@proceedings{COSIT_WS2017proceedings,
address = {Cham},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-63946-8},
editor = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and Ballatore, Andrea and Clementini, Eliseo},
isbn = {978-3-319-63945-1},
issn = {1863-2351},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
series = {Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography},
title = {{Proceedings of Workshops and Posters at the 13th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT 2017)}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-63946-8},
year = {2018}
}

@book{Clementini2017,
abstract = {LIPIcs, Volume 86, COSIT'17, Complete Volume},
author = {Clementini, Eliseo and Donnelly, Maureen and Yuan, May and Kray, Christian and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Ballatore, Andrea},
booktitle = {Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics},
file = {:Users/tremity/Library/Application Support/Mendeley Desktop/Downloaded/Clementini et al. - 2017 - 13th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT 2017).pdf:pdf},
isbn = {9783959770439},
issn = {1868-8969},
publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum fuer Informatik},
title = {{13th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT 2017)}},
url = {http://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2017/7908/},
volume = {86},
year = {2017}
}

LIPIcs, Volume 86, COSIT'17, Complete Volume

@inproceedings{Hoebel2016deriving_footprints,
abstract = {The characterization of place and its representation in current Geographic Information System (GIS) has become a prominent research topic. This paper focus on places that are cognitive regions and presents a computational framework to derive the geographic footprint of these regions. The main idea is to use Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to identify unique geographic features from User Generated Content (UGC) sources consisting of textual descriptions of places. These features are used to detect on a map an initial area that the descriptions refer to. A semantic representation of this area is extracted from a GIS and passed over to a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm that locates other areas according to semantic similarity. As a case study, we employ the proposed framework to derive the geographic footprint of the historic center of Vienna and validate the results by comparing},
author = {Hobel, Heidelinde and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Frank, Andrew U},
booktitle = {International Conference on Geographic Information Science (AGILE 2016), Helsinki (Finland)},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-33783-8_5},
editor = {Sarjakoski, Tapani and Santos, Maribel Yasmina and Sarjakoski, Tiina},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2016.Agile/Heidi/pre-proofreading/GeoFootprintCognitiveRegions{\_}pre{\_}proofreading.pdf:pdf},
pages = {67--84},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography},
title = {{Deriving the Geographic Footprint of Cognitive Regions}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-33783-8{\_}5},
year = {2016}
}

The characterization of place and its representation in current Geographic Information System (GIS) has become a prominent research topic. This paper focus on places that are cognitive regions and presents a computational framework to derive the geographic footprint of these regions. The main idea is to use Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to identify unique geographic features from User Generated Content (UGC) sources consisting of textual descriptions of places. These features are used to detect on a map an initial area that the descriptions refer to. A semantic representation of this area is extracted from a GIS and passed over to a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm that locates other areas according to semantic similarity. As a case study, we employ the proposed framework to derive the geographic footprint of the historic center of Vienna and validate the results by comparing

@article{Fogliaroni2016qualitative_config_search,
abstract = {Current Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lack, to a large extent, support for spatial searches in which a user wants to find a configuration of objects described in qualitative terms. At the database level, these searches can be supported by providing new spatial operators that can capture the semantics of the qualitative spatial relations used in the description and by developing resolution strategies tailored for queries including these operators. We suggest a technical approach to include an open number of qualitative spatial relations in GIS and discuss a processing workflow leading from a qualitative spatial description to a database query and to the search result. We present and empirically evaluate a resolution strategy for these queries that is based on hypergraph matching and that exploits their semantic and structural characteristics. Finally, we envision some realizations of these searches and discuss challenges that relate to the cognitive aspect.},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and Weiser, Paul and Hobel, Heidelinde},
doi = {10.1080/13875868.2016.1203327},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2016.Spatial.Cognition.and.Computation/Qualitative Spatial Relation Queries/full{\_}paper/v7{\_}styled{\_}3nd{\_}and{\_}final{\_}submission/FOGLIARONI-WEISER-HOBEL-QualitativeSpatialConfigurationSearch{\_}revision2.pdf:pdf},
issn = {1387-5868},
journal = {Spatial Cognition {\&} Computation},
month = {oct},
number = {4},
pages = {272--300},
title = {{Qualitative Spatial Configuration Search}},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13875868.2016.1203327},
volume = {16},
year = {2016}
}

Current Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lack, to a large extent, support for spatial searches in which a user wants to find a configuration of objects described in qualitative terms. At the database level, these searches can be supported by providing new spatial operators that can capture the semantics of the qualitative spatial relations used in the description and by developing resolution strategies tailored for queries including these operators. We suggest a technical approach to include an open number of qualitative spatial relations in GIS and discuss a processing workflow leading from a qualitative spatial description to a database query and to the search result. We present and empirically evaluate a resolution strategy for these queries that is based on hypergraph matching and that exploits their semantic and structural characteristics. Finally, we envision some realizations of these searches and discuss challenges that relate to the cognitive aspect.

