Web mapping techniques applied to the visualization of ESA satellite products

Today, interactive maps are gaining popularity and are used by both specialists and ordinary users in various fields of science and technology. However, the development of the theoretical base of web cartography and the development of interactive maps lags significantly behind the practical component. Moreover, a systematization of the principles of user-centered design in the field of web mapping is necessary. The aim of this work is to create a methodical framework that can be universal for most interactive web map development projects. The creation of the framework is based on the established scheme of interactive web maps development, the ideas of user-oriented design, as well as on the personal experience of the authors in the development of interactive web maps. The methodical framework covers the following aspects: the need for interactivity of web maps, accessibility on various devices, the dimensional aspect of a map, data structuring, the choice of elements of interaction, the need of usage of third-party maps, multilinguality, the ability to upload user-generated content, the need to create animations, and the choice of the base software. The developed framework helps to form the determining part of the conception of an interactive web map, which is a fundamental step in the proposed process of a web map development. Moreover, the framework facilitates the process of creating interactive web maps and opens up new possibilities and development methods for specialists in web cartography. The authors, using the interactive web map dedicated to the World Heritage Site “Struve Geodetic Arc”, which was developed by them, as an example, clearly demonstrated the conceptual development process based on the methodical framework. The terminology is considered and a new definition of an interactive web map is given.

Take open source GeoWebCache tile map service middleware as an example, through analysis of its basic principle and system architecture, this paper give three optimization strategies which are tile spatial index, extension mechanism and the deployment strategy. Finally, we make a performance comparison between GeoWebCache and traditional OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium, OGC) standard WMS(Web Map Service). Our experimental results show that the average response time of GeoWebCache reduced by 36% than sending WMS request to WMS server directly. The study shows that GeoWebCache middleware has important application value both in improving traditional WebGIS performance and in upgrading existing legacy systems.

The research reported here is motivated by the now ubiquitous nature of web mapping services that provide remotely sensed imagery as a basemap option. Despite the popularity of imagery basemaps, few strategies have been suggested to enhance their readability. Here, we describe a controlled experiment leveraging the eye tracking method to explore the potential of enhancing remotely sensed imagery when used for cartographic presentation. Specifically, 20 participants had their eye movements recorded as they visually searched for areas of interest in either an unmodified image (such as typical in web mapping services) or enhanced image (using image processing routines common to Remote Sensing). By interpreting the eye movement fixations and saccades of participants using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, we found that the image enhancements improved both the effectiveness of and efficiency in identifying areas of interest, particularly those previously concealed in more visually complex areas in the image. The results from this study can be used to improve the readability of web maps that employ remotely sensed imagery as the basemap.

• A data service system for the selected SMAP data and its derivative data products over CONUS is developed. • All map and geoprocessing services are implemented via the OGC standard interface. • The data service system is interoperable with web and desktop clients. • Monitoring and analyzing U.S. cropland soil moisture conditions are significantly simplified. Soil moisture is an essential parameter to understand crop conditions throughout the growing season. Collecting soil moisture data by field observation is labor-intensive, especially when attempting to obtain Conterminous United States (CONUS) geographic coverage. In addition, using soil moisture for assessing current and future crop conditions is best realized by combining soil moisture estimates with concurrent observations of crop conditions. However, until recently, this capability has not been available to the public. In this paper, we present an interoperable data service application system, the Crop Condition and Soil Moisture Analytics (Crop-CASMA) system, that facilitates the retrieval, analysis, visualization, and sharing of soil moisture data for the CONUS. This system delivers a variety of satellite remote sensing based data products that are derived from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Level-4 data and SMAP Thermal Hydraulic disaggregation of Soil Moisture (THySM) data, as well as vegetation index data derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations. To make services interoperable and reusable, all data products are disseminated via Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Coverage Service (WCS) interface standards. Additionally, a suite of geoprocessing operations, such as geospatial statistics, time-series profile generation, PDF map production, and image composition, has been implemented in the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) interface standard. The implementation shows the proposed web service system can significantly simplify the mapping and quantitative analysis of soil moisture and crop condition over U.S. cropland. In addition, it is interoperable with GIS software and has been successfully integrated with web-based applications.

