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he increasing availability of digital camera devices and camera phones enable users to capture and upload digital photos at any a time and any place. Online image collections face the problem organizing increasing photo collections. Because users experience adding qualitative photo annotations as a time-consuming and tedious task, they omit to do it. However, good photo annotation is very important for fast and reliable photo retrieval. The integration of positioning devices (e.g. GPS) with digital camera enables to capture position along with the photo and this location metadata has been applied in previous research to automatically caption digital photos. The disadvantage of describing a photo using location metadata only is that it only enables to add information about its surrounding and not about the actual objects pictured. This research carried out in the framework of the EU research project Tripod assumes in the near future camera devices integrated with GPS and digital compass will be available. Using this full spatial metadata, it is possible to exactly identify and localize objects inside the pictured scene. Digital photos with 3D position and view direction are collected on the Market Square in Delft (The Netherlands) using a Topcon imaging total station and Nikon D100 camera mounted with digital 3-axis compass and GPS to carry out a proof-of-concept. Using the output of a perspective viewer service, a tool that renders an three-dimensional model, a virtual abstraction that matches the digital photo is created to be able to identify and localize visible objects in order to place a label next to it. The three-dimensional models applied for this research are created from conventional GIS datasets (e.g. TOP10NL and GBKN) and a digital elevation model (AHN) by extruding the building footprints. The best possible for a label is defined at the empty areas and constraints and rules are added to ESRI ArcGIS label Engine Maplex to carry out the label placement inside the digital photo in a GIS environment. Misidentification and misplacement due to lens distortions, and GPS and compass inaccuracies are evaluated. A demo-application is developed in ESRI ArcGIS using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming and system architecture is proposed for implementation of a photo labelling service. It is concluded that the virtual scenes as output of perspective viewer services are appropriate to apply for object identification and localization. In doing so, the problem of label placement in three-dimensional geographic environments is reduced to a two-dimensional map-labelling problem. The best location of label placement is determined using constraints and rules to be applied to the virtual scene and the reclassified-to-binary image of the input photo, and the depth map enables to vary in label font size depending on the object distance.

Traditional cadastre is based on division of land into 2D surface parcels, upon which ownership rights are subsequently registered. Nevertheless, the rights to a parcel are always in 3D as land use would be impossible if confined only to the 2D flat surface. However, most 2D registrations are found to be adequate as long as the whole column of space (cujus est solum ejus est usque ad coelum et ad inferos) belongs to a person or a ground of persons. Intensive use of land and technological advances have made it possible to have many different types of uses simultaneously above and below one another. Examples of such multiple use of space (or stratified properties) include the apartment complex, tunnel, utility cable and pipeline criss-crossing under the surface and underground mining. The legal situations in such stratified properties can no longer be portrayed effectively on flat surfaces, as several persons, either as owner(s) or rights or interests holders, now hold the same parcel of land simultaneously. The introduction of the third dimension (hence the so-called 3D cadastre) is deemed necessary in order to provide efficient means to register and to provide the legal status of these factual situations as in the real world. Cadastre is always related to land. Being an essential tool in administering the man-land relationship, it is continually evolving in response to the dynamic nature of this relationship within the particular society. As a developing nation, the choice of an appropriate Malaysian 3D Cadastre depends upon its local conditions. It should be able to protect land rights effectively, efficiently, simply, securely and affordably

The master of science thesis project called "The Land Administration Domain Model 'Survey Package' and Model Driven Architecture" will be described and concluded in this report. The main subjects for the research are the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), specifically the Survey Package, dealing with survey measurements. Secondly, the Model Driven Architecture (MDA), a software design methodology to generate platform specific information systems based on platform independent models, specified in the Unified Modelling Language (UML) and the Object Constraint Language (OCL). A custom developed MDA Prototype has been developed, aiming at the implementation of the Adapted LADM 'Survey Package' in a PostgreSQL/PostGIS object-relational database. Thirdly, an analysis of the quality of the Dutch cadastral map is performed, based on data loaded into this the Adapted LADM 'Survey Package' PostGIS database.