@inproceedings{Hahn2016context,
abstract = {A natural language interface can improve human-computer interaction with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A prerequisite for this is the mapping of natural language expressions onto spatial queries. Previous mapping approaches, using, for example, fuzzy sets, failed because of the flexible and context-dependent use of spatial terms. Context changes the interpretation drastically. For example, the spatial relation "near" can be mapped onto distances ranging anywhere from kilometers to centimeters. We present a context-enriched semiotic triangle that allows us to distinguish between multiple interpretations. As formalization we introduce the notation of contextualized concepts that is tied to one context. One concept inherits multiple contextualized concepts such that multiple interpretations can be distinguished. The interpretation for one contextualized concept corresponds to the intention of the spatial term, and is used as input for a spatial query. To demonstrate our computational model, a next generation GIS is envisioned that maps the spatial relation "near" to spatial queries differently according to the influencing context.},
author = {Hahn, Juergen and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Frank, Andrew U and Navratil, Gerhard},
booktitle = {International Conference on Geographic Information Science (AGILE 2016), Helsinki (Finland)},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-33783-8_1},
editor = {Sarjakoski, Tapani and Santos, Maribel Yasmina and Sarjakoski, Tiina},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2016.Agile/Jurgen/Context/cameraReady/researchgateVersion.pdf:pdf},
pages = {3--19},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography},
title = {{A Computational Model for Context and Spatial Concepts}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-33783-8{\_}1},
year = {2016}
}

A natural language interface can improve human-computer interaction with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A prerequisite for this is the mapping of natural language expressions onto spatial queries. Previous mapping approaches, using, for example, fuzzy sets, failed because of the flexible and context-dependent use of spatial terms. Context changes the interpretation drastically. For example, the spatial relation "near" can be mapped onto distances ranging anywhere from kilometers to centimeters. We present a context-enriched semiotic triangle that allows us to distinguish between multiple interpretations. As formalization we introduce the notation of contextualized concepts that is tied to one context. One concept inherits multiple contextualized concepts such that multiple interpretations can be distinguished. The interpretation for one contextualized concept corresponds to the intention of the spatial term, and is used as input for a spatial query. To demonstrate our computational model, a next generation GIS is envisioned that maps the spatial relation "near" to spatial queries differently according to the influencing context.

@inproceedings{Hoebel2016place_semantics,
abstract = {Next generation Geographic Information Systems should support place-based searches. The notion of place is a vague concept that strictly relates to human conceptualization of space. We regard places as cognitive regions affording activity opportunities and present a computational workflow to populate the model with information from User Generated Content available on the Web. An algorithmic realization is provided that relies on the Resource Description Framework along with a real example derived by an implementation of the workflow that relies on OpenStreetMap and TripAdvisor data.},
author = {H{\"{o}}bel, Heidi and Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {International Conference on Geographic Information Science (AGILE 2016 - Short Paper), Helsinki (Finland)},
editor = {Sarjakoski, Tapani and Santos, Maribel Yasmina and Sarjakoski, Tiina},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2016.Agile/Heidi/Extracting Semantics of Places from User Generated Content/182{\_}Paper{\_}in{\_}PDF.pdf:pdf},
publisher = {Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe},
series = {AGILE},
title = {{Extracting Semantics of Places from User Generated Content}},
url = {https://agile-online.org/Conference{\_}Paper/cds/agile{\_}2016/shortpapers/182{\_}Paper{\_}in{\_}PDF.pdf},
year = {2016}
}

Next generation Geographic Information Systems should support place-based searches. The notion of place is a vague concept that strictly relates to human conceptualization of space. We regard places as cognitive regions affording activity opportunities and present a computational workflow to populate the model with information from User Generated Content available on the Web. An algorithmic realization is provided that relies on the Resource Description Framework along with a real example derived by an implementation of the workflow that relies on OpenStreetMap and TripAdvisor data.

@incollection{Fogliaroni2015visibility3D,
abstract = {This paper introduces and formalizes a frame of reference for projective relations in 3D space that can be used to model human visual perception. While in 2D space visibility information can be derived from the concept of collinearity (thus, as ternary relations), in 3D space it can be derived from coplanarity, which calls for quaternary relations. Yet, we can retain ternary relations by anchoring our frame to an ubiquitous reference element: a general sense of vertical direction that, on Earth, can be the expression of gravity force or, in other cases, of the asymmetries of an autonomous agent, either human or robotic, that is, its vertical axis. Based on these observations, the presented frame of reference can be used to model projective and visibility information as ternary relations. Granularity and complexity of the models can be adjusted: we present two differently detailed realizations and discuss possible applications in Geographic Information Systems.},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and Clementini, Eliseo},
booktitle = {3D Geoinformation Science},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-12181-9_15},
editor = {Breunig, Martin and Al-Doori, Mulhim and Butwilowski, Edgar and Kuper, Paul V and Benner, Joachim and Haefele, Karl Heinz},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2014.3D Geoinfo/preprint/preprint.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-3-319-12180-2},
pages = {243--258},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
series = {Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography},
title = {{Modeling Visibility in 3D Space: A Qualitative Frame of Reference}},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12181-9{\_}15 http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-12181-9{\_}15},
year = {2015}
}

This paper introduces and formalizes a frame of reference for projective relations in 3D space that can be used to model human visual perception. While in 2D space visibility information can be derived from the concept of collinearity (thus, as ternary relations), in 3D space it can be derived from coplanarity, which calls for quaternary relations. Yet, we can retain ternary relations by anchoring our frame to an ubiquitous reference element: a general sense of vertical direction that, on Earth, can be the expression of gravity force or, in other cases, of the asymmetries of an autonomous agent, either human or robotic, that is, its vertical axis. Based on these observations, the presented frame of reference can be used to model projective and visibility information as ternary relations. Granularity and complexity of the models can be adjusted: we present two differently detailed realizations and discuss possible applications in Geographic Information Systems.

