Interfacing with existing Mecklenburg Master Address Locator

I have obtained the master address locater for Mecklenburg county. This data is stored in a shapefile as point features with a large amount of database info. Each point on the map below represents an address that has been geocoded, the table beside of it represents the attribute data for that specific address:



I will use this existing data to create the references to indoor locations. I believe by giving each room a point in the address locater, it will be possible to do query's and other such data manipulation with the indoor data. Since I already have the point locations for Woodward hall it will be as simple as copying and pasting the points into the Master Address table and updating the attribute information.

Since there is no "standard practice" for indoor geocoding I will have to develop a model to use that will enable me to do query's and location analysis the same way as regular addresses.

Once this is finished I should be able to facilitate route finding indoors by not only selecting points in space, but also by running queries on the location name or room number itself.

Goals for this week...

Today I have mainly been collecting datasets and other things so that I can continue making improvements to my prototype. The first thing that I have now is a coverage that has the latest street centerlines. However, it seems to not be entirely complete for UNCC so I will have to later change it to a shapefile so I can add roads to it. It will also be unnecessary to build a network from the shapefile in order to do analysis on it.

I also need to start the process of creating the hallway networks in GIS. For now I am only going to focus on just the centerline shapefiles and creating a network out of them, then connecting them to the existing street centerline files.

If time allows, I also need to clean up the work I did previously and correct some alignment issues that I have been having.

I hope to start following a new data model that I have stumbled upon on the web. It's referred to as the Building Information Spatial Data Model (BISDM) and relates to indoor GIS applications. I am sure that this will come in handy in the future, the link is http://bisdm.org/information/

Server backups, shapefile conversions, and progress on network creation

Now that I finally have an account on the Vis Center server, I have backed up all of my database files and other pertinent information there. I will be periodically updating a copy of the database each week.

I have also taken all of the feature classes and converted them into shapefiles so that Jianfei can use them for his program. These are stored on the server and on the local machine under the directory 'shapefiles'.

I have begun to create networks for each floor. I have finished the first floor and everything seems to be working well. I have been able to use the find route commands and map routes to rooms from the outside doors. The next step will be to create this data for each floor and somehow have them link up. This may be possible by inputting elevation data in the network.

Here are some screenshots of what the network dataset looks like along with the floor one datasets:


And here is a screen of the network by itself, the dark line indicates the shortest route between two points:

It's important to note that in order to maintain connectivity you have to have connections at endpoints connections along edges that are continuous will NOT WORK!! I tried this earlier by drawing whole line segments for hallways but it did not work since each connection point has to be an endpoint for connectivity to work correctly. Without this route finding will be erroneous or will not work at all.

All feature classes are now finished

I have just finished creating all of the feature classes that I set out to do earlier. Everything has come together quite well, with the exception of a few alignment issues in the 3D view. I have all 4 floors correctly represented with feature classes for hallways, stairways, elevators, and rooms. Here is what the final result looks like:


After removing the rooms layers a nice view of the transportation structure of the building is provided. Here is a screenshot of how that looks:

Now that I have this completed, the next step be creating a geometric network that represents the same thing with line features. Then we will be able to do analysis and route finding.

New feature classes for hallways, stairways, and elevators

Today I have updated the database to include 3 new feature classes: Hallways, Stairways, and Elevators. I have annotated them correctly and only need to finish floors 3, 4, and 5.

I am currently waiting for Joel to come up and install ArcInfo, then I will be able to expedite the process of creating and editing the feature classes.

3-D data representation

Today I have been working on representing and displaying my data in 3-dimensions. I wanted to do this just as a proof of concept that the 3-D generation will work properly with my datasets.

I only have 2 floors at the moment, but the 3-D display in ArcScene is stunning.

Here are some screens I took today:

Floor 1 in 3D:



Floor 2 in 3D:




Composite:



Composite with orthophoto reference:

Dataset progress, solution for storage

I have finished the second floor polygon feature class and have most of the rooms generally annotated. I am happy to say that everything is geocoded and fits perfectly where it's supposed to be.

Right now I'm waiting on ITS to install ArcINFO so I can start creation/maintenance of my geometric networks. In the meantime I am going to be finishing things up on the rest of the datasets and annotating them properly.