This thesis is about the visualization of a Tetrahedral Irregular Network (TEN) in a web client. A tetrahedron is the simplest geometric form in 3D space, a pyramid with a triangular ground face. Its four points can lie anywhere in the 3D space as long as they do not lie on one plane. 3D objects can be composed from multiple tetrahedra. In a fully partitioned TEN even air and soil are modeled with tetrahedra. Most GIS analyses on a TEN can be deducted to an operation on the triangle simplex, therefore 3D analysis on A TEN is relatively easy compared to analysis on another 3D data structures. Chapter one (Introduction) gives an overview of the background of the research, the objectives, the requirements and the research methodology. In Chapter two (Data models for 3D geo-information) the theory around 3D data modeling is given. It starts with an explanation of the 3D feature components. In the next part, there is a comparison of 3D data representations and 3D data models and a conclusion is drawn why the TEN is the best data model. In the next paragraphs, theory on the TEN data models is given as well as theory on the derived 3D TIN and ‘TEN view’ data model. In addition, this chapter gives information how to build up a TEN dataset, about 3D topology and a comparison is made how 3D spatial (TEN) data can be stored in a database. Chapter three (Prototype related technology) gives information about XML based standards to exchange and visualize 3D and 2D data and about any other technologies that are used in the prototype made for this thesis. In Chapter four (Review of 3D GIS applications on the web) a number of 3D web GIS prototypes are discussed which have been created in the last decennium. In addition to a description of them, the prototypes are compared on a number of features and a feasibility review is done of each prototype. Some prototypes are picked out and a conclusion is made which are the best prototype examples for the development of the prototype of this thesis. In Chapter five (Prototype architecture) first the preliminary draft of the prototype is discussed. Secondly, the chapter gives a schematic overview of the realized architecture and a description of the main components and techniques of the prototype. Thirdly, the steps that have been taken over time to develop the prototype are listed. In Chapter six (Prototype components, dataset and techniques) first each component of the prototype web application is described which are a 3D view, a 2D view, a Table view, a Titlebar and an SQL box. Secondly, information is given about the datasets that have been used. Thirdly, each technique used in the prototype is explained in detail In addition some techniques that are not implemented in the prototype are discussed too. Chapter seven (Evaluation and conclusion) starts with an evaluation. First, a comparison is made which XML based language is best for 3D TEN visualization: X3D, KML, or CityGML. Secondly is reviewed in which way the data can best be stored in the database. Thirdly is compared whether it is best to visualize the TEN, 3D TIN, or TEN view. As fourth, the architecture is discussed. In the next part of Chapter six (Summary and conclusion) each sub question as stated in the Chapter one is answered. In addition, an answer is given on the main research question. Finally, remarks are made regarding feature research and recommendations.

Infrastructure is not only the hardware but encompass many more, such as the people involved. The geographic component of the information gives it extra value, but generating it is very costly. There are many different definitions of GII and it is useful to identify the vital components of which a GII consists. Based on the four GIS dimensions, humanware, orgaware, infoware and technoware different components of a GII can be identified. GII consists of dynamic conditions and possibilities offered to various types of users to generate, share, access, and use geographic information. The infrastructure consists of technical standards, the physical infrastructure, an institutional framework, a financial basis and awareness at the decision making and management levels. GIIs operate at different levels: from corporate to global. The final purpose to develop a GII is to improve decision making. Decisions require information and an optimal GII facilitates the access to current and accurate geographic information. Within governmental organizations the obligated authentic registers will be of increasing importance for the GII. DURP stands for digital exchangeable spatial planning and is setup to modernize the spatial planning process by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. The objectives of the stimulation programme are to make the spatial planning process more effective and efficient through digitalizing of the development, use and exchange of spatial plans, as well as to improve the involvement of citizens and to make the process more transparent. Municipalities are not yet obligated to digitize their local land use plans, but new legislation in the near future is suspected to change this. Digital exchangeable spatial plans consist mainly of geographic information and are used by a lot of users within the municipal organization. Spatial planning on the local level, municipalities, is of great importance. Municipalities are responsible for developing local land use plans, which can be very detailed and have strong judicial value. That is why it is important to have the most up to date local land use plan. The relation between GII and DURP is clearly noticeable here. The characteristics of this relation is the scope of the research. The integration of DURP within a GII will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the use and development of the spatial plans within the municipal organization. Besides this the existence of a GII could influence the implementation of DURP, as well as DURP could influence the implementation or development of a GII. Between the different municipalities there are strong differences in the implementation of DURP. This all leads to the following research question: How does the implementation and development of geographic information infrastructure within the municipal organization relate to the implementation and development of digital exchangeable spatial plans? Municipal organizations consist of two parts: the political and the official organization. The official organization is usually organized according to the concern model. Specialized decentralized sectors and on top a central concern staff and facilitating services. The sectors are each responsible for specific problem areas, for instance economy or social welfare. Currently most of the municipalities are developing from a company-orientated organization, where the focus is on results and performance to an environmentorientated organization, where the focus is on output and process. ‘Turn over’ of the organization or decompartmentalization of the sectors is needed to be able to serve the citizens in a better way. Based on the two models of Graafland (1993) and Kok and van Loenen (2005), stages of development of geographic information provision within municipalities are identified. Currently most municipalities are developing from the stages ‘local control’ to ‘infrastructure development’ defined by Graafland. Local control is characterized by a development of standards, slight awareness for cooperation and the management level gets involved and tries to formalize internal relations. Infrastructure development is characterized by a start of authentic registers, change of organization and a more top down approach to support development of infrastructure. This transition is a shift from demand driven to supply driven and from controlled bottom-up to controlled top-down. The corresponding stages of the GII development model are from the end of the ‘stand alone’ stage, to ‘exchange and standardization on technical level’ and to the beginning of the stage ‘intermediary’. Finally, when considering information provision within municipal organizations it all turns down to the field of tension between a sector and a corporate approach. The implementation and development of DURP is researched in the selected municipalities. The start of DURP is mainly triggered by external events. Together with the digitizing and making exchangeable of the local land use plans comes standardization. The Information Model Spatial Planning (IMRO) is developed to offer each municipality the same set of standards. Although the IMRO standards leave space open for own interpretation, it is a first step in improving the spatial planning. Many of the investigated municipalities initiated the digitizing together with updating of outdated plans. Municipalities are covered by a large amount of local land use plans, often more than 200. Many plans are joined together, to approximately 30 or 40, and the current situation is recorded. The plans are lay down in object-based geographic information files, in which the regulations and explanations are linked to the planned objects. These projects are mostly supported by the GII coordinating department to help implementing the object-based method of working, together with the ICT department which supports the acquiring and integration of the software. Redesigning of the work processes within the development of a local land use plan and setting up managerial control for the continuation of the standard processes and output are important factors for a successful implementation of DURP. This research did not reveal an observable pattern between the level of development of GII and DURP within the investigated municipalities. The relation must especially be found in human and organizational aspects. Knowledge at the GII coordinating departments has in many cases supported the setup of the digitizing of spatial plans. The object-based method of working, familiar to the GIS community, has caused a culture shock within the departments responsible for spatial planning. Another human aspect is the awareness for sharing geographic information. The possibility of other departments to consult spatial plans through the GII will motivate them to share geographic information as well and to keep the information up-to-date. The vital standardization needed for the digitizing of the spatial plans can be used as an example towards other work processes and information sources. For the generation and dissemination of information through a GII, it is important that all the work processes are optimal designed for the exchange and use of geographic information. Exchange requires standardization. Although there is no relation between the development of the two aspects, GII and DURP are certainly intertwined with each other. The information generated by digital spatial planning is often shared through the GII and a lot of the information required within the spatial planning process is obtained through the GII. In most of the researched municipalities, DURP is integrated within the GII. In other words the GII facilitates an important part of the input and output of information within the spatial planning process.

