Development of a multi-view and geo-event-driven real-time collaborative GIS

Abstract

Supporting distributed real-time collaborative work has become an important development trend in GIS. It enables group users to cooperate and improve the use of scientific data and collaboration technologies. Real-time collaborative GIS (RCGIS) provides a platform for supporting synchronous collaboration using geospatial data in various forms. Traditional RCGIS generally works on a single map view, which has the disadvantage of collaborative interface confusion. The traditional system-driven mechanism of RCGIS is a computer-interaction event that has the disadvantage of an unfriendly collaborative perception. This paper presents a design and prototype of a RCGIS based on multi-view and geo-event driven mechanisms. The geo-event-driven mechanism provides users with a smoother collaborative perception and interactions that are more natural and friendly. The collaboration process for a GIS that is driven by geo-events is also discussed. A multi-view technique is used to make real-time GIS collaboration more orderly. The paper also proposes a synchronization strategy for public–private views. Finally, walk-through examples are used to demonstrate the use of RCGIS within a web environment.