Through CASE (Co-operative Award in Science and Engineering: an agreement between national funding bodies and commercial organizations to jointly fund research projects at qualifying universities), Laser-Scan announced the appointment of Claire Ellul to a research project at University College London (UCL) on "Extending SQL for 3D Topology."
The collaborative research between UCL and Laser-Scan will focus on efficient storage of 3D spatial information in a relational database environment. In particular, the project will explore which areas of GIS applications will benefit the most from efficient handling of topology in 3D and how to extend 2D SQL queries to include handling of 3D topological relationships.
Laser-Scan's solutions will be used in the research of the project, including Radius Topology. The research will be done collaboratively with Laser-Scan, and will be managed through the Radius Academic Programme.
UCL's Department for Geomatic Engineering is a Registered Research laboratory (RRL) in Team GeoMedia with GeoMedia Terrain and GeoMedia Professional being used for end user applications. The department is also part of Oracle's Academic Initiative, giving access to Oracle's latest technology. Laser-Scan's sponsorship of Claire Ellul will further support the research project.
UCL is already working on several 3D GIS projects: efficient integration of 3D geometry in SQL databases with emphasis on spatial analysis; use of photogrammetry and remote sensing technique to capture and extract 3D objects; 3D urban models and the creation of Virtual London - an extensive GIS-based urban model of London. The CASE student will interact and learn from these activities through seminars, classes and joint activities.
Peter Woodsford is a non-executive director of Laser-Scan and a visiting professor of UCL in the department of geomatic engineering. The decision to sponsor a CASE student at UCL further underlines Laser-Scan's commitment to the academic community and to providing support, knowledge and tools to students and universities.
Source: Laser-Scan, Jan. 21, 2004