Disasters caused by human action or nature are part of life. Preventing disasters from occurring is often not possible. Lives can be saved or lost depending on our response to the disaster. Determining the fastest route to the people in need is therefore important. The determination of this fastest route is however not straight forward, since the environment the route is determined in has become chaotic as a result of the disaster. In this research attention focuses on ways to take the circumstances in the environment into consideration in an automated way. A distinction is made between changes that can be predicted and changes that cannot be predicted. Based on literature the latter turns out to be done best by choosing a process of re-evaluating the route determined. Based on the degree of dynamism a static, semi-static, iterative or dynamic approach can be taken to this re-evaluation. In a static approach the route is determined only once based on the most current information at that time. When the circumstances change re-evaluation of that determined route can take place every time a change occurs (semi-static), every couple of minutes (iterative) or constantly (dynamic). In this research a preference was given to use a combination between the semi-static and the iterative approach. This results in a re-evaluation after a number of changes have occurred and if there are only little changes the re-evaluation should take place after a set time. The incorporation of predictions in the algorithm is a second focus area. By incorporating predictions one is able to anticipate changes to the network and take them into consideration in the route determination process. Incorporating predictions on plume movement and bridge openings and closings introduces also a need to balance between travelling extra kilometres and waiting. To investigate the implications of incorporating predictions into the routing process a routing algorithm was designed. The Dijkstra algorithm was adapted to read the closing times from a file and decide whether it is better to wait or take an alternative route. Tests show that the estimation of travel times are more accurate when these are created with the algorithm that incorporates predictions into the routing process. Based on this research it is concluded that using the adapted algorithm routes can be determined that will prove to be faster and safer than the result of a shortest path calculation based only on the travel costs in the network.

