CS6604 Advanced Topics in Data and Information: Spatial Data Management

Course Description:

This course treats a specific advanced topic of current research interest in the area of spatial data and information. The key objectives of this course are two-fold: (1) to teach the fundamental concepts of spatial data management and (2) to provide extensive hands-on experience in applying the concepts to real-world applications. Core research skills of literature analysis, innovation, evaluation of new ideas, and communication are emphasized via homeworks and projects. Most students may like to get a broad overview of the research topics, methodologies, major results, open problems and potential future research directions.

Topics:

• Introduction to Spatial Databases.
• Spatial Concepts and Data Models.
• Spatial Query Languages: OGIS, SQL3.
• Multidimensional Point Data Indexing.
• Object-Based and Image-Based Image Representations.
• Intervals and Small Rectangles.
• High-Dimensional Data Indexing.
• Query Processing and Optimization: strategies for range query, nearest neighbor query, cost models.
• Spatial Networks: Query language for graphs, graph algorithms, access methods.
• Introduction to Spatial Data Mining.
• Trends in Spatial Databases: Mobile wireless applications, spatio-temporal data.

Textbooks:

	Spatial Databases: A Tour Shashi Shekhar and Sanjay Chawla Prentice Hall, 2002 ISBN 0-321-33025-0 Buy this book (new) from Amazon. Compare prices (new or used) at BestBookBuys
	Foundations of Multidimensional and Metric Data Structures Hanan Samet Morgan Kaufmann, 2006 ISBN 0-12-369446-9 Buy this book (new) from Amazon. Compare prices (new or used) at BestBookBuys
	Spatial Databases: with Application to GIS Philippe Rigaux, Michel Scholl, and Agnes Voisard Morgan Kaufmann, 2001 ISBN 1-55860-588-6 Buy this book (new) from Amazon, Barnes & Noble. Compare prices (new or used) at BestBookBuys

Supplementary Material

A collection of papers.

Prerequisite:

                The equivalent of CS 5604 or CS 5614 is a prerequisite. Therefore you should be familiar with Entity-Relationship Model, File Organizations, Index Structures for Files, Basic Queries in SQL, Query Processing, Query Optimization, and Concurrency Control Techniques. You are responsible for determining if you have satisfied the prerequisite. 

Tentative Schedule:

                The schedule indicates the concepts and material to be covered in each week under the column labeled "Topics".

Examinations and Assignments:

There are three homework assignments. Homework assignments are due at the start of class. If you have an excused absence from a class, turn in the homework assignment prior to the class session. All assignments must have your name, student ID and course name/ number. 

The weighting scheme used for grading is: 3 HW Assignments: 20%, including HW0(2%), HW1(Paper Critique, 8%), and HW2(Research Presentation, 10%), Midterm I: 20%, Midterm II: 25%, Final Project: 35% (Final Presentation: 10%, Final Report: 25%), Class Discussion and Participation: 5%. Students are responsible for all material covered in lectures. Examinations will heavily emphasize conceptual understanding of the material.

Late Submission Policy: 

Assignments must be handed in at the beginning of the class on the specified due date (Thursday of designated week).A penalty of 30% will be deducted from your score for the first 24-hour period your assignment is late. A penalty of 70% will be deducted from your score for >= 24-hour period. Weekend days will be counted. For assignments, you are encouraged to type your answers. 

Honor System: 

All work is to be done under the provisions of the Virginia Tech Honor System. Students can discuss the interpretation of an assignment, however, the actual solution to problems must be one's own. The tenets of the Virginia Tech Graduate Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course, and all assignments shall be subject to the stipulations of the Graduate Honor Code. Whenever I learn that a student has violated the honor code, I am obligated to report the violation. For more information on the Graduate Honor Code, please refer to the GHS Constitution, located online at http://ghs.grads.vt.edu/.

Disabilities:

Any student that is in need of special accommodations due to a disability, as recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act, should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in the Dean of Students Office. "Students with disabilities are responsible for self-identification. To be eligible for services, documentation of the disability from a qualified professional must be presented to SSD upon request. Academic adjustments may include, but are not limited to: priority registration, auxiliary aids, program and course adjustment, exam modifications, oral or sign language interpreters, cassette taping of text/materials, notetakers/readers, or assistive technology." (see http://www.hr.vt.edu/supervisorscorner/adainfo/)

If you need adaptation or accommodations because of a disability (learning disability, attention deficit disorder, psychological, physical, etc.), if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. If you need captioning for videos, please let me know no later than two weeks in advance of date on syllabus for reviewing.

Helpful Comments: 

This class is Very Interesting and Useful for audience interested in database systems research as well as in Master/Doctoral projects. We will explore a number of current research areas which are very important yet fairly open for research. Spatial databases continue to be the heart of information management in areas ranging from business to scientific domains (e.g., earth observation systems, genomics).

To get full benefit out of the class you have to work independently and regularly. Read the textbook and papers before the meeting and bring comments for discussion. Plan to spend at least 12 hrs a week (a little more during first few weeks till you feel comfortable with geographic information and queries) on this class doing projects or reading.

Good Luck, and Welcome to CS 6604!
Chang-Tien Lu