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni2016Encyclopedia,
abstract = {Visibility is the quality of an entity of being visible (i.e., perceivable to the human eye) and the expression of the predominant sense through which the majority of humans cognize space: the sense of sight. From a purely physical perspective, an entity is perceivable to the human eye if it emanates electromagnetic radiations with a wavelength comprised between approximately 400 and 700 nanometers—the so–called visible spectrum. While such a physical property assures the potentiality for an entity to be seen by a human observer, it is not enough to assure that an entity is actually seen. Indeed, the visibility of an entity also depends on the spatial dislocation of the entity itself with respect to a person (more generally another entity) observing a scene. In order to have full visibility on an entity, an observer must have a clear line of sight to the entity; that is, no third opaque entity should lie in between the observer and the observed entity. In this respect, visibility is a derivation of projective relations (Billen and Clementini, 2004, 2005, 2006) among three objects: an observed object (A) is visible from an observer (B) if it does not fall in the cone projected from an obstacle (C) and generated from the half–lines going from B to C.},
address = {Cham},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of GIS},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-23519-6_1541-1},
editor = {Shekhar, Shashi and Xiong, Hui},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2016.EncyclopediaGIS/VisibilityRelations{\_}v2/visibility{\_}relations{\_}submission2.pdf:pdf},
pages = {1--8},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
title = {{Visibility Relations}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-23519-6{\_}1541-1},
year = {2015}
}

Visibility is the quality of an entity of being visible (i.e., perceivable to the human eye) and the expression of the predominant sense through which the majority of humans cognize space: the sense of sight. From a purely physical perspective, an entity is perceivable to the human eye if it emanates electromagnetic radiations with a wavelength comprised between approximately 400 and 700 nanometers—the so–called visible spectrum. While such a physical property assures the potentiality for an entity to be seen by a human observer, it is not enough to assure that an entity is actually seen. Indeed, the visibility of an entity also depends on the spatial dislocation of the entity itself with respect to a person (more generally another entity) observing a scene. In order to have full visibility on an entity, an observer must have a clear line of sight to the entity; that is, no third opaque entity should lie in between the observer and the observed entity. In this respect, visibility is a derivation of projective relations (Billen and Clementini, 2004, 2005, 2006) among three objects: an observed object (A) is visible from an observer (B) if it does not fall in the cone projected from an obstacle (C) and generated from the half–lines going from B to C.

@inproceedings{Hoebel2015urban_settings,
abstract = {Recent years have witnessed a growing production of Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI). This led to the general availability of semantically rich datasets, allowing for novel ways to understand, analyze or generalize urban areas. This paper presents an approach that exploits this semantic richness to extract urban settings, i.e., conceptually–uniform geographic areas with respect to certain activities. We argue that urban settings are a more accurate way of generalizing cities, since it more closely models human sense–making of urban spaces. To this end, we formalized and implemented a semantic region growing algorithm—a modification of a standard image segmentation procedure. To evaluate our approach, shopping areas of two European capital cities (Vienna and London) were extracted from an OpenStreetMap dataset. Finally, we explored the use of our approach to search for urban settings (e.g., shopping areas) in one city, that are similar to a setting in another.},
author = {Hobel, Heidelinde and Abdalla, Amin and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Frank, Andrew U},
booktitle = {Geographic Information Science as an Enabler of Smarter Cities and Communities; International Conference on Geographic Information Science (AGILE 2015), Lisbon (Portugal)},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-16787-9_2},
editor = {Bacao, Fernando and Santos, Maribel Yasmina and Painho, Marco},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2015.AGILE/semantic{\_}region{\_}growing/preprint/author.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-3-319-16786-2},
month = {jun},
pages = {19--33},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography},
title = {{A Semantic Region Growing Algorithm: Extraction of Urban Settings}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-16787-9{\_}2},
year = {2015}
}

Recent years have witnessed a growing production of Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI). This led to the general availability of semantically rich datasets, allowing for novel ways to understand, analyze or generalize urban areas. This paper presents an approach that exploits this semantic richness to extract urban settings, i.e., conceptually–uniform geographic areas with respect to certain activities. We argue that urban settings are a more accurate way of generalizing cities, since it more closely models human sense–making of urban spaces. To this end, we formalized and implemented a semantic region growing algorithm—a modification of a standard image segmentation procedure. To evaluate our approach, shopping areas of two European capital cities (Vienna and London) were extracted from an OpenStreetMap dataset. Finally, we explored the use of our approach to search for urban settings (e.g., shopping areas) in one city, that are similar to a setting in another.