The goal of this research is to develop a 3D topological structure with validation functionality and a conversion function. Based on this research question, some sub questions have been defined and a research methodology. The outline of this research is elaborated in chapter 1. The first use of topology has been attributed to Euler in 1736, since then, topology has evolved in mathematics but also in GIS. Since the second half of the 20th century, 2D topological data structures are historically well established, with structures like TIGER and GBF/DIME. Several 3D topological structures have been developed as well. Most of them by researchers (for example 3D FDS and SSS). No commercial geo-DBMS has implemented a 3D topological structure, until recently. 1Spatial has developed a 3D topological structure. This structure has been analyzed among other 2D and 3D structures (chapter 2). It is clear that the existing structures differ a lot. Some structures maintain a 3D primitive while others do not. Orientation is stored in different ways, the same applies for geometry and singularities. Some structures have quite some redundancy, while other structures have only a few relationships stored explicitly, which makes maintaining the structure harder. In spite of the many differences, the characteristics of, both 2D and 3D, topological structures are based on the same aspects: dimension, partition (including the universe), primitives (including their relationships), orientation, singularities and geometrical realization. Based on these main aspects, the requirements for the topological structure are defined in chapter 3 and a conceptual model is designed. The model consist of four primitives, which are related to each other by their (co)boundary relationships. These boundary relationships exact a full space partition, where every primitive involved, is part of a volume primitive. No isolated and dangling primitives are allowed. Next to the boundaries, especially the rings and the shells, orientation plays an important role within a topological structure and the geometrical realization. Single geometries have their dvantages, therefore single geometries and topological structures should be used together. Once the structure has been defined, validation rules need to be set. In order to validate a 3D topological structure, the involved volumes must be valid as well as the whole structure, which means the relationships between the volumes. Since no single definition of a valid 3D primitive is available, the rules are based on a few existing validation functions for 3D single geometries. No 3D topological validation function exists at the moment. Once the rules for a valid structure are set (chapter 4), the structure has been implemented into Oracle Spatial. The validation rules are translated into validation tests and implemented on this structure (chapter 5), as well as the geometry operations. In chapter 6, the structure, validation tests and geometry operations are tested with a test data set and evaluated.

This Master of Science thesis states the taxonomy of functionalities and the visual materials of geo-virtual environments for the visualization of urban projects. The core of this visualization thesis is based on a requirement analysis process using the software approach of Requirement Engineering. It contains two important aspects. The requirement analysis part of the thesis identifies the functionalities that can be used in visual interaction between actors in the planning process. The second aspect of the thesis investigates the use of visual materials in geo-virtual environments to visualize the different planning phases of urban development. The relationship between the urban planning phases and the use of multi-dimensionality, realism and Levels of Detail (LoD) in models has been established here. Through observation, the thesis has analyzed the relationship between the use of visual materials and the human perception to understand them. Moreover, it has stated a process to create 3D base models on the basis of geo-data through widely used GIS software. The thesis elaborates the functionality domains of geo-virtual environments through the introduction of the construction, capabilities, experiencing, controlling, use, exploration and components functionalities. This taxonomy is achieved through the analysis of requirements of specific Dutch municipalities. These functionalities can be used for collaborative design process by the municipalities and facilitate visual interaction with actors like citizens. Based on the requirement analysis, the thesis sheds light on the knowledge-gap with regards to the classification of functionalities and visual materials. It uses scientific methods,

This research deals with the problem of the enormous amounts of data that is streaming from the ‘sensor web’ into our computer systems. This data is useless to us unless it is properly stored, queried and presented by means of computer systems. These are typically databases, query engines, applications and user interfaces. In particular the manner how data is stored in a database determines what information you can retrieve from the system. This is widely known when it comes to traditional relational databases, however when complex data structures such as spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal structures are involved the user of sensor data simply lacks an understanding of this issue. This thesis work addresses this problem by designing a prototype of an expert system that automatically makes the selection of an appropriate technical solution based on information entered by the user of sensor data. For the design of this prototype, techniques coming from Geo Information science are combined with those from Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. The Artificial Intelligence techniques used are the building of an ontology and the use of a reasoning system and rule engine. These techniques, called semantic techniques, are typically useful for storing concepts and relations, querying them and drawing conclusions from them. These techniques are compared with one modelling method commonly used in software engineering, namely UML. The prototype that was built enables the user to enter requirements for the question to be posed upon the sensor data, as well as information about the structure of the data set used. The prototype also contains knowledge of existing technical solutions as well as features of space, time and space-time. A logical component then decides which technical solution is selected based on the information entered by the user. For the logical component two different semantic technologies were possible. One is the use of a reasoner. The other solution is a rule engine. Both solutions were implemented and this resulted in two prototypes, the JessTabDemo and the ReasonerDemo. The capabilities of the two prototypes were evaluated against the predefined prototype requirements. The conclusion was drawn that neither solution satisfied every predefined requirement. For reasons of comparison an imaginary solution based on UML was envisioned. This solution also did not satisfy every predefined requirement. This research concludes therefore that the envisioned instrument can best be built with a combination of UML and semantic technologies. It remains a challenge for the future to combine static solutions, such as databases, with dynamic ones such as ontologies.