Some years ago we used to talk about a very far future, a dream in where people can access to services and information into small devices; in which we can accesses to information, make calls, watch videos and surf maps. That far future is not so far, actually the advance of technology involves a more powerful hardware which is day to day is becoming into small devices with big resources [14]. The upcoming development of electronic allows that these devices could be integrated into smart networks [8]; these networks are called Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN; [13]). WSN do not need physical connections, they use communication systems such as ZigBEE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM [7]. Each individual device called moth have autonomous characteristics of communications, storage of data, automatic organization and recovery of the network communication among others that allow the network performs an autonomous work, with the possibility of Internet connection. These characteristic let emerge the so called Internet of Things (IoT), phrase that was coined in the early 1990's, where everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data [1]. Since these days, technology has an exponential advance and now it is possible to find devices that permit earth observations in real time [11,15,4]. All this collected information use cloud and no-cloud storage [3]. These systems allow to store big amounts of data [6], that is collected from devices integrated in the concept of IoT [5] (especially incomes from smartphones, GPS's devices and various earth observation sensors). The analysis of this big data (some of them spatial information) will be helpful in treatment and finding related solutions in specific areas such as public administration, environment, urban services, etc. [12]. Also, the data that at the beginning was depicted like sparse information, it begins to converge into a shape. This shape can be seen like maps that could be paper maps or digital ones- The representation of the information into maps is linked to a wide range of disciplines and the concept is not new but the enhancement that it has reached until now is incredible, especially the digital information given in Internet which could be accessed by electronic devices (smart phones, tablets and computers). E-government services would improve efficiency and consequently citizen's satisfaction due to the implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI, [9]). In order to good development of SDI, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OCG) has an important role. OGC is an international industry consortium of companies, government agencies and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface standards [10]. One of the most popular OGC standards is the Web Map Service (WMS) that allows to show spatial information, considered fundamental for the development of many of the services in the way that a citizen can access to e-government services (e.g., cadastre, [2]) and e-democracy. In this talk, the objective is to introduce some concepts considered essential in the development of the modern society and smart cities. Concepts such as IoT, big data and mapping not only allow the collection or merely visualization of information; these promote the enhancement of access to e-services, also they could be used to face challenges that a good administration of the limited resources implies.

Geographic Information System (GIS) on web mapping form is one of new technology in developing web applications for spatial data processing. This system, is capable of  spatial data and attribute data analyzing, thus it makes user easier in using this information system. Nowadays web mapping technology not only used for spatial problems solving, but also for data analyzing. The use of GIS are in the fields of medical, politic, social, electricity, engineering etc. This research was a development of web based GIS for dissemination funding assistance for school operational ( Bantuan Operasional Sekolah = BOS) which this system was made by map server and chameleon for web mapping application. This GIS in dissemination of BOS funds program produces spatial analyzing as dissemination of BOS funding map.

Chapter 13 - Geographical Information and Map Services

We developed an identifier mapping application for bio-informatics research in Java programming language. It is easy to use and provides many usability functionalities that are expected as essentials for a professional appli-cation. It supports three widely used mapping services and can convert many ids from one source database in-to many target databases at once. Id mapping across service providers is possible by remapping the resultant ids. Because it adheres to the NetBeans platform archi-tecture, it can be incorporated into other NetBeans plat-form applications as an id mapping provider without adaption or modification.Availability: You can access the application at http://ne-on. gachon.ac.kr/idmapper.html.Keywords: ID mapping, java, netbeans, rich client, web services Introduction “-omics” style experiments, such as sequencing, micro-array, and proteomics, generate enormous amounts of data (Kim et al., 2006, Kim et al., 2008). To integrate and analyze the data in various respects, multiple tools are used. Each tool supports its own set of identifiers for genes or gene products. Even though there are widely used identifiers, such as Ensembl (Flicek et al., 2008), NCBI RefSeq (Pruitt et al., 2007), UniProt (The Uniprot Consortium, 2008) and HGNC (Povey et al., 2001), there is no universal identifier. When multiple tools and services are used, identifier conversion prob-lems across multiple databases arise frequently. A small research group can not afford its own mapping service and relies on external services. There exist efforts to reconcile identifiers across multiple source databases, such as the David gene ID conversion tool (Huang et al., 2008), MatchMiner (Bussey et al., 2003), IDconverter (Alibes et al., 2007), Onto- translate (Khatri et al., 2006), PICR (Cote et al., 2007), Synergizer (Brriz et al., 2008), and Biomart (Smedley et al., 2009). Services that are provided in the form of a web page can not be incorporated into other applications easily. Only a few services provide API access for batch map-ping or incorporation into other applications. The Protein Identifier Cross-Reference (PICR) service is a web application that provides interactive and pro-grammatic (SOAP and REST) access to a mapping algo-rithm that uses the UniProt Archive (UniParc) as a data warehouse to offer protein cross-references. The Syner-gizer is a service for translating between sets of bio-logical identifiers. It can, for example, translate Ensembl Gene IDs to Entrez Gene IDs, or IPI IDs to HGNC gene symbols, and much more. The Synergizer works via a web interface (for users who are not programmers) or through a web service (for programmatic access). BioMart is a query-oriented data management system, developed jointly by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and the European Bioinformatics Insti-tute (EBI). It can be accessed via web services and can be adapted for identifier mapping. BridgeDb, though not released publically yet, is an-other attempt at an id mapping framework for bio-informatics applications. BridgeDb lets one add the fol-lowing capabilities quickly and easily: translate identi-fiers from one system to another, search references by id or symbol, and link out to online information for an identifier. Applications, such as the PathVisio pathway analysis tool, WikiPathways, CyThesaurus Cytoscape plug-in, and the NetworkMerge Cytoscape plug-in, are utilizing functionalities provided by BridgeDB.

