Gilberto Câmara
National Institute for Space Research, Brazil
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A
THEORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL
INFORMATION ENGINEERING
Scientific colloquium in honour of
Prof. Andre U. Frank
Vienna, 2008
Why GI Engineering?
Frank, A. and M. Raubal (2001). "GIS Education Today: From GI
Science to GI Engineering." URISA JOURNAL 13(2): 5-10
Chemistry
Physics
Computer
Science
GI Science
Chemical Eng.
Electrical Eng.
Computer Eng.
GI Engineering
GI Engineering:= “The discipline of systematic construction of
GIS and associated technology, drawing on scientific
principles.”
Scientists and Engineers
Photo 51(Franklin, 1952)
Scientists build in order to study
Engineers study in order to build
What set of concepts drove GIS -20?
Map-based (cartography)
User-centered (user interfaces)
Toblerian spaces (regionalized data analysis)
Object-based modelling and spatial reasoning
What should GIS-20 Engineers have
studied?
Cartography
Photogram
Spatial
Relations
Semantics
Ontology
Spatial
Analysis
Geographic
Information
Engineering
Data
Modelling
Spatial
Databases
Computer
Languages
User
Interfaces
GIS-20: Object-oriented modelling
Egenhofer, M. and A. Frank (1992). "Object-Oriented Modeling
for GIS." URISA Journal 4(2): 3-19.
SPRING´s object-oriented
data model (1995)
ARCGIS´s object-centred
data model (2002)
Spatial
database
contains
contains
Coverage
Geo-field
Is-a
Geo-object
Cadastral
Is-a
Categorical Numerical
GIS-20: Topological Spatial Reasoning
Egenhofer, M. and R. Franzosa (1991). "Point-Set
Topological Spatial Relations." IJGIS 5(2): 161-174
OGC´s 9-intersection
dimension-extended
Open source implementations
(GEOS)
GIS-20: User interfaces
Jackson, J. (1990) Visualization of metaphors for interaction with
GIS. M.S. thesis, University of Maine.
Geographer´s desktop (1992)
ArcView (1995)
GIS -20: Region-based spatial analysis
Goodchild, Anselin, Applebaum, and Harthorn. 2000. Toward
Spatially Integrated Social Science. Int Regional Science Review
23 (2):139-159.
GeoDA
ArcGIS Geostatistical
analyst (1995)
mobile devices
augmented reality
GIS-21
Data-centered, mobile-enabled, contribution-based,
field-based modelling
sensor networks
ubiquitous images and maps
Global Change: How is the Earth’s environment changing, and
what are the consequences for human civilization?
Global Change
Where are changes taking place?
How much change is happening?
Who is being impacted by the change?
source: ARGOS
Sensor Webs
Tracking
Monitoring
Positions collected over a fixed
period of time
Data from remote stations,
fixed or mobile
What should GIS-21 Engineers study?
Spatial
Cognition
Spatiotemporal
models
Spatial
Databases
Spatial
Reasoning
Semantics
Ontology
Geographic
Information
Engineering
Network
theory
Computer
Languages
Info
Visualiz.
GIE-21: Functional Programming
Frank, A. (1997). Higher order functions necessary for spatial theory development.
In: Auto-Carto 13.
Frank, A. (1999). One Step up the Abstraction Ladder: Combining Algebras –
From Functional Pieces to a Whole. COSIT 99
class Coverage cv where
evaluate :: cv a b 
domain
:: cv a b 
num
:: cv a b 
values
:: cv a b 
a  Maybe b
[a]
Int
[b]
Geospatial data processing is a collection of types and functions
Functional programming allows rigorous development of GIS
GIS-21: Multiscale modelling
snap: T ⟶ (S1 ⟶ V)
{snap1(t1),., snapn(tn)}
space-based snapshots
hist : S2 ⟶ (T⟶V)
the history of a location in space
Data modelling of human-environment issues poses
unresolved problems
state : (S x T) ⟶V )
the previous state of the world (or a theory about)
{snap1(t1),...., snapn(tn)}
a set of space-based snapshots
theory_space : (S ⟶V )
a theory about the process that describe space
{hist1(s1),...., histn(sn)}
a set of time series for fixed locations
theory_time : (T ⟶V )
a theory about the time evolution
state : (S x T) ⟶V ) (NEW)
a new guess about the state of the world
GIS-21: Spatio-temporal modelling
“A dynamical spatial model is a computational
representation of a real-world process where a location
on the earth’s surface changes in response to variations
on external and internal dynamics on the landscape”
(Peter Burrough)
f (It)
f (It+1)
F
f (It+2)
f ( It+n )
F
..
Dynamic Spatial Models need higher-order functions!
GIS-21: Spatio-Temporal modelling
with Agents in Cell Spaces
Cell Spaces

Representation

Cell Spaces

Generalized Proximity Matriz – GPM

Hybrid Automata model

Nested scales
TerraME: Based on functional programming
concepts (second-order functions) to develop dynamical models
GIE-21: Spatial Cognition
Frank, A. U. (1996). "Qualitative Spatial Reasoning: Cardinal Directions as an Example."
IJGIS 10(3): 269-290.
Mark, D. and A. Frank (1991). Cognitive and Linguistic Aspects of Geographic Space.
Dordrecht, Kluwer.
Relative location in microspaces
Collaborative GIS (Virtual Rome)
source: A. Camara (Ydreams)
Technology-enabled spatial cognition: revisit the metaphors,
obtain quantitative results, design better systems
GIE-21: Network Theory
Bus traffic volume in São Paulo
Innovation network in Silicon Valley
Barabasi, A.-L. and Albert, R., Emergence of scaling in random networks, Science
286, 509–512 (1999).
Newman, M. E. J., Barabasi, A.-L., and Watts, D. J., The Structure and Dynamics of
Networks, Princeton University Press, Princeton (2003).
GIE-21: Network-based analysis
Emergent area
Consolidated area
Modelling beef chains
in Amazonia
GIS-21: Human-enviroment interactions
Frank, A. U. (2001). "Tiers of ontology and consistency constraints in GIS."
IJGIS15(7): 667-678.
Nature: Physical equations
Describe processes
Society: Decisions on how to
Use Earth´s resources
Should we teach GIEngineering for the
21st century?
Spatial
Cognition
Spatiotemporal
models
Spatial
Databases
Spatial
Reasoning
Semantics
Ontology
Geographic
Information
Engineering
Network
theory
Computer
Languages
Info
Visualiz.