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni2015QSRQ,
abstract = {Making Geographic Information Systems (GISs) “intelligent” is a fascinating idea that has challenged the GIScience community for decades and that, over the years, has been tackled from slightly different perspectives. In this paper we discuss the case of equipping GISs with the right tools to understand and address queries posed in a natural fashion from a human being. We discuss how this can be supported via a general type of spatial queries named Qualitative Spatial Relation Queries (QSRQ) that take on qualitative spatial relations formally defined in qualitative spatial calculi. After intuitively defining a QSRQ we present a categorization of them and discuss the complexity of each category. Finally, we outline a processing framework to enable QSRQs in GISs.},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and H{\"{o}}bel, Heidi},
booktitle = {Proceedings of AGILE 2015 International Conference on Geographic Information Science (short paper), Lisbon (Portugal)},
editor = {Bacao, Fernando and Santos, Maribel Yasmina and Painho, Marco},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2015.AGILE-short/Qualitative Spatial Queries{\_}first{\_}submission.pdf:pdf},
month = {jun},
title = {{Implementing Naive Geography via Qualitative Spatial Relation Queries}},
url = {https://agile-online.org/conference{\_}paper/cds/agile{\_}2015/shortpapers/91/91{\_}Paper{\_}in{\_}PDF.pdf},
year = {2015}
}

Making Geographic Information Systems (GISs) “intelligent” is a fascinating idea that has challenged the GIScience community for decades and that, over the years, has been tackled from slightly different perspectives. In this paper we discuss the case of equipping GISs with the right tools to understand and address queries posed in a natural fashion from a human being. We discuss how this can be supported via a general type of spatial queries named Qualitative Spatial Relation Queries (QSRQ) that take on qualitative spatial relations formally defined in qualitative spatial calculi. After intuitively defining a QSRQ we present a categorization of them and discuss the complexity of each category. Finally, we outline a processing framework to enable QSRQs in GISs.

@inproceedings{Mayr2015DB,
abstract = {Modern spatial planning strongly relies on computer systems such as Computer-Aided Design tools (CAD) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These, in turn, depend upon Database Management Systems: complex computer systems designed to optimize data storage and retrieval. In this paper we try to sketch a short survey of current DBMS technologies for the non-expert by overviewing their history, targets, strengths, and weaknesses. The goal is to make the spatial planning community more aware of the present and developing technologies such that future projects started can take advantage of the most suitable technology.},
author = {Mayr, Markus and Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {REAL CORP 2015 - 20th International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society GeoMultimedia},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2015-03 CORP$\backslash$: Databases for Collective Work/mayr{\_}fogliaroni{\_}databases-for-collective-work-m6.pdf:pdf},
title = {{Data-based collaboration on a grand scale}},
url = {http://repository.corp.at/37/},
year = {2015}
}

Modern spatial planning strongly relies on computer systems such as Computer-Aided Design tools (CAD) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These, in turn, depend upon Database Management Systems: complex computer systems designed to optimize data storage and retrieval. In this paper we try to sketch a short survey of current DBMS technologies for the non-expert by overviewing their history, targets, strengths, and weaknesses. The goal is to make the spatial planning community more aware of the present and developing technologies such that future projects started can take advantage of the most suitable technology.

@inproceedings{Navratil2014visibility_analysis,
abstract = {The implementation of a 3D cadastre is work-intensive and expensive and legitimation of such expenses is necessary. A legitimate path of argumentation is that 2D systems fail to communicate complex legal situations correctly. Also, additional arguments can help to strengthen the position of 3D cadastres and provide support from other professions and social groups. The paper is based on a newly developed model for 3D visibility. We discuss the model and how it can be used for two different application areas. The first is the assessment of property value, where the visibility or invisibility of specific objects can have a big impact. The other example is spatial planning. Spatial planning shall guarantee that cities are working economically and socially, that space is not wasted, and that the planned environment meets cognitive requirements. For example, evidences in spatial cognition show that visibility of landmarks is an important topic for tourism and navigation and should thus be addressed.},
author = {Navratil, Gerhard and Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {Proceedings 4th International Workshop on 3D Cadastres, Dubai},
editor = {van Oosterom, Peter and Fendel, Elfriede},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2014.3D cadaster-visibility/preprint.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-87-92853-28-8},
keywords = {3D,Geometrie,Geometry,Sichtbarkeitsanalyse,Value Assessment,Visibility analysis,Wertermittlung},
month = {sep},
pages = {183--196},
publisher = {International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)},
title = {{Visibility Analysis in a 3D Cadastre}},
year = {2014}
}

The implementation of a 3D cadastre is work-intensive and expensive and legitimation of such expenses is necessary. A legitimate path of argumentation is that 2D systems fail to communicate complex legal situations correctly. Also, additional arguments can help to strengthen the position of 3D cadastres and provide support from other professions and social groups. The paper is based on a newly developed model for 3D visibility. We discuss the model and how it can be used for two different application areas. The first is the assessment of property value, where the visibility or invisibility of specific objects can have a big impact. The other example is spatial planning. Spatial planning shall guarantee that cities are working economically and socially, that space is not wasted, and that the planned environment meets cognitive requirements. For example, evidences in spatial cognition show that visibility of landmarks is an important topic for tourism and navigation and should thus be addressed.

