Deriving topological relations between regions from direction relations

The integration of topological and direction relations plays an important role in many applications, like spatial databases and pictorial retrieval systems. The method for deriving composition of binary topological relations cannot always yield unique or interesting results. Therefore, to integrate efficiently topological and direction relations, some new mechanisms are required to derive topological relations from direction cases when the above situations occur. This paper presents the computation methods for deriving topological relations from direction relations. The methods fall into two categories: the derivation of topological relations from one direction relation and two direction relations. Our methods can provide topological information when topological relations are unavailable, or more precise results are expected. Thus they are helpful in the integration of the calculi for topological and direction relations.     

A model for describing and composing direction relations between overlapping and contained regions

Current models of direction relations are not designed to describe direction information inside the Minimum Bounding Rectangle (MBR) of a reference region. Thus, the direction relations between overlapping and contained regions cannot be effectively described and derived. To resolve this problem, a new model of direction relations, namely interior-boundary direction relations, is proposed in this study to describe direction concepts relative to the interior or boundary of a region, such as “east part of a region”, “west border of a region”, “a line goes through east part of a region”, and etc. By combining the interior and exterior direction relations, three types of compositions of direction relations are investigated: (1) composing two interior direction relations which can be used to derive the interior or exterior direction relations between two regions with the same parent region; (2) composing an interior direction relation with an exterior direction relation; and (3) composing an interior with an exterior direction relation. The results indicate that the new interior-boundary direction relations and its compositions with exterior direction relations are powerful in describing and deriving direction relations between overlapped and contained regions.     

A semantics for Fuzzy Logic

 We present a semantics for certain Fuzzy Logics of vagueness by identifying the fuzzy truth value an agent gives to a proposition with the number of independent arguments that the agent can muster in favour of that proposition. Received: 25 February 1997 / Accepted: 12 March 1997     

Modeling and computing ternary projective relations between regions

Current spatial database systems offer limited querying capabilities beyond binary topological relations. This paper introduces a model for projective relations between regions to support other qualitative spatial queries. The relations are ternary because they are based on the collinearity invariant of three points under projective geometry. The model is built on a partition of the plane into separate zones that are obtained from projective properties of two reference objects: then, by considering the empty/nonempty intersections of a primary object with these zones, the model is able to distinguish between 34 different projective relations. Then, the paper proposes original algorithms for computing the relations under the assumption that regions of the plane are stored as vector polygons in a spatial database. These algorithms run in optimal O(nlogn) time.     

Composing cardinal direction relations

We study the recent proposal of Goyal and Egenhofer who presented a model for qualitative spatial reasoning about cardinal directions. Our approach is formal and complements the presentation of Goyal and Egenhofer. We focus our efforts on the composition operator for two cardinal direction relations. We consider two interpretations of the composition operator: consistency-based and existential composition. We point out that the only published method to compute the consistency-based composition does not always work correctly. Then, we consider progressively more expressive classes of cardinal direction relations and give consistency-based composition algorithms for these classes. Our theoretical framework allows us to prove formally that our algorithms are correct. When we consider existential composition, we demonstrate that the binary relation resulting from the composition of two cardinal direction relations cannot be expressed using the relations defined by Goyal and Egenhofer. Finally, we discuss some extensions to the basic model and consider the composition problem for these extensions.     

描述定性方向关系的复合表达模型

目的：由于锥形模型和方向关系矩阵模型没有很好地顾及目标的形状、大小和距离等对方向关系的影响,导致方向关系判断在许多情况下出现错误。鉴于此,通过锥形模型与方向关系矩阵模型的相互结合,提出一种复合表达模型,以克服二者的不足,从而更好地描述两目标之间的定性方向关系。方法：首先,利用锥形模型的锥形方向区域和方向关系矩阵模型中对应的矩形方向区域之间的几何运算,对各方向区域重新进行划分,构造出复合表达模型;然后,通过计算源目标与复合表达模型各方向区域之间的交,得到源目标相对于参考目标的定性方向关系,并将结果以矩阵的形式进行保存。结果：实验表明,复合表达模型有效地避免了锥形模型与方向关系矩阵模型存在的缺陷。结论：该模型能够对两目标之间的定性方向关系进行准确地描述,可以为空间推理与空间查询提供较好的支持。     