Navigation has become booming business recently. Well-known navigation services, such as TomTom, Garmin and Google Navigation, are dominating the market for outdoor, road based navigation. The fact that such applications are able to determine a location on a platform has always fascinated the author. Simple location determination is further utilized in specialized applications and functions, such as SportyPal, which logs the movements and interpolates several units, or the geotagging of photos. And so, this further piqued the interest to investigate matters in the indoor environment, as one has to look beyond what one sees. However, navigation as a word can also be used as a metaphor to describe one man’s life journey. How can one navigate as a human being? On the paths of life, one has to navigate through a web of complicated matters by fulfilling expectations and by making decisions that will influence your future. Decisions might be based on past experience and/or knowledge, there is no ‘turn back’ option, and things might heavily alter the path of life in unforeseen circumstances, both positive and negative. Navigation is then based on the abstract level. The author, too, almost navigated towards another direction. Unforeseen circumstances in the private life forced him to choose a different flow than intended. The result is this thesis project, in which much time and effort has been put. The author hopes that the thesis is readable and understandable. He hopes that every wise man should follow his own direction and that as such, navigation applications will contribute in making those decisions.

This short summary helps to grasp the motive behind the research, its objectives and to find out what is presented on the following pages of the report. It offers a condensed, one page recapitulation of its contents and intentions and suggests who might be interested to read it. CONTEXT Map generalisation is a tedious task, requiring skilled cartographers to work for long periods of time. Experience shows that compiling a map can take several months. It is the common wisdom that such labour‐intensive tasks should be consigned to computers and thus be accomplished more uniformly, more precisely, more rapidly, and at much reduced cost (Buttenfield & McMaster, 1991). The benefits of automatic generalisation could aid hydrographic offices (HOs) in their ENC creation. OBJECTIVES The aim of the project is to create ‘hard knowledge’ specifications that could be subsequently used to create/use with tools for automatic generalisation of ENCs. The research compiles requirements of various HOs with the recommendations of S‐4 and knowledge in model and cartographic generalisation of topographic charts to create computer translatable rules that allow creating a smaller scale/usage ENCs from a higher scale/usage ENC / S‐57 data without or with minimum human interference. DELIVERABLES AND THEIR IMPACT The final report present a set of specifications, rules and tools that allow going from one compilation scale (Approach) to another (Coastal) without or with minimum human interference. It also discusses shortcomings and rate of success of such approach. The study mainly bases on the existing generalisation operators available in the literature, but where it is just‐ points out scarceness of the choice and proposes new solutions. As a result, an IHO standard could be created for the generalisation of charts (ENCs) and tools implemented in the software used for chart creation. WHO SHOULD READ THIS REPORT? This report might be found interesting by the GIS community, especially when interested in advancements in digital cartography and ENCs. The main recipients, however, are the hydrographic community, mainly Hydrographic Offices, and hydrographic software vendors. They may find ideas for potential implementations that could aid their business. The secondary recipients could be other parties linked to Electronic Navigational Charts, namely ECDIS producers and chart users. The author hopes that this research could also inspire other projects on automatic chart generalisation and complement projects on bathymetric generalisation.

