The impact of scale on spatial connections: an exploratory analysis

Quantifying the intensity of spatial connections has been a crucial topic in many research fields, such as urban transportation, migration, and trade. Researchers have proposed various models, such as the gravity model and the radiation model, to quantify the magnitude of spatial connections. Traditionally, modeling the connections (relatedness) between spatial entities is limited to the physical space, but with the rapid growth of information technologies, the scope of spatial connections extends to the virtual space. However, one topic that has not been fully studied is how spatial scale may impact spatial connections in the virtual space and how this influence can be reflected in spatial decay models. In this study, we used two types of datasets (mass media and social media data) to explore the impact of scale on fitting the distance decay coefficient. The results confirmed that spatial scale can impact the magnitude of spatial decay effects in datasets with different characteristics.

COVID-19 geoviz for spatio-temporal structures detection

The spread of COVID-19 has motivated a wide interest in visualization tools to represent the pandemic’s spatio-temporal evolution. This tools usually rely on dashboard environments which depict COVID-19 data as temporal series related to different indicators (number of cases, deaths) calculated for several spatial entities at different scales (countries or regions). In these tools, diagrams (line charts or histograms) display the temporal component of data, and 2D cartographic representations display the spatial distribution of data at one moment in time. In this paper, we aim at proposing novel visualization designs in order to help medical experts to detect spatio-temporal structures such as clusters of cases and spatial axes of propagation of the epidemic, through a visual analysis of detailed COVID-19 event data. In this context, we investigate and revisit two visualizations, one based on the Growth Ring Map technique and the other based on the space-time cube applied on a spatial hexagonal grid. We assess the potential of these visualizations for the visual analysis of COVID-19 event data, through two proofs of concept using synthetic cases data and web-based prototypes. The Grow Ring Map visualization appears to facilitate the identification of clusters and propagation axes in the cases distribution, while the space-time cube appears to be suited for the identification of local temporal trends.

Architecture of solution for panoramic image blurring in GIS project application

Panoramic images captured using laser scanning technologies, which principally produce point clouds, are readily applicable in colorization of point cloud, detailed visual inspection, road defect detection, spatial entities extraction, diverse map creation, etc. This paper underlines the importance of images in modern surveying technologies and different GIS projects at the same time having regard to their anonymization in accordance with law. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the European Union (EU). Namely, it is a legislative requirement that faces of persons and license plates of vehicles in the collected data are blurred. The objective of this paper is to present a novel architecture of the solution for a particular object blurring. The architecture is designed as a pipeline of object detection algorithms that progressively narrows the search space until it detects the objects to be blurred. The methodology was tested on four data sets counting 5000, 10 000, 15 000 and 20 000 panoramic images. The percentage of accuracy, i.e., successfully detected and blurred objects of interest, was higher than 97 % for each data set. Additionally, our aim was to achieve efficiency and broad use.

COMPUTING WATERTIGHT VOLUMETRIC MODELS FROM BOUNDARY REPRESENTATIONS TO ENSURE CONSISTENT TOPOLOGICAL OPERATIONS

To simulate environmental processes, noise, flooding in cities as well as the behaviour of buildings and infrastructure, ‘watertight’ volumetric models are a measuring prerequisite. They ensure topologically consistent 3D models and allow the definition of proper topological operations. However, in many existing city or other geo-information models, topologically unchecked boundary representations are used to store spatial entities. In order to obtain consistent topological models, including their ‘fillings’, in this paper, a triangulation combined with overlay and path-finding methods is presented by climbing up the dimension, beginning with the wireframe model. The algorithms developed for this task are presented, whereby using the philosophy of graph databases and the Property Graph Model. Examples to illustrate the algorithms are given, and experiments are performed on a data-set from Erfurt, Thuringia (Germany), providing complex geometries of buildings. The heavy influence of double precision arithmetic on the results, in particular the positional and angular precision, is discussed in the end.

A Spatiotemporal Prediction Model for Regional Scheduling of Shared Bicycles Based on the INLA Method

Dock-less bicycle-sharing programs have been widely accepted as an efficient mode to benefit health and reduce congestions. And modeling and prediction has always been a core proposition in the field of transportation. Most of the existing demand prediction models for shared bikes take regions as research objects; therefore, a POI-based method can be a beneficial complement to existing research, including zone-level, OD-level, and station-level techniques. Point of interest (POI) is the location description of spatial entities, which can reflect the cycling route characteristics for both commuting and noncommuting trips to a certain extent, and is also the main generating point and attraction point of shared-bike travel flow. In this study, we make an effort to model a POI-level cycling demand with a Bayesian hierarchical method. The proposed model combines the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) and random partial differential equation (SPDE) to cope with the huge computation in the modeling process. In particular, we have adopted the dock-less bicycle-sharing rental records of Mobike as a case study to validate our method; the study area was one of the fastest growing urban districts in Shanghai in August 2016. The operation results show that the method can help better understand, measure, and characterize spatiotemporal patterns of bike-share ridership at the POI level and quantify the impact of the spatiotemporal effect on bicycle-sharing use.