空间方向关系形式化描述研究进展

空间方向关系的表示与建模作为空间方向关系领域的一个基础性问题,近年来逐渐成为地理信息系统、空间数据库和人工智能等领域研究的热点和难点并取得了一系列研究成果。从二维空间精确对象方向关系模型、三维空间对象方向关系模型、模糊空间方向关系模型等几个方面全面地综述了空间方向关系形式化描述的研究进展, 并对各种模型进行了对比与分析,指出了它们的优势与不足。最后明确指出三维空间方向关系和模糊空间方向关系建模是未来工作的重点,特别是三维模糊对象方向关系的研究是未来空间方向关系研究的重中之重,并指出进一步研究中几个迫切需要解决的关键问题。     

ITL semantics of composite Petri nets

interval temporal logic (itl) and Petri nets are two well developed formalisms for the specification and analysis of concurrent systems. itl allows one to specify both the system design and correctness requirements within the same logic based on intervals (sequences of states). As a result, verification of system properties can be carried out by checking that the formula describing a system implies the formula describing a requirement. Petri nets, on the other hand, have action and local state based semantics which allows for a direct expression of causality aspects in system behaviour. As a result, verification of system properties can be carried out using partial order reductions or invariant based techniques. In this paper, we investigate a basic semantical link between temporal logics and compositionally defined Petri nets. In particular, we aim at providing a support for the verification of behavioural properties of Petri nets using methods and techniques developed for itl.     

点物体主方向关系的一致性检验

一致性检验问题是主方向关系推理中非常重要的基础理论问题,提出了一种利用欧几里德空间坐标图实施一致性检验的新方法。首先对研究的问题进行了定义,阐述了方向关系的坐标图表示方法,从而使得对点物体方向关系约束集的一致性检验就转化为检测图中是否存在环的问题,通过一致性判定、环的检测、实施方法这3个环节来具体实现。其算法的时间复杂度是O（n+e）,优于传统的O（n²）     

A family of syntactic logical relations for the semantics of Haskell-like languages

Logical relations are a fundamental and powerful tool for reasoning about programs in languages with parametric polymorphism. Logical relations suitable for reasoning about observational behavior in polymorphic calculi supporting various programming language features have been introduced in recent years. Unfortunately, the calculi studied are typically idealized, and the results obtained for them offer only partial insight into the impact of such features on observational behavior in implemented languages. In this paper we show how to bring reasoning via logical relations closer to bear on real languages by deriving results that are more pertinent to an intermediate language for the (mostly) lazy functional language Haskell like GHC Core. To provide a more fine-grained analysis of program behavior than is possible by reasoning about program equivalence alone, we work with an abstract notion of relating observational behavior of computations which has among its specializations both observational equivalence and observational approximation. We take selective strictness into account, and we consider the impact of different kinds of computational failure, e.g., divergence versus failed pattern matching, because such distinctions are significant in practice. Once distinguished, the relative definedness of different failure causes needs to be considered, because different orders here induce different observational relations on programs (including the choice between equivalence and approximation). Our main contribution is the construction of an entire family of logical relations, parameterized over a definedness order on failure causes, each member of which characterizes the corresponding observational relation. Although we deal with properties very much tied to types, we base our results on a type-erasing semantics since this is more faithful to actual implementations.     

