National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

This is the second and final report to Caltrans by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, under MOU 1 of Agreement 65TI55. It should be read in conjunction with the Progress Report (NCGIA, 1993) submitted in August, 1993.

The purpose of the project is to develop the concepts, methods, and techniques of navigable map databases for IVHS (intelligent vehicle highway systems). The NCGIA/UCSB project has explored three major aspects of navigable map databases: the elements to be stored in them, appropriate data models, and issues of database distribution. These three aspects form the subjects of the three major sections of this report. Section II describes the major functions of IVHS, and their requirements, if any, for navigable map databases. Section III discusses alternative data models, including the traditional planar link/node model and newer, more powerful models. Section IV examines the design of a distributed navigable map database, and the capabilities of current GIS and database management products in this area.