GRAPHICS AND LANGUAGE AS COMPLEMENTARY FORMAL REPRESENTATIONS FOR GEOSPATIAL DESCRIPTIONS

摘要

In image understanding, the importance of language (e.g. the choice of class names in image analysis) has been widely underestimated up to now. Within this paper, the close interaction between language and graphics is analysed for geospatial applications. It is shown that texts and maps are two complementary representations of knowledge, resulting among other in the use of an equal terminology for verbal and pictorial representations. Two different real scenarios (Brazilian cadastre and message analysing systems for disaster management) are introduced where the direct relationship of language and image analysis becomes not only obvious, but the mutual transformation - of one representation into the other - is the essential task of the application. First results of the presented project already demonstrate how both forms of representation can be transformed to a common symbolic level as a basis for further synergetic analyses.