Internet GIS and its applications to transportation

1
Internet GIS(and its applications to
transportation)

• Keivan Khoshons
• GEOG 516
• March 9, 2004

2
Outline

• Introduction What is Internet GIS?
• Characteristics of Internet GIS
• Challenges for Geographic Information on the
  Internet
• Why Do We Need Internet GIS?
• Basic Components of Internet GIS
• Internet GIS Applications to Transportation
• Conclusions

3
What is Internet GIS?

• It seems that there is no general agreement on
  the term to describe the Internet-based
  geographic information systems and varieties of
  names are used, such as
• Internet GIS
• GIS On-line
• Distributed Geographic Information (DGI)
• Web-based GIS or Web GIS

4
What is Internet GIS? (contd)

• Internet is different from the Web
• The Internet the network infrastructure that
  hosts many applications (usually based on the
  client/server model)
• The Web a networking application supporting a
  HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that runs on
  the top of the Internet
• Many other applications run on the top of the
  Internet but are not part of the Web, such as
• e-mail,
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
• Telnet,
• future client/server applications

5
What is Internet GIS? (contd)

• Definition of Internet GIS
• The framework of network-based GIS that employs
  the Internet to access remote geographic
  information and geoprocessing tools

6
Characteristics of Internet GIS (contd)

• Integrated client/sever computing
• It has a dynamic client/server concept in
  performing GIS analysis tasks, in which the
  client can request data and analysis tools from
  the server
• The server performs the job itself and sends the
  results back to the client through the network
  (thin client), or
• The server sends the data and analysis tools to
  the client for processing (thick client)

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Characteristics of Internet GIS (contd)

• Web-based interactive
• Different from traditional desktop GIS with its
  dependency to GUI (i.e., Graphic User Interface)
  for interacting with GIS programs, Internet GIS
  enables users to manipulate GIS data and maps
  interactively over the Internet or wireless
  networks.
• GIS functions such as map rendering, spatial
  queries, and spatial analysis can be performed
  using a Web browser or other internet-based
  client programs.

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Characteristics of Internet GIS (contd)

• Distributed and dynamic
• The GIS data and analysis tools can be accessible
  in different computers or servers on the
  Internet.
• The distributed system keeps data and application
  programs updated, so Internet GIS is dynamically
  linked to data sources.
• This dynamic nature offers more capabilities to
  Internet GIS to analyze real-time information in
  real-time connections, such as
• Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS)
• Advanced Public Transit Systems (APTS)
• Incident Management Systems (IMS)

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Characteristics of Internet GIS (contd)

• Cross-platform and interoperable
• It can be accessible across computing
  environments and platforms with different
  operating systems, different PDAs, and cellular
  phones.
• These capabilities require high interoperability
  for accessing and sharing remote GIS data and
  functions.
• Open GIS Consortium is working to set the ground
  rules for GIS interoperability. Some of the
  examples include
• The Open Geodata Interoperability Specification
• Geography Markup Language (GML)

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Challenges for Geographic Information on the
Internet

• Integration of heterogenous data formats
• Geographic information are different in
  resolutions, scales, times and domains
• Major challenges
• how to integrate heterogeneous data formats or
  provide a standardized data transfer procedure
  for distributing geographic information across
  the network

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Challenges for Geographic Information on the
Internet (contd)

• GIS operation/overlay
• Current Internet GIS programs mainly focus on the
  display of geographic information without
  providing many comprehensive Internet GIS
  operations and overlay tools, which is useful for
  processing geographic information and generating
  new layer of information.
• Major challenges
• Lack of appropriate mechanisms for exchanging or
  uploading GIS applications to servers
• Lack of interoperability in GIS programs, models,
  and analysis procedures

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Challenges for Geographic Information on the
Internet (contd)

• Integrated metadata scheme
• Traditional GIS only uses descriptive metadata
  for tracking data or facilitating the correct use
  of data.
• Computer science emphasizes machine-readable
  metadata for storing, searching, and integrating
  software components.
• Major challenges
• Adoption of both ideas and
• Design of an integrated metadata scheme for
  geospatial data and software components

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Why Do We Need Internet GIS?

