Collaborative Visualization of Sensor Data Through a Subscription based Architecture

Abstract

In this paper we propose a collaborative prototype for the integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) sensor data into a distributed architecture for Virtual Reality. Sensor data of various origin and classified domains are provided using a topic subscription metaphor. A graphical editor, which allows creation/ import/export/manipulation of sensor data, serves as a real-time administrative interface to control the provision of topics/sensorial data and, at the same time, it is used as an interface to common GIS applications. A client application, responsible for the rendering, decides according to the context which data (timevarying, static) is relevant for the actual examination. Additionally, terrain cultures like forests, buildings, streets along with their geometrical and semantical attributes are provided by using queries to a Web Feature Service/PostGIS Database and translated to a 3D representation. These queries are broadcasted to all clients in the framework to assure at all times synchronicity of the examination data. Finally Session Management is enabled by storing the messages in a relational database to achieve persistency and recalling of the analysis process.