Spatial Databases: Accomplishments and Research Needs

Abstract

Spatial databases have been an active area of research for over two decades, addressing the growing data management and analysis needs of spatial applications such as Geographic Information Systems. This research has produced a taxonomy of models for space, spatial data types and operators, spatial query languages and processing strategies, as well as spatial indexes and clustering techniques. However, more research is needed to improve support for network and field data, as well as query processing ( e.g. cost models, bulk load). Another important need is to apply the spatial data management accomplishments to newer applications such as data warehouses and multimedia information systems. The objective of this paper is to identify recent accomplishments and the research needs in the near term.