Web based geospatial intelligence system
The purpose of the system is to demonstrate using Intelligent Software Agents and browser based GIS capabilities to deliver a concise and unified view from a wide range of disparate geospatial data as well as linking to an aspatial document repository and spatially linking to RSS News feeds and Weather service content. The system is designed to provide a simple user interface for locating data stored on local area networks in conjunction with data sourced from the web.
The browser based system uses a range of technology platforms such as Java, Javascript, Macromedia Flash, VB.NET, Web services and ESRI ArcObjects all stitched seamlessly together to provide an interactive GIS experience rich with associated aspatial data including conversion of traditional RSS content into GeoRSS content. Software Agents identify, find and process spatial and aspatial data that is then displayed to the user in a browser based environment.
Behind the scenes the software agents handle a number of tasks such as spatial searching, geoprocessing and RSS feed processing while a blend of Java, Javascript, VB.NET and Flash provide a browser based architecture that allows for persistent asynchronous communication that does not rely on page loading to refresh content. The interactive GIS capabilities are provided through the use of an open source WMS compliant map server and Flash interface.
The result is a web based geospatial intelligence system that allows for the searching of location based spatial data, supporting documents and information feeds that are displayed in a browser based interactive GIS client that includes hyperlinks to georeferenced aspatial data.
The system successfully demonstrates the value of Intelligent Software Agents in finding and processing large amounts of disparate data, both spatial and aspatial, as well as showcasing an immersive interactive web based GIS experience that uses a mix of web services and innovative programming techniques.