INTEGRATION AND ACCESS OF MULTI-SOURCE VECTOR DATA

Abstract

When vector representations of the terrain from different sources are overlaid, the representations do not agree. The disparity can be due to scale, resolution, compilation standards, source accuracy, registration, sensor characteristics, currency, temporality, or errors. Whatever the case, the data do not agree and the user is unsure which data best represents the terrain. This paper concerns two managerial tools that are useful in integrating and validating data from multiple sources. The first tool, called “linking”, integrates the data automatically, while preserving disparities. A second tool, called “Best Map”, assembles the data into a unified whole. Linking is an automated process that forms a correspondence between feature elements in two overlapping vector data sets; these feature elements must correspond spatially and thematically. Linking simply identifies two representations of the same element on the terrain without judging which representation is better. A fundamental tenet of linking is that we do not know the truth. The Best Map is an application that automatically assembles linked data sets into a unified representation. The Best Map application neither destroys the original data nor the links. The schemas of the two data sets are combined into one Common Schema that makes full use of the separate attribution. 1 The work described here reflects work over a number of years and across several programs. Intergraph Corporation has written prototype linking software. Intergraph and Swiftsure Spatial Systems Inc. have written prototype best map software. These software developments have helped us test and refine the ideas presented here.

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