Computing and managing cardinal direction relations

Qualitative spatial reasoning forms an important part of the commonsense reasoning required for building intelligent geographical information systems (GIS). Previous research has come up with models to capture cardinal direction relations for typical GIS data. In this paper, we target the problem of efficiently computing the cardinal direction relations between regions that are composed of sets of polygons and present two algorithms for this task. The first of the proposed algorithms is purely qualitative and computes, in linear time, the cardinal direction relations between the input regions. The second has a quantitative aspect and computes, also in linear time, the cardinal direction relations with percentages between the input regions. Our experimental evaluation indicates that the proposed algorithms outperform existing methodologies. The algorithms have been implemented and embedded in an actual system, CARDIRECT, that allows the user to 1) specify and annotate regions of interest in an image or a map, 2) compute cardinal direction relations between them, and 3) pose queries in order to retrieve combinations of interesting regions.     

一种基于真实物体的主方向关系的合成算法

使用基于真实物体的方向关系模型,通过一系列的定义和定理,研究了一种基于真实物体的主方向关系的合成方法。在此基础上,提出了一种新的合成算法,该算法能够更有效地合成真实物体间更为复杂的主方向关系。     

Approximate analysis of binary topological relations between geographic regions with indeterminate boundaries

 The development of formal models of spatial relations is a topic of great importance in spatial reasoning, geographic information systems (GIS) and computer vision, and has gained much attention from researchers across these research areas during the past two decades. In recent years significant achievements have been made on the development of models of spatial relations between spatial objects with precisely defined boundaries. However, these models cannot be directly applied to spatial objects with indeterminate boundaries which are found in many applications in geographic analysis and image understanding. This article develops a method for approximately analyzing binary topological relations between geographic regions with indeterminate boundaries based upon previous work on topological spatial relations and fuzzy sets. In addition, examples are given to demonstrate the method and related concepts. It is shown that the eight binary topological relations between regions in a two-dimensional space can be easily determined by the method.     

Fuzzy relations and fuzzy groups

Given a group S, we consider fuzzy relations on S, that is, maps from S × S into [0,1]. Of particular interest is to investigate conditions under which the fuzzy relation becomes a fuzzy subgroup on S × S. We prove that if σ is a fuzzy subset of S and μ_σ is the strongest fuzzy relation on S that is a fuzzy relation on σ, then μ_σ is a fuzzy subgroup if and only if σ is a fuzzy subgroup. A number of other results are obtained about the interrelationships between fuzzy relations on S (including the weakest fuzzy relation) and fuzzy subgroups on S × S.     

Decentralized querying of topological relations between regions monitored by a coordinate-free geosensor network

Geosensor networks present unique resource constraints to spatial computation, including limited battery power, communication constraints, and frequently a lack of coordinate positioning systems. As a result, there is a need for new algorithms that can efficiently satisfy basic spatial queries within those resource constraints. This paper explores the design and evaluation of a family of new algorithms for determining the topological relations between regions monitored by such a resource-constrained geosensor network. The algorithms are based on efficient, decentralized (in-network) variants of conventional 4-intersection and intersection and difference models, with in-network data aggregation. Further, our algorithms operate without any coordinate information, making them suitable applications where a positioning system is unavailable or unreliable. While all four algorithms are shown to have overall communication complexity O(n) and optimal load balance O(1), the algorithms differ in the level of topological detail they can detect; the types of regions they can monitor; and in the constant factors for communication complexity. The paper also demonstrates the impact of finite granularity observations on the correctness of the query results. In the conclusions, we identify the need to conduct further fundamental research on the relationship between topological relations between regions and limited granularity sensor observations of those regions.     

The connection between an event structure semantics and an operational semantics forTCSP

The relation between an operational interleaving semantics forTSCP based on a transition system and a compositional true concurrency semantics based on event structures is studied. In particular we extend the consistency result of Goltz and Loogan [15] forTCSP processes without recursion to the general case. Thus we obtain for everyTCSP processP that its operational meaningO(P) and the interleaving behaviourO( M3P3) which is derived from the event structureM3P3 associated withP are bisimilar.     

