Dynamic GIS Service API for Automatic Map Data Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are static, lacking the ability to automatically update datasets within user-defined areas of interest and date ranges, leading to outdated information when new surveys or tiles are added.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that generates a dynamic GIS service using APIs to access and update map imagery or tiled maps within specified areas and date ranges, ensuring new content is available upon user access, utilizing WMS, WMTS, or TMS protocols to provide a dynamic dataset without duplicating spatial data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a static GIS system is used to store spatial data, then data storage is simple and manageable, but the data becomes outdated when new surveys or tiles are added within user-defined areas of interest and date ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static GIS dataset into a dynamic one by implementing automatic update mechanisms. The system continuously monitors for new surveys and tiles within user-defined areas of interest and date ranges, automatically updating the dataset without manual intervention. This dynamic approach ensures data currency while maintaining manageable complexity through automated processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the GIS continuously checks for new spatial data within defined parameters, processes updates when new surveys or tiles are detected, and maintains current data states. This closed-loop feedback ensures reliability by automatically refreshing data without requiring manual system reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If manual updates are performed to keep GIS data current, then data currency can be maintained, but time and resources are consumed for each update operation
Solution Approach 1:
The GIS system performs self-updates by automatically detecting new surveys and tiles within user-defined areas of interest and date ranges. The system monitors data sources, identifies new content, and updates the dataset autonomously without requiring manual intervention. This self-service mechanism eliminates time loss associated with manual updates while maintaining data currency.
Solution Approach 2:
Users pre-define areas of interest and date ranges in advance, establishing update criteria before new data arrives. This preliminary configuration enables the system to automatically filter and update only relevant data when new surveys or tiles are added, eliminating the need for manual review and reducing update time while maintaining data currency.
3Reliability
If spatial data is duplicated to create dynamic updates, then data currency is improved, but storage requirements and data redundancy increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the specific portions of spatial data that are new or changed within user-defined areas of interest and date ranges, rather than duplicating entire datasets. This selective extraction approach updates only necessary data elements, maintaining data currency while minimizing storage requirements and avoiding unnecessary redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial updates by applying changes only to specific data elements that require updating, rather than duplicating or refreshing the entire spatial dataset. This partial action approach maintains data currency for relevant areas while reducing storage overhead and avoiding excessive data replication.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for and method of generating an API or an API template for use with a map service. The API, e.g., URL when invoked in a WMS server or WMTS server, causes generating a metadata for a set of one or more areas of interest (AOIs) and one or more date ranges. The metadata provides access to a dataset of surveys via getmap or gettile requests. The API is dynamic in that the effect of the API (the metadata generated) is automatically updated whenever there has been a new survey added in the set of AOIs and date ranges. The API template is for a TMS service, and when populated, provides for causing any tiled map in the set of AOIs and date ranges to be displayed.