Modelling movement patterns using topological relations between a directed line and a region

This paper introduces a qualitative reasoning model for the representation of the trajectory of a moving point with respect to a region. The approach is based on a formal model of topological relations between a directed line and a region in a two-dimensional space. The approach is flexible enough to qualify possible movements according to several topological properties such as the dimension and cardinality of the intersections between a directed line and a region. We introduce the notion of conceptual transition that favors the exploration of possible trajectories in the case of incomplete knowledge configurations. A composition of DL-RE topological relations supports the derivation of complex movement patterns. The whole approach is experimented by a prototype development and applied to a large maritime trajectory database.