My biggest concern at the moment is I have no place to store the geodatabase other that my local machine. This is a problem, since this is a shared computer, who knows what might happen to my work. I also need to get my datasets out so that my other colleagues can work and edit them. Since it's not as simple as just emailing a dataset, I need some way to store the geodatabase on a server and allow FTP capabilities. This is something I hope to resolve by Friday's meeting. I would rather not have my data on a local machine over Spring Break.

In conclusion, here is a great shot of what the completed polygon feature classes look like overlayed on the orthos with roads as another layer:

Progress on room polygon feature class and georeferencing

Today I focused mainly on georeferencing all of the files that I have into NAD1983 Coordinate system. I have completed a good deal of this work, and am now focusing on extracting room polygons from the CAD data and pasting them in their own feature class in the geodatabase.

The room polygons have been extracted form the CAD files and this is what it looks like:




I have also updated the database to reflect the room numbers and brief descriptions of each room. The process was rather painstaking and involved using the predefined polygons from the CAD files and copying them over into a new feature class in my database. I then used the CAD files to determine room numbers and other information. The areas of the rooms nearly match perfectly with the polygons in my feature class with only a few hundredths of a degree of error, which is to be expected.

The next step is to create the line features and convert them into a geometric network. This will allow me to focus on the big picture.

Geometric Networks and Arc C++ SDK

Geometric Networks

Dr. Lee has an interesting paper about the 3D data model for representing relationships of urban features, it can be found here: http://gis.esri.com/library/userconf/proc01/professional/papers/pap565/p565.htm

Another interesting paper about Transportation networks in ArcGIS can be found here: http://gis.esri.com/library/userconf/proc02/pap0437/p0437.htm

It seems that ArcGIS has the functionality to create topologically related geometric networks, but only on the 2D scale. There are also network analysis tools integrated into ArcGIS that can provide such functions as "find path" that will allow us to minimize the amount of code that we have to write to get our system working.

Implementation can be done either by creating a new geometric network or making one from an existing file. For our application, it will probably be done by starting from scratch.

Here is a screen shot detailing the functionality of the Analyst:




ArcGIS SDK

I have installed the SDK on the computer I have been using in the VIS lab, it has an Object Browser, GUID generator, and library search tools. This should prove useful when interfacing with C++ or any other programming language.

ArcGIS SDK, ESRI dev network, and database files

ArcGIS Desktop SDK for Visual C++

I just acquired a copy of a education version of ArcGIS 9 from the Geography department, and it has the C++ SDK on it. I haven't yet had a chance to play around with it, but it should prove to be very useful for the project.

I have also signed up to the ESRI developer network, which has a code exchange, scripts, and other useful information. This service will no doubt prove useful in the future. The weblink is: http://edn.esri.com/

I have also located a useful article that explains in detail how to compile and run applications written in C++ using the SDK, that link is located here: http://edn.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=codeExch.howToCSamples

Progress on Shapefile annotations, database files, and georeferencing...

The shapefile format actually consists of 3 files, one of which is a dBase file that can be read by MS Access. This file will be used to link the spatial info to the right attributes. Currently, the dBase file is quite cluttered since the CAD files were so detailed (there are point features for individual seats in rooms), the next step would be to clear all of the unwanted information out, and expand of the information that is needed. Many of the features need to be discarded for our purposes, and once this is done it should be easier to work with the files.

I have made some advancements on georeferencing the CAD files to it's appropriate place in an orthophoto. By choosing control points on a georeferenced map, you can link them to other control points you have defined on a CAD file, shapefile, or image. They are then transformed to the new coordinate systems and line up with the control points. The initial test of this didn't seem to work well, as I was not able to get the CAD file to "drape" over the appropriate area. It did indicate that it was matching the coordinates I had defined earlier, however. My goal here is to eventually have a model that displays the CAD or shapefile draped directly over where it's supposed to be in the orthophoto. I could later use this referencing to create a 3D model of the build environment.


Editing Geometric Networks...

This is a tool that is used to represent connectivity in utilities systems, and may have some use for our purposes. By defining connectivity rules, you can go through and create a geometric network that represent connectivity relationships spatially. There is a possibility that we can use this in conjunction with a route finding algorithm to visually display routes in ArcGIS.