Campus Map

Functions and Functionality

What functionality would we like to see in Campus Map and in the Authoring Tool?

• Campus Map
1. Three Basic Modes for Map Traversal from the users current position to a selected point
• Basic Traversal
  • A very basic inheritable way of traversing the map from the users current position to a selected node or position on the map with the following transitive repeatable steps.
    1. Allow the user to view a map and select a position they would like to go to.
    2. Allow user to select any special traversal templets
    3. Get Users Current Position from a GPS enabled or integrated device.
    4. Plot the shortest* path from their current location to the selected location using any type of node but vehicle nodes.
    5. Allow for the user to move their current location (by moving themselves)
    6. Repeat steps #3 through #4 untill the user terminates the map traversal or they arive at their selected location.
• Handicap Traversal
  • A second type of simple traversal that different from the first when step #4 is executed
    1. Allow the user to view a map and select a position they would like to go to.
    2. Allow user to select any special traversal templets
    3. Get Users Current Position from a GPS enabled or integrated device.
    4. Plot the shortest* path from their current location to the selected location taking into account that only handicap accessable and nutral nodes may be considdered when plotting the shortest path.
    5. Allow for the user to move their current location (by moving themselves)
    6. Repeat steps #3 through #4 untill the user terminates the map traversal or they arive at their selected location.
• Vehicle Traversal
  • A third type of simple traversal that different from the first when step #4 is executed
    1. Allow the user to view a map and select a position they would like to go to.
    2. Allow user to select any special traversal templets
    3. Get Users Current Position from a GPS enabled or integrated device.
    4. Plot the shortest* path from their current location to the selected location taking into account that only Vehicle nodes may be considdered when plotting the shortest path.
    5. Allow for the user to move their current location (by moving themselves)
    6. Repeat steps #3 through #4 untill the user terminates the map traversal or they arive at their selected location.
2. Home Land Security Templet
   • This would cover any emergency dealing with terrorism, domestic or foreign, includeing but not limited to: bombings, fire bombings, chemical or biological attacks and hostage situations, and would use either the Basic Traversal, Handicap Traversal or Vehicle Traversal as a base. The users traversal would be changed to remove the user from the area via the safest path or choose a traversal that avoids the effected area.
     1. How do we get this information in real time?
     2. How do we confirm this information?
3. Emergency Fire/Hazard Templet
   • This would cover any emergency dealing with non-terrirosm fires or hazzards such as spilled waste, car accidenst or explosins, and would use either the Basic Traversal, Handicap Traversal or Vehicle Traversal as a base. The users traversal would be changed to remove the user from the area via the safest path or choose a traversal that avoids the effected area.
     1. How do we get this information in real time?
     2. How do we confirm this information?
     3. Can we give campus security the ability to update this?
4. Emergency Weather Templet
   • This would cover any emergency dealing with dangerious weather conditions from sun stroke advisories (keep paths under shade and in buildings) from ice and snow warnings (especially with cars) to on campus flooding (a major problem around Charleston), and would use either the Basic Traversal, Handicap Traversal or Vehicle Traversal as a base. The users traversal would be changed to avoid the affected area, or generate the proper warnings.
     1. How do we get this information in real time?
     2. How do we confirm this information?
     3. Can we use the weather channel's web services to get traffic updates and weather warnings?
5. Football Day Templet
   • This would cover a football game day and the unique situation posed by its occurance. This templet would change the users traversal based on current traffic density and known statistics about crowd movement and parking at specific times. This templet would use either the Basic Traversal, Handicap Traversal or Vehicle Traversal as a base, but can be combined with other templets such as Emergency Terrorism.
     1. How do we get this information in real time?
     2. How do we confirm this information?
     3. People in field giving real time information?
6. Other Sports Templet
   • This would cover a non-football sport game day and the unique situation posed by its occurance. This templet would change the users traversal based on current traffic density and known statistics about crowd movement and parking at specific times. This templet would use either the Basic Traversal, Handicap Traversal or Vehicle Traversal as a base, but can be combined with other templets such as Emergency Terrorism.
     1. How do we get this information in real time?
     2. How do we confirm this information?
     3. Normall this would not be a big deal.
7. Other functions to come
• Authoring Tool
1. Creating Nodes
2. Editing Nodes
3. Deleting Nodes
4. Adding Starting Positions (esentually adding new maps via a map API)
5. Editing Starting Positions
6. Deleting Starting Positions
7. Other functions to come

Nodes

How are we defineing a node and what properties does it have?

