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Objects with Broad Boundaries

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Encyclopedia of GIS

Synonyms

Spatial objects; Spatial data types with indeterminate boundaries; Vague boundaries; Uncertain boundaries; 3‑value indeterminacy; Fuzzy sets; Probability theory; Egg-yolk model

Definition

Objects with broad boundaries are spatial objects, whose crisp boundaries are replaced by an area expressing the boundary's uncertainty. There are two main interpretations for broad boundaries: (1) for positional uncertainty, the broad boundary represents the set of all possible positions among which the unknown boundary position is hidden; (2) for “fuzzy” boundaries, that is, boundaries that are by nature not crisp, the broad boundary represents their minimum and maximum extent. The main motivation for objects with broad boundaries is to record information about uncertainty together with the data. In this way, they represent a new geometric model that overcomes the limits of current spatial database models, which are a collection of lines (points, polylines and polygons). The geometric model...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy

    Eliseo Clementini

Authors
  1. Eliseo Clementini
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Shashi Shekhar (McKnight Distinguished University Professor) (McKnight Distinguished University Professor)

  2. Management Science and Information Systems Department, Rutgers Business School Newark and New Brunswick Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Hui Xiong (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Clementini, E. (2008). Objects with Broad Boundaries. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_896

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