Geographic Information Standards Research Articles

The Innovation of GIS Service Mode Based on “Grid Integration” and “Elastic Cloud”

Abstract This paper firstly investigates the theory and method of geospatial information services and grid integration model in the geographic information grid, intending to locate the parameter coordinates of the grid integration model into the GeoSOT-3D profiling framework. Secondly, the framework of the consumption structure between its services and cloud resources is established by the elastic cloud model based on the computation and storage capabilities provided by the shared grid infrastructure. And use the steady-state theoretical foundation for analysis to assess the service quality of each type of service and reflect the service quality of the GIS service model as a whole. Finally, a GIS service platform based on the grid integration model and elastic cloud model is constructed based on the existing open geographic information standards, service technology system, and grid technology. The research results show that the operation speed of the GIS service platform proposed in this paper is increased by 16.3%, the estimated cost has been reduced by 23.3%, and the service evaluation of the platform is improved by 43.6%. The GIS service platform based on the grid integration model and elastic cloud model has the advantages of global uniformity, multi-scale and spatial 2-3D consistency, which provides a new model with high economy and rapid response time for geographic information processing.

Національна інфраструктура геопросторових даних України у світовому вимірі: стан та нагальні завдання розвитку і сталого функціонування

The purpose of this paper is to summarize world experience and trends in the development of geospatial data infrastructure (SDI) in developed countries, assess the state of formation of the national geospatial data infrastructure (NSDI) in Ukraine, identify key problems and tasks to ensure its sustainable development and functioning. Methodology. Monographic method for processing scientific publications, regulations, standards and other materials for the creation of NSDI. The assessment of the state of formation of the NSDI in Ukraine was made according to the indicators that were determined by the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). Results. The key principles, architecture and roles of producers, holders and users of data of three generations SDIs, observed in the evolution of SDIs in developed countries, are determined. Periodization of the main initiatives and projects in 1992–2020, concerning the formation of NSDI in Ukraine. The overall assessment of the state of NSDI in Ukraine according to UN-GGIM indicators at the time of the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On National Geospatial Data Infrastructure” (2020) is 0.39, which corresponds to the rating of countries with a “geospatial gap”. The biggest challenges were identified in the areas of governance and institutional support, financial support, production and updating of data, ability and education, communication and partnership. The basic architecture, the composition of geoinformation services of the NSDI geoportals of Ukraine and the means of achieving interoperability of NSDI components based on the implementation of the national profile of geographic information standards harmonized with the international standards of the ISO 19100 series and the technical specifications of the Open Geospatial Consortium have been substantiated. Scientific novelty. Assessment of the state of formation of NSDI in Ukraine according to UN-GGIM indicators, substantiation of directions and technological models of ensuring interoperability of NSDI components taking into account the conditions of Ukraine. Practical significance. The key problems and urgent tasks of NSDI development in Ukraine are identified, the sequence of stages of its development is substantiated by the priority implementation of the basic network of infrastructure geoportals for access to existing geospatial data with the gradual provision of their interoperability and consistency based on the use of the unified set of basic geospatial data and the implementation of the national profile of geoinformation standards.

Geographic Information Metadata—An Outlook from the International Standardization Perspective

Geographic information metadata provides a detailed description of geographic information resources. Well before digital data emerged, metadata were shown in the margins of paper maps to inform the reader of the name of the map, the scale, the orientation of the magnetic North, the projection used, the coordinate systems, the legend, and so on. Metadata were used to communicate practical information for the proper use of maps. When geographic information entered the digital era with geographic information systems, metadata was also collected digitally to describe datasets and the dataset collections for various purposes. Initially, metadata were collected and saved in digital files by data producers for their own specific needs. The sharing of geographic datasets that required producers to provide metadata with the dataset to guide proper use of the dataset—map scale, data sources, extent, datum, coordinate reference system, etc. Because of issues with sharing and no common understanding of metadata requirements, the need for metadata standardization was recognized by the geographic information community worldwide. The ISO technical committee 211 was created in 1994 with the scope of standardization in the field of digital geographic information to support interoperability. In the early years of the committee, standardization of metadata was initiated for different purposes, which culminated in the ISO 19115:2003 standard. Now, there are many ISO Geographic information standards that covers the various aspect of geographic information metadata. This paper traces an illustration of the development and evolution of the requirements and international standardization activities of geographic information metadata standards, profiles and resources, and how these attest to facilitating the discovery, evaluation, and appropriate use of geographic information in various contexts.