@book{GIScience2014,
address = {Wien},
editor = {Stewart, Kathleen and Pebesma, Edzer and Navratil, Gerhard and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Duckham, Matt},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2014.GIScience{\_}proceedings/GIScience2014EA.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-3-901716-42-3},
keywords = {GIS,GIScience,Geography},
publisher = {Department for Geodesy and Geoinformation, Technische Universit{\"{a}}t Wien},
title = {{Extended Abstract Proceedings of the GIScience 2014}},
year = {2014}
}

@inproceedings{Dantonio2014VGI,
author = {D'Antonio, Fausto and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Kauppinen, Tomi},
booktitle = {Connecting a Digital Europe through Location and Place; International Conference on Geographic Information Science (AGILE 2014), Castell{\'{o}}n (Spain)},
editor = {Huerta, Joaquin and Schade, Sven and Granell, Carlos},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2014.AGILE/camera ready/VGI Edit History Reveals Data Trustworthiness and User Reputation.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-90-816960-4-3},
month = {jun},
publisher = {Springer},
title = {{VGI Edit History Reveals Data Trustworthiness and User Reputation}},
year = {2014}
}

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni2013Supp,
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and Navratil, Gerhard},
booktitle = {REAL CORP 2013 - 18th International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society GeoMultimedia},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2013.CORP/CORP2013{\_}fogliaroni{\_}navratil/CORP2013{\_}79.pdf:pdf},
publisher = {CORP},
title = {{Supporting Spatial Planning with Qualitative Configuration Analysis}},
url = {http://www.corp.at/archive/CORP2013{\_}79.pdf},
year = {2013}
}

@inproceedings{Navratil2013Cadastral,
abstract = {Spatial planning shall guarantee that the limited resource land is used efficiently. One problem connected to such a task is the control of the result's quality. In case of spatial planning the question is, whether the proposed usage and the legal framework requirements actually fit the needs of the society. A problem in such an assessment is the time frame. Planning of concrete situations, e.g., of a large bus stop, is implemented quickly and thus feedback can be collected by the people who were doing the planning. The results on strategic development plans, however, may take decades to become visible and thus it is difficult to learn from mistakes or find examples where the planning was successfully implemented. In this paper we propose using the cadastre as a source for feedback on spatial planning. The idea is that the cadastre contains all data to show the effects of spatial planning. However, it does so in a way that is not supporting any feedback. The cadastral data must be rearranged in order to extract the effects of spatial planning. We discuss the information hidden in the cadastral data sets and show some directions for implementation issues.},
author = {Navratil, Gerhard and Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {REAL CORP 2013 - 18th International Conference on Urban Planning and Regional Development in the Information Society GeoMultimedia},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2013.CORP/CORP2013{\_}navratil{\_}fogliaroni/CORP2013{\_}66.pdf:pdf},
publisher = {CORP},
title = {{Cadastral Feedback on Spatial Planning}},
year = {2013}
}

Spatial planning shall guarantee that the limited resource land is used efficiently. One problem connected to such a task is the control of the result's quality. In case of spatial planning the question is, whether the proposed usage and the legal framework requirements actually fit the needs of the society. A problem in such an assessment is the time frame. Planning of concrete situations, e.g., of a large bus stop, is implemented quickly and thus feedback can be collected by the people who were doing the planning. The results on strategic development plans, however, may take decades to become visible and thus it is difficult to learn from mistakes or find examples where the planning was successfully implemented. In this paper we propose using the cadastre as a source for feedback on spatial planning. The idea is that the cadastre contains all data to show the effects of spatial planning. However, it does so in a way that is not supporting any feedback. The cadastral data must be rearranged in order to extract the effects of spatial planning. We discuss the information hidden in the cadastral data sets and show some directions for implementation issues.

@article{Fogliaroni2013Next,
author = {Fogliaroni, P. and Navratil, G},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2013.Geospatial Today/V3/1{\_}Geospatial{\_}Today{\_}Fogliaroni{\_}Navratil{\_}V3.pdf:pdf},
journal = {Geospatial Today (Invited)},
month = {dec},
title = {{Towards Next Generation Information Systems}},
url = {https://www.magzter.com/IN/Gateway-Media-Private-Limited/Geospatial-Today/Science/35499},
year = {2013}
}