• Globalization of geographic information access
  and distribution
• increasing demand for availability of information
  to the public
• Decentralization of geographic information
  management and update
• GPS, remote sensing, and satellite images are
  providing GIS with huge databases
• Huge databases cause serious data management
  problems for maintaining, updating, and
  exchanging geographic information
• Establishing open and distributed geographic
  information services will improve the efficiency
  of GIS data base management and reduce the cost
  of GIS database maintenance.

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Basic Components of Internet GIS

• The client
• as user interface for users to interact with the
  Internet GIS programs
• Web server with application server
• for receiving client requests, serving static Web
  pages, and operating application servers
• Map server
• for processing client requests and generating
  results
• Data server
• for serving geospatial and nonspatial data, and
  providing data access and management through a
  Structured Query Language (SQL)

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Basic Components of Internet GIS (contd)

• Reference Peng and Tsou, 2003

Client
Client
Client
Web Server with Application Sever
Map Server
Data Server
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Internet GIS Applications to Transportation

• A perfect tool for publishing and visualizing
  transportation data over the Internet.
• highway and transit traffic levels,
• construction conditions,
• weather information
• Potentially capable for data sharing and
  transportation analyses over the Internet.

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Internet GIS Applications to Transportation
(contd)

• Transportation information on the Web
• Transportation information dissemination
• announcing and displaying transportation
  information
• Users simply view the posted information
• Interactive communication
• active manipulation and search for specific
  information based on users needs and giving
  feedback to the system providers
• On-line transactions
• instant interactions between system providers and
  users, e.g., ticketing and reservations

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Internet GIS Applications to Transportation
(contd)

• Interactive road maps
• User/spatial-data interaction is one of the major
  capabilities of Internet GIS, which can be found
  in interactive road maps
• Users can zoom into (or out of) a specific area,
  inquire a specific address and identify a
  particular road links.
• These kinds of electronic maps on the Internet
  are more convenient to use than the traditional
  paper maps.
• Examples
• Yahoo! Maps at http//ca.maps.yahoo.com/
• MapQuest at http//www.mapquest.com/

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Internet GIS Applications to Transportation
(contd)

• Advanced Public Transit Systems (APTS)
• Internet GIS can be used for providing an
  Internet-based transit information system that
  allows transit users to plan a trip and to query
  service-related information, such as schedules
  and routes.
• Examples
• Toronto Transit commission (TTC) Web site at
  http//www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc
• Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Web
  site (TransLink) at http//tripplanning.translink.
  bc.ca/

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Internet GIS Applications to Transportation
(contd)

• Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS)
• Internet GIS, once linked with real-time traffic
  information, can be used in developing Advanced
  Traveller Information Systems (ATIS)
• ATIS are designed to provide the traveller with
  up-to-date information about current traffic
  conditions
• Based on the systems, users may be able to
• view the traffic flows on the entire roadway
  system in the corridor,
• zoom into a smaller area for a more detailed
  view,
• quickly find the travel speed along a specific
  link on a roadway, and
• see the traffic flow via real-time video snapshot
• Example
• The Gateway Traveller Information System for the
  Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Region at
  http//www.gcmtravel.com/

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Conclusions

• Internet GIS combines the advantages of both
  Internet and GIS.
• It can be used by governmental agencies to share
  data within and across agencies, or even to
  publish spatial data on the network for public
  access.
• It provides public with access spatial
  information without owning expensive GIS
  software.
• It allows transportation professionals to have
  more abilities in sharing data and to conduct
  transportation analyses using real-time and
  up-to-date information across a network as well
  as at an individual site, and consequently, to
  make more informed decisions.
• This open data sharing system will have positive
  impacts in reducing the barriers within
  transportation departments and across other
  agencies.

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References

• Peng, Zhong-Ren and M. H. Tsou (2003), Internet
  GIS, Distributed Geographic Information Systems
  for the Internet and Wireless Networks, John
  Wiley and Sons
• Peng, Zhong-Ren and E. A. Beimborn (1998),
  Internet GIS and Its Applications in
  Transportation, On-line, http//www.uwm.edu/Dept/
  CUTS/peng/trnews.htm
• The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
  (TransLink), http//www.translink.bc.ca/
• The Gateway Traveler Information System for the
  Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Region, http//www.gcmtrave
  l.com/
• Yahoo! Maps, http//maps.yahoo.com/

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• Thank You!