The node, being the basis of this whole project, will need to have enough information stored in it to define all of the edeges and functions from it. Edges are defined by the connection between two nodes. Should all nodes be this robust or should they be dynamic based on their type? The only prblem with this is having a database with different types of entries over multiple tables. This could be fixed with a custom datastructure to keep track of the database, but I would rather stay away from this if we can. The easiest and most wastful solution is the let all nodes have a field for each value even if it is null and not used. (Memory is fairly cheap today anyway).

//The structure of a node could look like this.  
struct node() //structure for a node.
{
variable Unique_Name  //Each node will need a unique name to distinguish it from other nodes
variable common name  //A common name that can be displayed for the user.
variable type;        //can equal Nutral, Handicap, Non-Handicap or Vehicle or building.
variable long;        //longitude and latitude (will need to be some kind of large float)
variable lat;
//variable map; //Variable REMOVED - Reference from database to what map these nodes belong to. 
variable structure;   //what does this node represent? can equal Stairs, Building, Ramp, Door, etc
array adjacent_nodes; //This will contain a list of adjacent nodes if we use Dijkstra's Algorithm 
                      //so that we do not have to iliterate throught the whole graph every time 
                      //we want to check an adjacency. (good for time, not good for dynamic adding
                      //nodes)
//variable Change_time   //variable REMOVED - Can a node change it's function at a certain time every day?  If it does, why not make it autmatic? 
                      //Should this information be kept in the node or should it be part of a stored procedure (macro)?
variable condition;   //What is the status of this node?  Is it under construction, on fire, radiated, 
                      //infected with biological wepons, frozen, etc?
variable Audio;       //We may want to add an audio component for visually challenged users or 
                      //just to inforce what the normal user is seeing on the screen, this would be a reference.
variable comments;    //We always need comments :).
variable maker;       //We need some degree of auditing to enforce responciability so each 
                      //node will need to have a date, time and user stamp to deturmine who made it and when.
variable url;         //Extra information or pictures associated with a node that need to be stored seperatly
                      //can be kept at a url to be accessed when needed by the user.
variable dynamic_1    //can be used as needed for other appilcations. The existance of these should be choosable by the creater of the map.
variable dynamic_2    //can be used as needed for other appilcations.
variable dynamic_etc  //as many as is needed at database creation time.

} //node

We will need the most thought on this, so everyone start thinking of what we will need to define a node as.

Algorithms

Possible Algorithms to impliment that traverse the graph, keeping in mind that there might be the need for negative edges in buildings with multiple stories or basements

While Dijkstra can not be implimented with negative distances on nodes I do not see a reason that the edges could not all have positive values. They are only lables in the view of the algorithm. Primm is a broken down version of Dijkstra which might be simpler to impliment, but only in that it does not check for the smallest value and is ileterative in the respect. I have included my implimentation of Dijkstra for anyone who is unfarmilliar with how it works as well as a link to the Wiki page (mine is more intuitive). I have also found the other algorithm that takes negative edges as well as positive edges and will not infinite look like dijkstra. It is called Folyd-Warshall and is a outlined in the Wiki page I have referenced below. I am partial to dijkstra, but wanted to leave this open to debate. If anyone knows of a better algorithm please let me know.

Database

Which kind of database we will be useing, what design and to what standard will this database be held.

DataBase Schema

Map API

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Mapquest API's?

Interfaces

To what will will this program be deployed, and what specific known problems might we experience knowing what we know about mobile deviecs? Webforms?

Laptop, Mobile Device. This will be decided on when we get more info on what technologies we are useing.

Security and Authentication

What kind of security and log on information will need to be maintained for this project. Will we need to use cirtificates, X.509, PKCS#12 or other? What databse apps and controles will we need to impliment to do this?