@phdthesis{FoglQual2012,
abstract = {For a long time survey, management, and provision of geographic information in Geographic Information Systems (gis) have mainly had an authoritative nature. Today the trend is changing and such an authoritative geographic information source is now accompanied by a public and freely available one which is usually referred to as Volunteered Geographic Information (vgi). Actually, the term vgi does not refer only to the mere geographic information, but, more generally, to the whole process which assumes the engagement of volunteers to collect and maintain such information in freely accessible gis. The quick spread of vgi gives new relevance to a well-known challenge: developing new methods and techniques to ease down the interaction between users and gis. Indeed, in spite of continuous improvements, gis mainly provide interfaces tailored for experts, denying the casual user—usually a non-expert—the possibility to access vgi information. One main obstacle resides in the different ways gis and humans deal with spatial information: gis mainly encode spatial information in a quantitative format, whereas human beings typically prefer a qualitative and relational approach. For example, we use expressions like “the lake is to the right-hand side of the wood” or “is there a supermarket close to the university?” which qualitatively locate a spatial entity with respect to another. Nowadays, such a gap in representation has to be plugged by the user, who has to learn about the system structure and to encode his requests in a form suitable to the system. Contrarily, enabling gis to explicitly deal with qualitative spatial information allows for shifting the translation effort to the system side. Thus, to facilitate the interaction with human beings, gis have to be enhanced with tools for efficiently handling qualitative spatial information. The work presented in this thesis addresses the problem of enabling Qualitative Spatial Configuration Queries (qscqs) in gis. A qscq is a spatial database query which allows for an automatic mapping of spatial descriptions produced by humans: A user naturally expresses his request of spatial information by drawing a sketch map or producing a verbal description. The qualitative information conveyed by such descriptions is automatically extracted and encoded into a qscq. The focus of this work is on two main challenges: First, the development of a framework that allows for managing in a spatial database the variety of spatial aspects that might be enclosed in a spatial description produced by a human. Second, the conception of Qualitative Spatial Access Methods (qsams): algorithms and data structures tailored for efficiently solving qscqs. The main objective of a qsam is that of countering the exponential explosion in terms of storage space—occurring when switching from a quantitative to a qualitative spatial representation—while keeping query response time acceptable.},
address = {Bremen},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2012.Dissertation{\_}Bremen/2012.dissertation{\_}bremen.pdf:pdf},
keywords = {Geographic Information System,Inference Graph,MyQual,PostGIS,PostgreSQL,Qualitative Spatial Configuration Queries,Qualitative Spatial Queries,Qualitative Spatial Representation and Reasoning,Query by Natural Spatial Description,Reasoning,Spatial Access Methods,Volunteered Geographic Information},
school = {Diss., Univ. Bremen},
title = {{Qualitative Spatial Configuration Queries Towards Next Generation Access Methods for GIS}},
url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-00102731-11},
year = {2012}
}

For a long time survey, management, and provision of geographic information in Geographic Information Systems (gis) have mainly had an authoritative nature. Today the trend is changing and such an authoritative geographic information source is now accompanied by a public and freely available one which is usually referred to as Volunteered Geographic Information (vgi). Actually, the term vgi does not refer only to the mere geographic information, but, more generally, to the whole process which assumes the engagement of volunteers to collect and maintain such information in freely accessible gis. The quick spread of vgi gives new relevance to a well-known challenge: developing new methods and techniques to ease down the interaction between users and gis. Indeed, in spite of continuous improvements, gis mainly provide interfaces tailored for experts, denying the casual user—usually a non-expert—the possibility to access vgi information. One main obstacle resides in the different ways gis and humans deal with spatial information: gis mainly encode spatial information in a quantitative format, whereas human beings typically prefer a qualitative and relational approach. For example, we use expressions like “the lake is to the right-hand side of the wood” or “is there a supermarket close to the university?” which qualitatively locate a spatial entity with respect to another. Nowadays, such a gap in representation has to be plugged by the user, who has to learn about the system structure and to encode his requests in a form suitable to the system. Contrarily, enabling gis to explicitly deal with qualitative spatial information allows for shifting the translation effort to the system side. Thus, to facilitate the interaction with human beings, gis have to be enhanced with tools for efficiently handling qualitative spatial information. The work presented in this thesis addresses the problem of enabling Qualitative Spatial Configuration Queries (qscqs) in gis. A qscq is a spatial database query which allows for an automatic mapping of spatial descriptions produced by humans: A user naturally expresses his request of spatial information by drawing a sketch map or producing a verbal description. The qualitative information conveyed by such descriptions is automatically extracted and encoded into a qscq. The focus of this work is on two main challenges: First, the development of a framework that allows for managing in a spatial database the variety of spatial aspects that might be enclosed in a spatial description produced by a human. Second, the conception of Qualitative Spatial Access Methods (qsams): algorithms and data structures tailored for efficiently solving qscqs. The main objective of a qsam is that of countering the exponential explosion in terms of storage space—occurring when switching from a quantitative to a qualitative spatial representation—while keeping query response time acceptable.

@inproceedings{Al-Salman2012,
address = {New York, New York, USA},
author = {Al-Salman, Rami and Dylla, Frank and Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Crowdsourced and Volunteered Geographic Information - GEOCROWD '12},
doi = {10.1145/2442952.2442960},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2012.Geocrowd/p38-al-salman.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {9781450316941},
pages = {38},
publisher = {ACM Press},
title = {{Matching geo-spatial information by qualitative spatial relations}},
url = {http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2442952.2442960},
year = {2012}
}