Conceptual Modeling and its implementation in an education assistance software tool for geographic information technology

ABSTRACTGittok (pronounced: jee-tock, ʤi:tɒk) is a free, open-source software tool with slides and tutorials for assisting with the education of geographic information technology (GIT). It has been developed for beginners who aim to become researchers or developers in the field of GIT, and for engineers who offer GIT applications that comply with the geographic information (GI) standards. In this paper, first, harmonization between conceptual data modeling using the General Feature Model (GFM) and conceptual representation modeling using the General Portrayal Model (GPM) are discussed. The gittok GFM, which applies object-oriented modeling, can be regarded as being an extension of the conventional layer-based model. The gittok GPM is a comprehensive meta-model for defining maps and lists. Lists, that is, sequence of feature identifiers and attributes for the GI representations, are defined under the harmonization between GFM. The author took charge of the first open seminar using gittok, held in Tokyo, Japan, in January 2016. Most of the participants were able to acquire the fundamental knowledge about GIT and the GI standards. Gittok is a useful tool for the GIT education, especially for higher education students and engineers who offer GIT applications in compliance with the GI standards.

The ESPAS e-infrastructure: Access to data from near-Earth space

ESPAS, the “near-Earth space data infrastructure for e-science” is a data e-infrastructure facilitating discovery and access to observations, ground-based and space borne, and to model predictions of the near-Earth space environment, a region extending from the Earth’s atmosphere up to the outer radiation belts. ESPAS provides access to metadata and/or data from an extended network of data providers distributed globally. The interoperability of the heterogeneous data collections is achieved with the adoption and adaption of the ESPAS data model which is built entirely on ISO 19100 series geographic information standards. The ESPAS data portal manages a vocabulary of space physics keywords that can be used to narrow down data searches to observations of specific physical content. Such content-targeted search is an ESPAS innovation provided in addition to the commonly practiced data selection by time, location, and instrument. The article presents an overview of the architectural design of the ESPAS system, of its data model and ontology, and of interoperable services that allow the discovery, access and download of registered data. Emphasis is given to the standardization, and expandability concepts which represent also the main elements that support the building of long-term sustainability activities of the ESPAS e-infrastructure.

On the Validation of Solids Represented with the International Standards for Geographic Information

AbstractThe international standards for geographic information provide unambiguous definitions of geometric primitives, with the aim of fostering exchange and interoperability in the geographical information system (GIS) community. In two dimensions, the standards are well accepted and there are algorithms (and implementations of these) to validate primitives, that is given a polygon, they ensure that it respects the standardized definition (and if it does not a reason is given to the user). However, although there exists an equivalent definition in three dimensions (for solids), it is ignored by most researchers and by software vendors. Several different definitions are indeed used, and none is compliant with the standards: for example solids are often defined as two‐manifold objects only, although in fact they can be nonmanifold objects. Exchanging and converting data sets from one format/platform to another is thus highly problematic. I present in this article a methodology to validate solids according to the international standards. It is hierarchical and permits us to validate the primitives of all dimensionalities. To understand and study the topological relationships between the different parts of a solid (the shells) the concept of Nef polyhedron is used. The methodology has been implemented in a prototype, and I report on the main engineering decisions that were made and on its use for the validation of real‐world three‐dimensional data sets.

Exploring the Possibility of Semi-Automated Quality Evaluation of Spatial Datasets in Spatial Data Infrastructure

Over the past decades, World Wide Web technology has developed greatly. One of the most important outcomes of this technology is to share data in a worldwide domain. A considerable amount of available data have spatial components and are hence called spatial data. The level of quality that spatial datasets conform plays an important role in their reliability for use in projects. This research aims to overview spatial data quality elements and select appropriate elements suitable for means of semi-automated quality evaluation. In this paper, the ISO 19100 series of standards for geographic information is used as basis for quality evaluation. The possibilities of use of different spatial data quality elements for semi-automated quality evaluation are explored and discussed. Finally, based on argumentation and reference to other research studies, a list of spatial data quality elements and sub-elements suitable for semi-automated quality evaluation of spatial datasets are presented.

Results from a normative dependency analysis of geographic information standards

Standardization in the field of geographic information started in the 1990s when geographic information systems (GIS) matured and the advent of the Internet accelerated the exchange of information. Recent developments, such as location-based services and the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) on handheld devices, have further increased the demand for standardization in the field. ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics develops the ISO 19100 series of geographic information standards and collaborates with other standards organizations, for example, by developing abstract standards for which the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) develops implementation specifications . To date, forty nine ISO 19100 standards have been published. Many of these were recently approved for revision. One of the challenges of standard maintenance is to determine whether a change in a revised standard affects other standards, and how. Object dependency analysis is commonly used in object-oriented software maintenance. Geographic information standards, however, are not composed purely of objects. Instead, dependencies in all the normative elements of the standard have to be analyzed and understood. This paper presents the novel approach of a normative dependency analysis for standard maintenance in which interdependencies between the normative elements of standards are analyzed. In the paper a normative dependency between two standards is defined for the first time, a notation for normative dependencies is introduced, a normative dependency data model is presented and results from a normative dependency analysis of the ISO 19100 geographic information standards are discussed. The paper concludes with results, applicable to any suite of standards, and a discussion of further work.