Matt Duckham

Computing increasingly happens somewhere, with that geographic location important to the computational process itself. Many new and evolving spatial technologies, such as geosensor networks and smartphones, embody this trend. Conventional approaches to spatial computing are centralized, and do not account for the inherently decentralized nature of "computing somewhere": the limited, local knowledge of individual system components, and the interaction between those components at different locations. On the other hand, despite being an established topic in distributed systems, decentralized computing is not concerned with geographical constraints to the generation and movement of information. In this context, of (centralized) spatial computing and decentralized (non-spatial) computing, the key question becomes: "What makes decentralized spatial computing special?" In Part I of the book the author covers the foundational concepts, structures, and design techniques for decentralized computing with spatial and spatiotemporal information. In Part II he applies those concepts and techniques to the development of algorithms for decentralized spatial computing, stepping through a suite of increasingly sophisticated algorithms: from algorithms with minimal spatial information about their neighborhoods; to algorithms with access to more detailed spatial information, such as direction, distance, or coordinate location; to truly spatiotemporal algorithms that monitor environments that are dynamic, even using networks that are mobile or volatile. Finally, in Part III the author shows how decentralized spatial and spatiotemporal algorithms designed using the techniques explored in Part II can be simulated and tested. In particular, he investigates empirically the important properties of a decentralized spatial algorithm: its computational efficiency and its robustness to unavoidable uncertainty. Part III concludes with a survey of the opportunities for connecting decentralized spatial computing to ongoing research and emerging hot topics in related fields, such as biologically inspired computing, geovisualization, and stream computing. The book is written for students and researchers of computer science and geographic information science. Throughout the book the author's style is characterized by a focus on the broader message, explaining the process of decentralized spatial algorithm design rather than the technical details. Each chapter ends with review questions designed to test the reader's understanding of the material and to point to further work or research. The book includes short appendices on discrete mathematics and SQL. Simulation models written in NetLogo and associated source code for all the algorithms presented in the book can be found on the author's accompanying website.

Foundations of Geosensor Networks

Decentralized Spatial Computing

Kathleen Stewart

Andrew U. Frank

Edzer Pebesma

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Geographic Information Science, GIScience 2014, held in Vienna, Austria in September 2014. The 23 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections such as information visualization, spatial analysis, user-generated content, semantic models, wayfinding and navigation, spatial algorithms, and spatial relations.

8th International Conference, GIScience 2014, Vienna Austria, September 24-26, 2014, Proceedings

Geographic Information Science

Michael Worboys

Michael F. Goodchild

As the use of geographical information systems develops apace, a significant strand of research activity is being directed to the fundamental nature of geographic information. This volume contains a collection of essays and discussions on this theme. What is geographic information? What fundamental principles are associated with it? How can

Foundations of Geographic Information Science

Stephan Winter

Lars Kulik

Ben Kuipers

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Spatial Information Theory, COSIT 2007, held in Melbourne, Australia in September 2007. The 27 revised full papers were carefully reviewed from 102 submissions, and they are organized in topical sections on cultural studies, semantics, similarity, mapping and representation, perception and cognition, reasoning and algorithms, navigation and landmarks, as well as uncertainty and imperfection.

8th International Conference, COSIT 2007, Melbourne, Australia, September 19-23, 2007, Proceedings

Spatial Information Theory

Matt Duckham

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