Web based multimodal travel planners are able to generate adequate travel advises for the public transport using timetable information. These travel advises are nowadays lacking detailed pedestrian route advises for the walking parts of a journey. This research focuses on developing a 3D geo data model to support pedestrian route finding for access, change and egress public transport in multimodal travel advises. The research studies the suitability of Oracle spatial 11g to find walk routes in such geo data models. It focus on geo data models to support finding an optimal route for the individual public transport traveller taking into account his specific preferences and constrains (e.g. wheelchair) for the pedestrian part of the journey in a travel advise. Travel time and time pressure, physical effort safety and conform personnel characteristics and vicinity are seen as important aspects of an optimal route. A literature study is done on existing standards and models to investigate approaches to develop such a 3D geo data model. Based on this literature study a new conceptual geo data model is developed to support pedestrian routing in multimodal travel advises. It uses, similar as in a navigable space model (Slingsby, Raper 2008) a model representing 3D spaces only by their lower surfaces. A Stop Place Model (IFOPT 2007) is taken for it semantics describing and indentifying these spaces relevant for pedestrian routing related to public transport. To persist the geometrical aspects of these lower surfaces in a spatial database the geo data model uses simple feature (OGC 1999) surfaces. The model supports modelling of multiple layered floors and traffic areas which can be seen by a traveller on which “walking around” is possible. It also supports virtual surfaces “hidden paths” with are predefined logic connecting route areas on these floors and traffic areas. As in existing models (Lee 2004) (Stevens, Choi 2006) adjacency and connectivity of spaces are modelled with networks. The developed pedestrian model is new because attributes and behaviour of networks and surfaces are integrated. Important in this geo data model is that no difference is made between in modelling indoor and outdoor spaces. The lower surfaces representing spaces are modelled as objects inherit attributes and behaviour from nodes in a network and therefore called NodeSurfaces. Every NodeSurface is seen as possible connection for a route choice for an optimal pedestrian route. These possible pedestrian connections are modelled by combining connecting NodeSurfaces and using simple feature multiSurface to model it geometrical aspects. In this geo data model these multi surfaces are describing the potential pedestrian connections with attributes and behaviour from links in networks. Important characteristics of this multiSurface (“LinkSurfaces”) are the direction (including up/down in 3D), the accessibility and pedestrian duration for a specific traveller. A prototype implementing this new geo data model in Oracle 11g was developed. To illustrate and evaluate the new model surfaces relevant in a simple bus stop and a multimodal transport interchange where drawn in Google SketchUp and exported to KML files. These 3D surfaces where used as dataset for optimal route finding in the prototype. This research evaluates this prototype to evaluate the feasibility and suitability of the new geo data model. This prototype was also used to evaluate in suitability of Oracle spatial 11g to find walk routes in such pedestrian models. The results of the conceptual model are promising especially when modelling hidden paths. It was possible to implement the geo data model in Oracle 11g. Oracle 11g network shortest route capabilities for logical network turned out to be suitable for finding the optimal route for individual travellers with specific speed and accessibility properties. Due to the limitation that Oracle 11G does not support 3D distance calculation in geographic 3D all distances in pedestrian speed calculation were done on the geodetic surface. Optimal pedestrian routes where exported to KML files and visualisation was done with Google earth. Limitations were found for visualisation of surfaces below ground level (underpasses). The concepts of LinkSurfaces used to represent 3D pedestrian spaces in the proposed geo data models worked well in the prototype. This concept combing characteristics from links in a network and characteristic from OGC simple feature multi surfaces, is a simple, effective and well structured way to represent complex 3D spaces used by pedestrian routes in a geo data model.

The main objective of this research project was to assess the quality and feasibility of the guidelines for INSPIRE Network Services. The completeness, clarity, consistency and ease-of implementation of the guidelines were considered. Part of this assessment is also the question: how can INSPIRE compliance be tested and measured? The topic was tackled both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. The theoretical part of the project included a detailed investigation and assessment of the INSPIRE requirements and recommendations as regards: technical architecture of the services, functionality of the particular network services, quality of services, rights management issues, elements of spatial data and metadata models. This part of the project has been finalized with the synthesis of the guidelines derived from the INSPIRE documentation. The review of the INSPIRE documents showed that these guidelines are specific and clear enough in most points, however not yet complete. The status of work as regards the technical guidelines for particular INSPIRE Network Services is different. The topic which calls for particular attention is the adaptation of the INSPIRE services to SOAP bindings. Another item that is needed and that is currently missing in the guidelines is the provision of more strict rules for compliance testing (Abstract Test Suites (ATS) for INSPIRE services and data) and quality of service (QoS) testing. The practical part of the project was the implementation of some prototype View and Download services. For the implementation of the prototype services existing software was chosen, namely GeoServer, one of the spatial data server products implementing the OGC standards. The specific scenario chosen for the case study are web services for a national park. The spatial data for the prototype was acquired from the resources of the Narew National Park (Poland). The prototype was realized in order to validate and evaluate whether the Implementing Rules and other guidelines contained all necessary information to set up INSPIRE compliant web services, with special attention to the question how this ‘compliance’ can be measured using both manual and automated testing methods. First, the prototype has been evaluated for the compliance with INSPIRE guidelines by manual inspection of the prototype services. Secondly, the compliance test methodology proposed by OGC has been used to perform automated tests on the GeoServer instance. The evaluation of the prototype showed that the web services provided with GeoServer fulfill the majority of requirements for View/Download Services through the WMS/WFS functionalities (mandatory operation parameters, offered output formats etc.) Some elements need to be configured within GeoServer (e.g. the required spatial reference system, layer/feature type names that conform to the INSPIRE data specifications). Still, some INSPIRE-specific extensions to the functionality provided by GeoServer are needed for both services (support of the SOAP/POST methods for the service operations, solutions for multilingual aspects of services and rights management). Another requirement for the INSPIRE-conformant web services is that the spatial data and metadata are provided compliant with the data models required by INSPIRE. The study on compliance testing methodologies is followed by the recommendation that the standards and testing programs from ISO and OGC can be of particular relevance for the development of Abstract Test Suites for INSPIRE services. The reference framework for INSPIRE compliance testing can be partially based on the OGC Compliance & Interoperability Testing & Evaluation Initiative (CITE) testing program. The OGC tests are especially suitable as reference since the core technical specifications for implementation of the particular INSPIRE Network Services are the OGC web services specifications.

