Semantic Granularity in Ontology-Driven Geographic Information Systems

  • Authors:

  • Frederico Fonseca;Max Egenhofer;Clodoveu Davis;Gilberto Câmara

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA E-mail: fredfonseca@ist.psu.edu;National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis and Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5711, USA E-mail: max@spatial.ma ...;Prodabel – Empresa de Informática e Informação do Município de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte MG Brazil E-mail: clodoveu@pbh.gov.br;National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Image Processing Division – Brazil E-mail: gilberto@dpi.inpe.br

  • Venue:
  • Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

The integration of information of different kinds, such as spatial and alphanumeric at different levels of detail, is a challenge. While a solution is not reached, it is widely recognized that the need to integrate information is so pressing that it does not matter if detail is lost, as long as integration is achieved. This paper shows the potential for information retrieval at different levels of granularity inside the framework of information systems based on ontologies. Ontologies are theories that use a specific vocabulary to describe entities, classes, properties and functions related to a certain view of the world. The use of an ontology, translated into an active information system component, leads to ontology-driven information systems and, in the specific case of GIS, leads to what we call ontology-driven geographic information systems.