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni2011,
abstract = {In this paper, we propose an extension of existing geographic infor-mation systems to support querying-by-sketch. It makes use of a particular class of queries, called qualitative spatial configuration queries, to match sketch-maps against spatial datasets. After analyzing several approaches, we identify the devel-opment of a dedicated qualitative layer as the most suitable solution. To face the combinatorial explosion in the number of qualitative relations, we introduce three different strategies to systematically reduce the information to manage. We provide a prototypical implementation for one of them and present empirical results show-ing the gain in performances when applying the implemented reduction strategy over the case when no reduction is performed.},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and {De Felice}, Giorgio and Schmid, Falko and Wallgr{\"{u}}n, Jan Oliver},
booktitle = {An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding and Processing Sketch Maps - COSIT},
file = {:Users/tremity/Library/Application Support/Mendeley Desktop/Downloaded/Fogliaroni et al. - Unknown - Managing Qualitative Spatial Information to Support Query-by-Sketch.pdf:pdf},
keywords = {matching,qualitative spatial configuration queries,qualitative spatial reasoning,query-by-sketch,volunteered geographic information},
title = {{Managing Qualitative Spatial Information to Support Query-by-Sketch}},
url = {https://irtg.ifgi.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2011/07/second{\_}sumission.pdf},
year = {2011}
}

In this paper, we propose an extension of existing geographic infor-mation systems to support querying-by-sketch. It makes use of a particular class of queries, called qualitative spatial configuration queries, to match sketch-maps against spatial datasets. After analyzing several approaches, we identify the devel-opment of a dedicated qualitative layer as the most suitable solution. To face the combinatorial explosion in the number of qualitative relations, we introduce three different strategies to systematically reduce the information to manage. We provide a prototypical implementation for one of them and present empirical results show-ing the gain in performances when applying the implemented reduction strategy over the case when no reduction is performed.

@inproceedings{Tassoni2011_3d_visibility,
abstract = {Visibility information constitutes one of the core foundations underlying a range of spatial information and intelligent (spatial) assistance systems. Driven by the need to model and reason about visibility information within such systems, our work aims to develop a qualitative model of full-scale 3D visibility. We present a preliminary results of the proposed model, and also situate it within the context of past and ongoing work in this area. Our eventual goal is to develop a high-level, declarative framework that will seamlessly allow commonsense, qualitative reasoning about both visibility as well as spatial — topological, orientational, directional — knowledge.},
author = {Tassoni, Sergio and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Bhatt, Mehul and {De Felice}, Giorgio},
booktitle = {25th International Workshop on Qualitative Reasoning (IJCAI 2011)},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2011.IJCAI.QRWorkshop/Toward{\_}a{\_}Qualitative{\_}3D{\_}Visibility{\_}Model.pdf:pdf},
publisher = {(position paper)},
title = {{Toward a Qualitative Model of 3D Visibility}},
year = {2011}
}

Visibility information constitutes one of the core foundations underlying a range of spatial information and intelligent (spatial) assistance systems. Driven by the need to model and reason about visibility information within such systems, our work aims to develop a qualitative model of full-scale 3D visibility. We present a preliminary results of the proposed model, and also situate it within the context of past and ongoing work in this area. Our eventual goal is to develop a high-level, declarative framework that will seamlessly allow commonsense, qualitative reasoning about both visibility as well as spatial — topological, orientational, directional — knowledge.

@inproceedings{hybrid_reasoner_11,
author = {{De Felice}, Giorgio and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Wallgr{\"{u}}n, Jan Oliver},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-23196-4_11},
editor = {Egenhofer, Max and Giudice, Nicholas and Moratz, Reinhard and Worboys, Michael},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2011.COSIT/A Hybrid Geometric-Qualitative Spatial Reasoning System and its Application in GIS.pdf:pdf},
pages = {188--209},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
title = {{A Hybrid Geometric-Qualitative Spatial Reasoning System and Its Application in GIS}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-23196-4{\_}11},
year = {2011}
}

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni10VGI,
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and {De Felice}, Giorgio and Wallgr{\"{u}}n, Jan Oliver},
booktitle = {GIScience 2010 - Role of Volunteered Geographic Information in Advancing Science},
editor = {Bhaduri, Budhendra and Goodchild, Michael and Getman, Daniel},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2010.GIScience/2010.GISCIENCE.A{\_}Qualitative{\_}Perspective{\_}on{\_}Volunteered{\_}Geographic{\_}Information.pdf:pdf},
title = {{A Qualitative Perspective on Volunteered Geographic Information}},
year = {2010}
}

@inproceedings{DeFelice10EnvLearn,
abstract = {We investigate environmental learning and navigation capabilities based on qualitative observations and formal spatial reasoning. Our approach is based on previous work in the area of qualitative navigation (Davis 1983, Schlieder 1993, Wagner et al. 2004) in which a classification of perceptions into qualitative categories is used to derive a decomposition of space leading to a graph-based representation of the environment called topological map. As described in Kuipers (2000), the use of topological map is motivated by a cognitively inspired approach to robot navigation that requires to execute a sequence of local behaviors in order to reach a target position. In Fogliaroni et al. (2009) we described a novel qualitative approach able to explore, navigate and build a topological map of an unknown environment based on a model of visibility between extended objects. We now extend the visibility model into a qualitative spatial calculus to apply qualitative spatial reasoning techniques (Cohn and Hazarika 2001). This allows us to employ formal spatial reasoning to improve map learning and navigation.},
author = {{De Felice}, Giorgio and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Wallgr{\"{u}}n, Jan Oliver},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Geographic Information Science (GIScience 2010)},
editor = {Purves, Ross and Weibel, Robert},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2010.GIScience/Qualitative Reasoning with Visibility Information for Environmental Learning.pdf:pdf},
title = {{Qualitative Reasoning with Visibility Information for Environmental Learning}},
url = {http://www.giscience2010.org/pdfs/paper{\_}158.pdf},
year = {2010}
}