Web map service is a new map service mode actualized by the use of internet technology, computer technology and GIS technology. This article applies Web map service to the release of land use information, and tries to use Google Maps API and XML to build a network release system of regional land use information. The system integrates Google Maps data and user data effectively, carries out the display and management of land use information, and has a powerful public participation function. This study shows that Web map service based on Google Maps API and XML can play an important role in the release of land use information, which is also important in the information-based construction of land resources.

A neural network based intelligent system for tile prefetching in web map services

The Web Map Server Implementation Specification (WMS), originally developed and published by the Open Geospatial Consortium, was finally adopted by ISO as an international standard. According to this standard maps are presented either in picture formats or formats. While the pictorial (visual) representation uses raster formats, graphic element formats include Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) or Web Computer Graphics Metafile (WebCGM) format. In this paper a framework for supporting Web Map Services using SVG will be presented. Geo-data, converted to SVG, is stored in a database management system, retrieved by the WMS server upon user request and transferred - optionally compressed - through the Internet. Finally it is visualized in Web browsers on desktop computes or mobile devices, natively or using plug-ins extending the browser's functionality. Besides supporting the WMS request GetCapabilities, GetMap and GetFeatureInfo requests, additional formats and extensions have been included in this framework. The development proves that open, XML-based standards in combination with modern programming languages and integrated development environments allow rapid implementation of recommendations and standards in geo-informatics.

This paper characterizes the requirements of geographic information systems (GIS) middleware and its components for dynamic registering and discovering of spatial services specifically for collaborative modeling in environmental planning. The paper explores the role of Web services with respect to implementation standard and protocols and identifies implementation features for exposing distributed GIS business logic and components via Web services. In particular, the paper illustrates applications of the interoperability specifications of Open GIS Consortium’s (OGC) Web mapping service and (WMS), Web processing standards (WPS) with respect to implementation feature. The paper demonstrates a prototype implementation of collaborative environmental decision support systems (GEO-ELCA- Exploratory Land Use Change Assessment) where Web service-enabled middleware adds core functionality to a Web mapping service. The application demonstrates how individual workspace-based namespaces can be used to perform Web mapping functionality.

This study aims to first analyse the functionality and the services of web map services, and then, to investigate the types of their exploitation that in turn transform the ways in which tourism firms design their business operations and business models. To that end, the paper first defines the concept of web map services and then it analyses their functionality by conducting a thorough literature review related to the field of web services, mapping services, Web 2.0 as well as their impact on the business operations. The paper then adapts Venkatraman's (1994) model on IT-induced transformation in order to identify and classify the different levels and types of exploitation of the functionality of web map services by tourism firms. Examples of web map services' applications from the tourism industry are used for analysing the concept, the business changes and the implementation challenges of each type-level of exploitation of web map services.

Development of a Mobile Mapping Solution for Spatial Data Collection Using Open-Source Technologies

Indoor guidance is becoming a significant issue with the increasing number of buildings. This paper describes an Android based indoor map guidance system that assists and guides visitors inside public buildings (e.g. schools, shopping malls, airports, museums, exhibition centers). It utilizes NFC (Near Field Communication) technology and QR (Quick Response) Codes, which are low cost, to determine the location as well as to provide navigation within the buildings. Also, it provides a variety of helpful features such as finding destination, calculating shortest path, storing car parking location, giving feedback to building management, entering surveys for restaurants and coffee shops, finding nearest toilet and making donation. In addition, the system is bilingual and available in both English and Arabic versions. The developed system relies on a server that contains its web server, map server and spatial database. For wide accessibility, the whole system is developed using open source and freely-available software. For example, (a) the Android SDK is used to develop the client interface, (b) the Apache server is used for the web server, (c) Google sketch up and Quantum GIS are used to draw the floor plans, (d) Postgre SQL/PostGIS is used for spatial database to store the drawn floor plans, and (e) MapServer (MS4W) is used for map server to retrieve and draw the stored floor plans from the spatial database. Thus far, the developed mobile application has been fully evaluated and validated for use in a smart campus environment, which has been encapsulated in a test case study delineated herein.