Database Reference
In-Depth Information
We can confidently look forward to the continuous evolution and improve-
ment of knowledge extraction techniques, moving fromapproaches mostly based
on a single attribute (speed) and predefined points and areas of interest to
approaches enabling multi-criteria analyses.
Similarly, we can expect an important development of the visual analytics
domain. Its advantages in terms of immediacy and understandability of results
make it very appealing for domain experts. These advantages include capability
to rapidly switch among alternative ways to look at the same data; easiness
of exploring the influence of given attributes on the behavior of trajectories;
pattern detection via visual evidence; data aggregation into, for example, flows
for higher-level analyses; and context-driven investigations. Therefore, visual
analytics will certainly play a major role in the spread of analytical tasks in the
application world.
While most of the ongoing works focus on mobility analysis, only few
attempts have been made for developing explanatory and predictive models
of mobility. For example, the DataSim project
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aims at developing next gen-
eration traffic simulation models. To improve the quality of simulation, it is
necessary to model dependencies between mobility aggregates such as velocity
(average or median) and counts of cars.
Person Monitoring
Person monitoring is rapidly evolving due to the widespread availability of posi-
tioning technologies. Unfortunately, gathering spatiotemporal information from
large crowds remains a complex, usually labor-intensive and therefore expen-
sive task. This topic presented Bluetooth tracking as a possible solution for this
niche. Bluetooth tracking is very easy to deploy, can be used for indoor/outdoor
environments, and does not require any cooperation of the tracked individuals.
Foreseen applications include analyzing the dynamics of visitors at a profes-
sional fair or in a shopping mall. Both domains provide excellent opportunities
for marketing-oriented applications. Industry is very active in this domain (see,
e.g., the recent launching of services such as Google Indoor), given the strong
link between person monitoring and customized marketing.
Animal Monitoring
The last few years have witnessed a convergence between human and animal
movement studies. Many concepts, data warehousing techniques, models, and
analytical methods were developed independently and now we can stress that
further research, leading to a growingmethodological and theoretical unification,
is necessary. A common and exciting challenge is represented by the analyses
of networks, both social and ecological ones. Movement ecology studies have
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