We investigate environmental learning and navigation capabilities based on qualitative observations and formal spatial reasoning. Our approach is based on previous work in the area of qualitative navigation (Davis 1983, Schlieder 1993, Wagner et al. 2004) in which a classification of perceptions into qualitative categories is used to derive a decomposition of space leading to a graph-based representation of the environment called topological map. As described in Kuipers (2000), the use of topological map is motivated by a cognitively inspired approach to robot navigation that requires to execute a sequence of local behaviors in order to reach a target position. In Fogliaroni et al. (2009) we described a novel qualitative approach able to explore, navigate and build a topological map of an unknown environment based on a model of visibility between extended objects. We now extend the visibility model into a qualitative spatial calculus to apply qualitative spatial reasoning techniques (Cohn and Hazarika 2001). This allows us to employ formal spatial reasoning to improve map learning and navigation.

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni09qualitative,
abstract = {In this paper we describe a model for navigation of an autonomous agent in which localization, path planning, and locomotion is performed in a qualitative manner instead of relying on exact coordinates. Our approach is grounded in a decomposition of navigable space based on a novel model of visibility and occlusion relations between extended objects for agents with very limited sensor abilities. A graph representation reflecting the adjacency between the regions of the decomposition is used as a topological map of the environment. The visibility-based representation can be constructed autonomously by the agent and navigation can be performed by simple reactive navigation behaviors. Moreover, the representation is well-qualified to be shared between multiple agents.},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo and Wallgr{\"{u}}n, Jan Oliver and Clementini, Eliseo and Tarquini, Francesco and Wolter, Diedrich},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Spatial information theory},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-03832-7_19},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2009.COSIT/COSIT2009{\_}preprint/paper{\_}preprint.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {3-642-03831-X, 978-3-642-03831-0},
pages = {312--329},
publisher = {Springer-Verlag},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
title = {{A Qualitative Approach to Localization and Navigation Based on Visibility Information}},
url = {http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1789534.1789559 http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-03832-7{\_}19},
year = {2009}
}

In this paper we describe a model for navigation of an autonomous agent in which localization, path planning, and locomotion is performed in a qualitative manner instead of relying on exact coordinates. Our approach is grounded in a decomposition of navigable space based on a novel model of visibility and occlusion relations between extended objects for agents with very limited sensor abilities. A graph representation reflecting the adjacency between the regions of the decomposition is used as a topological map of the environment. The visibility-based representation can be constructed autonomously by the agent and navigation can be performed by simple reactive navigation behaviors. Moreover, the representation is well-qualified to be shared between multiple agents.

@inproceedings{Fogliaroni09HQQGIS,
author = {Fogliaroni, Paolo},
booktitle = {COSIT 09: Doctoral Colloquium},
editor = {Davies, Clare},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2009.COSIT.Doctoral Colloquium/towardsHQQGIS.pdf:pdf},
pages = {123--128},
title = {{Towards a Hybrid Quantitative - Qualitative GIS.}},
year = {2009}
}

@inproceedings{10.1007/978-3-540-74565-5_52,
abstract = {The visibility concept is related to many application fields such as robot navigation, computer graphics and telecommunication systems. In this paper we propose a new qualitative model for visibility relations based on properties of the projective space. Within the model we present a set of seven ternary relations among convex regions. Our model is capable to determine the visibility relation between a primary object A with the respect to a ``region of view'' C and an obstacle B. We developed the reasoning system, which allows the prediction of ternary relations between specific regions.},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
author = {Tarquini, Francesco and {De Felice}, Giorgio and Fogliaroni, Paolo and Clementini, Eliseo},
booktitle = {KI 2007: Advances in Artificial Intelligence},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-540-74565-5_52},
editor = {Hertzberg, Joachim and Beetz, Michael and Englert, Roman},
file = {:Users/tremity/Dropbox/0.CurrentWork/Research(dropbox)/Publications/Published/2007.KR/A Qualitative Model for Visibility Relations.pdf:pdf},
isbn = {978-3-540-74565-5},
pages = {510--513},
publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg},
title = {{A Qualitative Model for Visibility Relations}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-540-74565-5{\_}52},
year = {2007}
}

The visibility concept is related to many application fields such as robot navigation, computer graphics and telecommunication systems. In this paper we propose a new qualitative model for visibility relations based on properties of the projective space. Within the model we present a set of seven ternary relations among convex regions. Our model is capable to determine the visibility relation between a primary object A with the respect to a ``region of view'' C and an obstacle B. We developed the reasoning system, which allows the prediction of ternary relations between specific regions.