The INSPIRE initiative sets up a framework for the creation of an European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI), which will enable the sharing of environmental spatial information among public sector organisations and better facilitate public access in general to spatial information across Europe. To do so, several common specifications have been developed in a wide range of areas including data, metadata, and network services. The most challenging aspect of INSPIRE will probably be harmonising the actual data models across Europe to the common INSPIRE ones, giving the amount of time allocated for this process. This task is not only challenging because of the amount of data that will be involved in the process, but also because of the very varied source data models and amount of data providers that will be involved at various stages and having to cooperate at European level under a unique framework. Therefore, the main question that arises, and that is on the mind of many data providers across Europe, is how is that really achieved and what does it involve? This thesis aims to clarify that aspect by focusing on data transformation and conformance testing. The research follows a stepped approach, first of all by putting into the INSPIRE context, concepts like interoperability and data harmonisation, extending to the importance of geographic information standards in this sense, as well as the ultimate goal of a spatial data infrastructure. A case study is considered, where at first, source data from the UK mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, that falls into the scope of one of the INSPIRE thematic themes, namely Administrative Units, is analysed and compared to the target data model proposed by INSPIRE, trying to identify similarities and differences that may pose problems. The process continues with identifying software tools that are capable to perform data transformation based on INSPIRE requirements, and eventually using one of them to transform the data. After the transformation, encountered bottlenecks are discussed, both from the source data side, but also from the target data model side. The last step is to formally test the produced datasets as required by the standards that INSPIRE rely upon, by means of an Abstract Test Suite (ATS) and Executable Test Suite (ETS). This is maybe one of the crucial aspects of INSPIRE data harmonisation process, as there is still some ambiguity between legally binding and not legally binding requirements, an aspect that will directly influence testing and its interpretation, hence the obligations of each data provider. The thesis will conclude with observations that are relevant not only for the Administrative Units theme, but also for the wider scope of INSPIRE data transformation and conformance testing. Main bottlenecks are discussed, but also recommendations are given that would definitely be relevant for further research, as well as for the INSPIRE community.

Data integration is becoming an increasingly important issue with the increased sharing of information as a result of linked data and Spatial Data Infrastructures. To investigate the potential issues a case study for the Water Quality Register (WQR) of the Informatiehuis Water is used. In this case study the data residing in three separate data sources (Water Framework Directive (WFD) Database, Bulkdatabase and Limnodata) is to be integrated into a single register (the WQR). A full integration requires harmonisation steps at the data model level (schema mapping and transformation) and at the instance level (instance matching). Schema mapping involves the definition of correspondences between equivalent elements in two or more data models (schemas) defined in for example the Unified Modelling Language (UML) using class diagrams or the XML Schema Definition language (XSD). Correspondences need to be created between a source and a target schema. During this research the schemas of the data sources are documented using reverse engineering techniques as existing documentation is lacking. During the documentation it was found that none of the sources adhered (fully) to a known standard. Also referential integrity and the quality of data contents are lacking. Because none of the existing schemas is suitable for data integration, a target model for the WQR is developed based on INSPIRE (themes Hydrography, Environmental Monitoring Facilities and Area Regulation, Restriction zones and Reporting Units), ISO19156 (“Observations and Measurements”), the WISE reporting sheets and Aquo. The conceptual target schema in UML is converted to an application schema in XSD. To document the correspondences a number of schema mapping languages exist. Only a few of these languages have practical tooling available however. As part of the research three options were further described and their applicability to the case study examined: Rule Interchange Format (RIF), Ontology Mapping Language (OML) and XSLT. For the case study XSLT (and XQuery) were chosen in combination with Altova MapForce as most suitable option for implementation. The second part of a full integration is instance matching. The key spatial object in the case study is the monitoring location. During instance matching inconsistencies from double entries in the data source (conflation) and overlap between data sources (equivalence) are detected and resolved. This is done by matching the locations against each other using the geometry, geographical name and identifier. The resulting matches are used to create a single reference set with (unique) monitoring locations. Both the INSPIRE Geographical Names and Gazetteer schema are investigated for suitability as schema for the reference set. Preference is given to the Geographical Names schema because it allows for more semantic detail. Adaptations to the Geographical Names schema are suggested to make it more suitable as a reference schema. Based on the user requirements from the case study, a hybrid approach is tested for data integration. This hybrid approach combines the use of a harmonised database (Water Database) for storing data collected after the formation of the Water Database, with the use of a mediated schema approach for queries involving data existing in the original data sources prior to the formation of the Water Database (historic data). The Water Database is built using the WQR target schema and filled through an Extract, Load and Transform process with relevant data (surface water bodies and monitoring programs) from the WFD Database and the monitoring locations from the reference set. The integration solution, the WQR mediated schema, uses the Water Database as a new source together with the existing Bulkdatabase and Limnodata data sources. The WQR mediated schema solution retrieves information from these data sources using XSLT and XQuery in a proof of concept. The mediated schema uses the INSPIRE Geographical Names monitoring locations reference set as a central reference for the geographic queries. The proof of concept is functional but is not practical due to long response times. This is a result from the use of file based XML data sources. Suggestions to improve performance are given but not tested.