Towards Robust Representations of Spatial Networks Using Graph Neural Networks

The effectiveness of a machine learning model is impacted by the data representation used. Consequently, it is crucial to investigate robust representations for efficient machine learning methods. In this paper, we explore the link between data representations and model performance for inference tasks on spatial networks. We argue that representations which explicitly encode the relations between spatial entities would improve model performance. Specifically, we consider homogeneous and heterogeneous representations of spatial networks. We recognise that the expressive nature of the heterogeneous representation may benefit spatial networks and could improve model performance on certain tasks. Thus, we carry out an empirical study using Graph Neural Network models for two inference tasks on spatial networks. Our results demonstrate that heterogeneous representations improves model performance for down-stream inference tasks on spatial networks.

Architecture of Solution for Panoramic Image Blurring in GIS projects Application

Panoramic images captured using laser scanning technologies, which principally produce point clouds, are readily applicable in colorization of point cloud, detailed visual inspection, road defect detection, spatial entities extraction, diverse maps creation etc. This paper underlines the importance of images in modern surveying technologies and different GIS projects at the same time having regard to their anonymization in accordance with GDPR. Namely, it is a legislative requirement that faces of persons and license plates of vehicles in the collected data are blurred. The objective of this paper is to present a novel architecture of the solution for a particular object blurring. The methodology was tested on four data sets counting 5000, 10 000, 15 000 and 20 000 panoramic images respectively. Percentage of accuracy, i.e. successfully detected and blurred objects of interest, was higher than 97 % for each data set.

Riso-Tree: An Efficient and Scalable Index for Spatial Entities in Graph Database Management Systems

With the ubiquity of spatial data, vertexes or edges in graphs can possess spatial location attributes side by side with other non-spatial attributes. For instance, as of June 2018, the Wikidata knowledge graph contains 48,547,142 data items (i.e., vertexes) and 13% of them have spatial location attributes. The article proposes Riso-Tree, a generic efficient and scalable indexing framework for spatial entities in graph database management systems. Riso-Tree enables the fast execution of graph queries that involve different types of spatial predicates (GraSp queries). The proposed framework augments the classic R-Tree structure with pre-materialized sub-graph entries. The pruning power of R-Tree is enhanced with the sub-graph information. Riso-Tree partitions the graph into sub-graphs based on their connectivity to the spatial sub-regions. The proposed index allows for the fast execution of GraSp queries by efficiently pruning the traversed vertexes/edges based upon the materialized sub-graph information. The experiments show that the proposed Riso-Tree achieves up to two orders of magnitude faster execution time than its counterparts when executing GraSp queries on real graphs (e.g., Wikidata). The strategy of limiting the size of each sub-graph entry ( PN max ) is proposed to reduce the storage overhead of Riso-Tree. The strategy can save up to around 70% storage without harming the query performance according to the experiments. Another strategy is proposed to ensure the performance of the index maintenance (Irrelevant Vertexes Skipping). The experiments show that the strategy can improve performance, especially for slow updates. It proves that Riso-Tree is useful for applications that need to support frequent updates.

Mapping Priority Areas for Apiculture Development with the Use of Geographical Information Systems

Supporting local and central authorities in decision-making processes pertaining to environmental planning requires the adoption of scientific methods and the submission of proposals that could be implemented in practice. Taking into consideration the dual role that honeybees play as honey producers and crop pollinators, the aim of the present study is to identify and utilize a number of indicators and subsequently develop priority thematic maps. Previous research has focused on the determination of, and, on certain occasions, on mapping, priority areas for apiculture development, based mainly on the needs of honeybees, without taking into consideration the pollination needs of crops that are cultivated in these areas. In addition, research so far has been carried out in specific spatial entities, in contrast to the current study, in which the areas to be comparatively assessed are pre-chosen based on their geographical boundaries. The information derived from this process is expected to help decision-makers in local and regional authorities to adopt measures for optimal land use and sound pollination practices in order to enhance apiculture development at a local scale. To achieve this target, the study incorporates literature about the attractiveness of crops and plants to pollinating honeybees as well as the pollination services provided by honeybees, in combination with detailed vegetative land cover data. The local communities of each municipality were comparatively evaluated, by introducing three indicators through numerical and spatial data analysis: Relative Attractiveness Index (RAI), Relative Dependence Index (RDI), and Relative Priority Index (RPI). Based on these indicators, attractiveness, dependence, and priority maps were created and explained in detail. We suggest that a number of improvement measures that will boost pollination or honey production or both should be taken by decision-makers, based on the correlations between the aforementioned indicators and the exanimated areas. In addition, dependence maps can constitute a powerful tool for raising awareness among both the public and the farmers about the value of honeybees in pollination, thus reinforcing bee protection efforts undertaken globally. Attractiveness maps that provide a thorough picture of the areas that are sources of pollen and nectar can serve as a general guide for the establishment of hives in areas with high potential for beekeeping.