GIScience

The focus of the GIScience research group (Geoinformatics) is the investigation and development of new web-based geographic Information Services (GIS). These extend conventional spatial data infrastructures (SDI) by adding the third dimension (3D city models and 3D landscape models, GDI-3D.de), location based services (LBS, in particular specialized applications in routing- , navigation and traffic management), dynamic sensor data and of course web-based geoprocessing and geographic analysis functions (realized as OpenGIS Web Processing Service profiles, OpenGeoprocessing.org). Recent developments in the Web 2.0 such as user generated geodata of OpenStreetMap are being investigated with respect to data quality and usage potential.

Selected services can be used online (e.g. OpenRouteService.org, OSM-3D.org, OSM-WMS.de, RollstuhlRouting.de, HistOSM.org etc.). This combination of new kinds of data and services lead to SDI 2.0. The usability of these geoinformation services and map applications and their cognitive fundamentals are being investigated empirically (Map Usability).

Furthermore, the research group has a strong focus on 3D geo-information generation and retrieval using state-of-the-art “3D remote sensors” such as laser scanning (i.e. topographic LiDAR) enriched by other potential sources such as crowdsourced data provided by “human sensors”. Main focus is the development of GIS-based algorithms for 3D data processing and analysis for improving the understanding of geographical phenomena. Applications cover the natural environment (e.g. geomorphology, precision farming and forestry) and the man-made landscape (e.g. solar potential assessment for buildings and hedonic price modeling using 3D laser data).