Spatio-temporal Database

Definition

A spatiotemporal database is a new type of database system that manages spatiotemporal objects and supports corresponding query functionalities. A spatiotemporal object is a kind of object that dynamically updates spatial locations and/or extents along with time. A typical example of a spatiotemporal object is a moving object (e. g., a car, a flight or a pedestrian) whose location continuously changes.

Spatiotemporal databases have many important applications such as Geographic Information Systems, Location-aware Systems, Traffic Monitoring Systems, and Environmental Information Systems. Due to their importance, spatiotemporal database systems are very actively researched in the database domain. Interested readers are referred to [1] for a detailed survey of spatiotemporal Databases.

Main Text

Contrary to traditional database systems, a spatiotemporal database must be able to manage the dynamic properties of spatiotemporal objects efficiently. As spatiotemporal...