The relational data model is now more than 40 years old. It's good for very diferent scenarios and can handle certain types of data very well. But it isn't perfect. An increasing number of non-relational systems are being worked on, collectively called the 'NoSQL movement'. NoSQL is an umbrella term for a loosely defined class of non-relational datastores and best described as 'Not only SQL'. Examples are Google's BigTable and Amazon's Dynamo. These systems may provide advantages over relational databases, but generally lack the relational robustness for those advantages. In an atempt to modestly contribute to the current research in the field of geographical information systems, this research reports on a comparison of one such NoSQL datastore called Neo4j with the traditional relational database PostgreSQL when storing and querying spatial vector data. The goal of this study was to determine whether a traditional relational database system like PostGIS, or a NoSQL system, such as Neo4j-Spatial, would be more efective as the underlying technology for operating OpenStreetMap data. Neo4j is an embeddable graph database. Embeddable because it can be added to a Java-based application and used just like any other library, and graph database because the data model it uses to express its data is a graph, storing nodes and relationships that connect them, supporting user defined properties on both constructs. Multiple aspects are of interest when comparing spatial database systems. The evaluation methodology designed to compare the two, involves both objective measurements and subjective measurements based on documentation and experience. The objective tests include processing speed based on a predefined set of queries, disk space requirements, and scalability. Subjective tests include maturity/level of support, stability and ease of use. Meanwhile, the assessment framework applied for the objective tests could be used as a test suite for evaluating the performance and reliability of new spatial datastores. A test environment have been created using the same OpenStreetMap data in both the graph database and the relational database. While the systems have fundamental diferences, identical operations have been developed that provides equal results from diferently sized study areas. Regarding the objective measurements, the results of this research show that the graph database is most beneficial when queries can be expressed as traversals over local regions of a graph. Queries that are well-suited to this approach are, for example, shortest path analyses or connectivity queries. Bounding box queries were faster on the relational database. Regarding the subjective measurements, Neo4j provides a lot of functionality. Transaction support is a welcome addition and there are numerous ways to execute queries, for instance using Java, CQL or a geopipeline. The database model is schema-less and allows additions or adjustments to the schema without any major impact on the data model. As a Java component, it is relatively easy to implement Neo4j-Spatial as an embedded component in any Java program. PostgreGIS is by far the more mature database with a lot of functionality, documentation and support. Overall, this research shows that, in some cases, Neo4j should be considered as an alternative for specific tasks. A buyer's guide has been created in the form of a fow diagram to decide whether Neo4j- Spatial or PostGIS is suitable for a project. The two technologies, relational databases and non- relational database, will remain in usage side by side, each with the perfect fit for its own capabilities.

Sharing and reusing spatial data becomes more and more important. One way of reusing shared spatial data is by creating a new dataset by making use of spatial data available in a combination of external datasets. This has been the central theme in this thesis, as its main objective has been to explore the possibilities of producing a culture codes dataset by making use of external source datasets. Furthermore, the quality of these source datasets, as well as their semantic, geometric and temporal characteristics have been taken into account. The first step has been to describe and analyze a number of candidate source datasets, in order to be able to make a decision on which source datasets to use for the production of the culture codes. This included visual mappings between the classes and attributes of the candidate source datasets and the culture codes. Four source datasets have been selected (AKR, LKI, BAG and TOP10NL), with the choice for these datasets being mainly based on their contents, quality and accessibility. After selecting these source datasets the visual mappings were translated into seventy-one decision rules for the production of the culture codes. Next, these decision rules were integrated into an extensive decision tree. The decision rules and the decision tree have been tested in a proof of concept. This proof of concept has been carried out in four case studies and quality analyses. The results of this proof of concept have been quite satisfying, with 80,3% of all results being right. In order to further improve the results of the production method, a number of additional datasets has to be used and a few decision rules need to be investigated. Furthermore, the large amount of spatial data used for the calculations has caused serious performance problems. This should get special attention when deciding to apply an (automated) production of the culture codes by making use of the proposed production method. However, in general, the thesis shows that producing the culture codes dataset by making use of external datasets should be seen as a serious option.