Main goals
The objective of the GiMoDig project is to develop and test methods for delivering geospatial data to a mobile user by means of real-time data-integration and generalisation. The project aims at the creation of a seamless data service providing access, through a common interface, to the primary topographic geo-databases maintained by the National Mapping Agencies (NMAs) in various countries. A special emphasis will be put on providing appropriately generalised map data to the user depending on a mobile terminal with limited display capabilities.
System architecture
Sub-objectives
The sub-objectives of the project are:
- Development of methods and usage practices for generalising the graphic representation of geospatial data in real-time, to be suited for display of the data in varying scales on small, mobile devices with different display resolutions.
- Investigating the problems between national primary geospatial databases, often mutually heterogeneous in thematic definitions, and developing means for real-time harmonisation of data.
- Analysis of mobile use cases to adapt real-time generalisation and harmonisation of geospatial data to the requirements of a user in varying usage situations.
- Development of methods for real-time transformation of spatial data from different national geo-databases to a common, EUREF-based co-ordinate system.
- Investigating and developing methods for transferring vector-formatted spatial data to a mobile user using emerging standards, like XML, and testing the applicability of the standards for Web-based spatial services in a international pilot project involving national primary geodata sets.
- Development and implementation of a prototype system that can be used as a test-bed for the developed methods.
Scientific aims
The scientific aims of the project lay on the development of methods for real-time generalisation of spatial data - a field of science so far not extensively researched, but becoming increasingly critical in the modern networked society where up-to-date databases are to be directly accessed by consumers using a widely varying set of terminal devices. The spatial datasets in the GiMoDig project will be served in an XML-based vector format to facilitate flexible data integration and processing by other parties in the higher levels of the value chain. Therefore, a specific goal in the research on generalisation is to employ XML-based computing technologies in the process.Expected results
The GiMoDig project can be seen as a case study, covering a representative subset of EC nations, yielding results that would be readily adaptable into the whole Europe. The main practical result of the project is a prototype of a cross-border spatial data service providing access through a common interface, conformant with international spatial Web standards, into the primary national geo-databases. The provision of a standards-compliant service will promote creation of third-party, value-added mobile information services needed in the position-dependent applications, like traffic guidance, rescue operation management and personal navigation. The GiMoDig project thus aims at facilitating efficient use of the extensive amount of resources invested in the creation of nation-wide topographic databases, and at the same time advancing the exploitation of the multimedia-capabilities available in the technically advanced telecommunication networks in Europe.