A topological-based approach for determining spatial relationships of complex volumetric parcels in land administration systems

Abstract

Present changes in land property originate from sizable density growth of the urban environment, led by the high demand of land, especially in industrial and commercial centers. This urbanization development - above and below ground - causes an acute need for developing land administration systems to accommodate current and future demands in land management on the one hand, and urban planning perspectives on the other hand. One approach calls for the design of 3D cadastral registration and management systems, which are planned to replace the well-established 2D systems. One of the key processes that these systems should handle for various cadastral workflows, such as parcel insertion and partition, is accurately determining the spatial topological relationship that exist between 3D Volumetric Parcels. These processes are relatively simple to implement between non-complex 3D Volumetric Parcels, but the reality is that the 3D Volumetric Parcels are mostly geometrically complex. In this paper, we suggest methods and processes based on simplifying unbounded, hollowed, curved, and concaved 3D Volumetric Parcels to enable their robust and accurate spatial relationship determination. As part of the comprehensive solution, we propose a subdivision algorithm used for concaved 3D Volumetric Parcels. We have analyzed the various processes on a realistic simulation, proving that the proposed processes were accurate in handling complex 3D Volumetric Parcels by automatically validating their spatial relatioships. We believe that implementing and embedding the developed set of tools in 3D land administration systems is a step forward in the realization of comprehensive land processes that are essential for the automatic management of our complex and developing urbanization.