is assumed to be located on private grounds, which makes the participatory crowdsourcing approach very valuable. A media campaign was initiated, encouraging citizens participate and to digitize ponds. In this paper we a) evaluate and discuss the impact of the media campaign on the usage behaviour and history of citizens using the crowdsourcing platform and b) assess the quality of the digitized data that has been collected. This study shows that through media campaigns, citizens can be mobilized and motivated to participate in biodiversity crowdsourcing projects. Results indicate that large quantities of users were recruited through social media. However, only a small fraction of about 3% of the mobilized people digitized ponds on the platform. The majority of these users (68%) digitized one pond while 32% digitized two or more ponds. This study shows that it is important for crowdsourcing platforms to be designed and planned in order to facilitate its usage. However, it is crucial for the success of such campaigns to offer something in return to the users and to encourage them to interact among themselves. We suggest that future crowdsourcing biodiversity mapping campaigns should have mobile-optimized interfaces. Mobile devices have the potential to e. g. automatically register coordinates for biodiversity sighting and for uploading respective pictures directly in the field.
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Paper Nr: 44
Title:

Towards a Collective Spatial Analysis - Proposal of a New Paradigm for Supporting the Spatial Decision-making from a Geoprospective Approach
Authors:

Juan Daniel Castillo Rosas, María Amparo Núñez Andrés, Josep María Monguet Fierro and Alex Jiménez Vélez
Abstract: This paper presents the progress of a research work that seeks to establish prospective spatio-temporal locations of goods, services or events in a given territory primarily through the application of concepts and/or tools that combine Collective Intelligence (CI), Geographic Information Science (GISc) and Complexity Theory. Relying on this notion, probable and plausible future scenarios could be projected to conduct various studies within the context of the Geoprospective (an emerging field of research aimed at issues of territorial forecasting), which might provide valuable alternatives in the decision-making process in order to carry out anticipatory actions to achieve or avoid such scenarios. In the light of the above, it is suggested that this kind of Collective Spatial Analysis (CSA) would provide a new paradigm about how to perform spatial analysis, the same that is based on a cognitive approach of a multidisciplinary group of users who collectively participate with their knowledge on an interdisciplinary basis, and not from a limited single user approach that uses geometric, statistical or mathematical geoprocessing algorithms.
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Area 4 - Domain Applications

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 14
Title:

Conditional Probability and Integrated Pest Management - Using a Nonlinear Kriging Technique to Predict Infectious Levels of Verticillium dahliae in Michigan Potato Fields
Authors:

Luke Steere, Noah Rosenzweig and William Kirk
Abstract: A recent survey of potato (Solanum tuberosum) growers in the state of Michigan identified that soilborne pathogens were causing concerns as to whether growers would be able to continue to meet the high demands for marketable potatoes. Of these soilborne pathogens, Verticillium dahliae is one of the most concerning due to its direct correlation with yield decline and its persistence in the soil. Following the survey a statewide soil study was conducted to study soilborne pathogens and their interactions with multiple abiotic and biotic factors. The use of geostatistics and geographical information systems (GIS) were incorporated into this study to assess the spatially distribution of colonies of V. dahliae across a field and to use geostatistical methods to determine V. dahliae inoculum levels throughout the entire field from 20 soil samples. Furthermore, the research team incorporated the use of a nonlinear indicator Kriging method to create conditional probability maps of soilborne pathogen inoculum levels and predict where inoculum levels would be high enough to result in infection. The methods presented in this paper evaluated conditional probability mapping of soilborne plant pathogens for the potential to become a practical crop management tool for commercial potato growers.
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Paper Nr: 45
Title:

Coastal Risk Forecast System
Authors:

André Sabino, Armanda Rodrigues, Pedro Poseiro, Maria Teresa Reis, Conceição J. Fortes and Rui Reis
Abstract: Runnup and overtopping are the two main sea wave originated events that threat coastal structures. These events may cause destruction of property and the environment, and endanger people. To build early warning forecast systems, we must take into account the consequence and risk characterization of the events in the affected area, and understand how these two types of spatial information integrate with sensor data sources and the risk determination methodology. In this paper we present the description and relationship between consequence and risk maps, their role on the risk calculation, and how the HIDRALERTA project integrates both aspects into its risk methodology. We present a case study for Praia da Vitória port, in Azores Portugal.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 39
Title:

A Linked Open Data Approach for Visualizing Flood Information - A Case Study of the Rio Doce Basin in Brazil
Authors:

Patrícia Carolina Neves Azevedo, Guilherme Sousa Bastos and Fernando Silva Parreiras
Abstract: The availability of open government data offers an easy way to mix and match these data to create new knowledge. Geographic Information Systems powered by Semantic Web technologies and linked data result in an integration of data from multiple sources, facilitating its use and enhancing the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. In this work, we present a prototype application that integrates heterogeneous data located in various public organizations, related to flooding in Rio Doce Basin – Brazil. For this purpose, data were converted to RDF format, linked and displayed on a Geographic Information System, through SPARQL queries. We validate our approach using a proof of concept. The results show that our proposal of liking open data about flood information is able to answer the identified competency questions.
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Paper Nr: 40
Title:

Procedural City Model using Multi-source Parameter Estimation
Authors:

Cornelis Stal, Britt Lonneville, Philippe De Maeyer, Annelies Vandenbulcke, Mieke Paelinck and Alain De Wulf
Abstract: Most current digital 3D city modelling procedures have either a low degree of automation or require specialized skills. Moreover, the construction process is the result of an equilibrium between the desired level of detail on the one hand and modelling performance on the other hand. Although environmental 3D models and 3D city models in particular are essential for a wide range of applications and disciplines, these difficulties are substantial bottle necks for the availability of the models. In this paper, initial steps and ideas behind a novel approach for the construction of 3D city models are presented using an Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) point cloud and standard digital 2D data. The first step involves point processing and feature detection for an ALS point cloud, resulting in the separation of building and ground points from vegetation and other points in the point cloud. Secondly, the detected building features are described in more detail using the 2D data, allowing the distinction between roof points and façade points. A texture map is assigned to the detected features using image libraries. The 2D data are also used for the improvement of vegetation mapping. The novelty of this approach is the fact that the actual city modelling is performed using recently made available software. The used software allows the interpretation of conceptual rules for the automated modelling of real-world environments. The proposed workflow is illustrated by the construction of a city model of some part of Geraardsbergen (Belgium).
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Paper Nr: 27
Title:

A Semantic Geodatabase for Environment Analysis - Extraction, Management and Sharing of Earth and Water Information in GIS
Authors:

Andrea Lingua and Francesca Noardo
Abstract: The great potential of GIS to manage and analyse georeferenced information is well-known. The last several years of development of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) saw a necessity of interoperability arise, from which the Semantic web standards and domain ontologies are derived. Specific application field ontologies are often insufficient for representing the information of multidisciplinary projects. Moreover, they are often aimed at the representation of homogeneous data formats (alphanumeric data, vector spatial data, raster spatial data, etc.). In this scenario, traditional GIS often have a limit: they implement personal data models, which are very difficult to exchange through different systems. In this study we structured a GIS for the monitoring project ALCOTRA ALIRHYS according to parts of two different self-integrated ontologies, from the perspective of the major interoperability of the system and the sharing of data through a web-GIS platform. The two standard models chosen (SWEET ontology and INSPIRE UML model) have been integrated in a unique conceptual model useful both for geometric and cartographic data, and for thematic information. In this case, the implemented schemas are published on the project website, and are available for other users who want to produce similar studies. Since user-friendly results were desirable, some integrated commercial widespread software programs have been used even if their abilities to manage such a GIS are suboptimal.
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Paper Nr: 36
Title:

A Proposal for Design and Implementation of an Hybrid Navigation System Based on Open Data, Augmented Reality and Big Data - Applications for the Smart Cities
Authors:

Benito Zaragozí, Pablo Giménez-Font, José Tomás Navarro-Carrión, Antonio Rico-Amorós, Alfredo Ramón-Morte and Antonio Belda-Antolí
Abstract: Indoor positioning and navigation systems have attributes which make their use inadvisable in certain applications. Our main purpose is to investigate these issues in order to improve accessibility in Smart Cities. In the last decade, there are increasing efforts to develop a sustainable and precise indoor navigation system to be used in any situation. There are interesting proposals but they suffer from various constraints (accuracy, cost, complexity, etc), so the use of hybrid and targeted solutions is mandatory. In an effort to address these problems, in this study we will develop an affordable and accurate indoor location system. Firstly, we will use geodata from the the Open Data initiative of the Spanish Conference of University Rectors. After studying its data model, we will create new methods to automatically derive new geometric layers, useful for accessibility studies. Then, all relevant information will be published via standard protocols and web services. In the second phase of this project, we will design an indoor positioning network (Bluetooth, WiFi, etc) based on indoor mapping. Finally, this positioning and navigation system will be used for performing different mobility experiments from the Smart Cities perspective.
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