An agent-based geographical information system

In this paper, a prototype geographical information system (GIS) using agent-based technology is introduced. The system known as GXGIS uses agent-based architecture for interactability and scalability. An interface agent is developed to interactively assist the user with the query formation process. The agent has the capability of offering domain knowledge that is associated with a given query. The agent is also able to record a user's troubleshooting experience and show it to the same user or other users as hints. Furthermore, an agent-based architecture with a two-tier mediator model in GIS is developed to satisfy the needs for interoperability among diverse application domains and integration of heterogeneous data sources. As a result, both qualitative and quantitative data can be integrated into GIS. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.