Fuzzy modifiers based on fuzzy relations

In this paper we introduce a new type of fuzzy modifiers (i.e. mappings that transform a fuzzy set into a modified fuzzy set) based on fuzzy relations. We show how they can be applied for the representation of weakening adverbs (more or less, roughly) and intensifying adverbs (very, extremely) in the inclusive and the non-inclusive interpretation. We illustrate their use in an approximate reasoning scheme.     

Fuzzy relations and fuzzy relational databases

This paper deals with the connections existing between fuzzy set theory and fuzzy relational databases. Our new result dealing with fuzzy relations is how to calculate the greatest lower bound (glb) of two similarity relations. Our main contributions in fuzzy relational databases are establishing from fuzzy set theory what a fuzzy relational database should be (the result is both surprising and elegant), and making fuzzy relational databases even more robust.Our work in fuzzy relations and in fuzzy databases had led us into other interesting problems—two of which we mention in this paper. The first is primarily mathematical, and the second provides yet another connection between fuzzy set theory and artificial intelligence. In understanding similarity relations in terms of other fuzzy relations and in making fuzzy databases more robust, we work with closure and interior operators; we present some important properties of these operators. In establishing the connection between fuzzy set theory and artificial intelligence, we show that an abstraction on a set is in fact a partition on the set; that is, an abstraction defines an equivalence relation on the underlying set.     

Modeling semantics in composite Web service requests by utility elicitation

When meeting the challenges in automatic and semi-automatic Web service composition, capturing the user’s service demand and preferences is as important as knowing what the services can do. This paper discusses the idea of semantic service requests for composite services, and presents a multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) based model of composite service requests. Service requests are modeled as user preferences and constraints. Two preference structures, additive independence and generalized additive independence, are utilized in calculating the expected utilities of service composition outcomes. The model is also based on an iterative and incremental scheme meant to better capture requirements in accordance with service consumers’ needs. OWL-S markup vocabularies and associated inference mechanism are used as a means to bring semantics to service requests. Ontology conceptualizations and language constructs are added to OWL-S as uniform representations of possible aspects of the requests. This model of semantics in service requests enables unambiguous understanding of the service needs and more precise generation of the desired compositions. An application scenario is presented to illustrate how the proposed model can be applied in the real business world. Qianhui Althea Liang received her Ph.D from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida in 2004. While pursuing her Ph.D, she was a member of Database Systems Research and Development Center at the University of Florida. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, China. She joined the School of Information Systems at Singapore Management University, Singapore, as an assistant professor in 2005. Her major research interests are service composition, dynamic service discovery, multimedia Web services, and applied artificial intelligence. Jen-Yao Chung received the M.S. and Ph.D degrees in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, he is the senior manager for Engineering and Technology Services Innovation, where he was responsible for identifying and creating emergent solutions. He was Chief Technology Officer for IBM Global Electronics Industry. Before that, he was program director for IBM Institute for Advanced Commerce Technology office. He is the co-founder of IEEE technical committee on e-Commerce (TCEC). He has served as general chair and program chair for many international conferences, most recently he served as the steering committee chair for the IEEE International Conference on e-Commerce Technology (CEC06) and general chair for the IEEE International Conference on e-Business Engineering (ICEBE06). He has authored or coauthored over 150 technical papers in published journals or conference proceedings. He is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of ACM. Miller is founding Dean of the School of Information Systems (SIS) at Singapore Management University, and also serves as Practice Professor of Information Systems. Since 2003, he has led efforts to launch and establish the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of the SIS. Immediately prior to joining SMU, Dr. Miller served as Chief Architect Executive for the Business Consulting Services unit of IBM Global Services in Asia Pacific. He held prior industry appointments with Fujitsu Network Systems, and with RWD Technologies. Dr. Miller started his professional career as an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, conducting research and teaching related to Computer-Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics applications and impacts. He has a Bachelors of Engineering Degree in Systems Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Science in Statistics and a Ph.D in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.