Shifts in detail through temporal zooming

Abstract

Spatio-temporal knowledge representation often requires shifting from one level of detail to another so that users can carry out a desired task. Geographic information systems typically treat such alterations in detail with respect to the geometric properties of objects. We extend the theories based on geometrical considerations only to an approach that focuses on shifts between levels of temporal detail. The approach is based on a model of change to identifiable objects and describes temporal zooming that involves expanding or collapsing the transitions between identity states of objects. This work offers promising new directions for spatio-temporal query languages.