GEOSPATIAL SERVICE WEB: FROM DATA, INFORMATION, AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING TO WEB GEOINTELLIGENCE

The existing Spatial Data Infrastructure applications or virtual globes allow users to experiment with these tools for sharing and exploration of geospatial data. A typical application is the recently launched MapWorld, an interactive geospatial data browser developed based on GeoGlobe. Geospatial Service Web goes further by providing a geospatial infrastructure that integrates various geospatial-related resources through the Web and service technologies. The development of the Geospatial Service Web will be the establishment of a platform where data, information, and knowledge can be shared and exchanged in an interoperable and interworkable way. The fulfilment of this platform requires the integration of geospatial data acquisition system, data transformation system, distributed spatial data collection, high-capability server system, and large volume storage system etc., and exploration and extraction of useful information and knowledge from oceans of data. These are together known as Web-based Geospatial Intelligence (i.e. Web GeoIntelligence), which is an important content of the Geospatial Service Web.