Space-time prisms

New publication: Jaegal, Y. and Miller, H.J. (2020) “Measuring the structural similarity of network time prisms using temporal signatures with graph indices,” Transactions in GIS, 24, 3-26.

Abstract. The network‐time prism (NTP) is an extension of the space‐time prism that provides a realistic model of the potential pattern of moving objects in transportation networks. Measuring the similarity among NTPs can be useful for clustering, aggregating, and querying potential mobility patterns. Despite its practical importance, however, there has been little attention given to similarity measures for NTPs. In this research, we develop and evaluate a methodology for measuring the structural similarity between NTPs using the temporal signature approach. The approach extracts the one‐dimensional temporal signature of a selected property of NTPs and applies existing path similarity measures to the signatures. Graph‐theoretic indices play an essential role in summarizing the structural properties of NTPs at each moment. Two extensive simulation experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and compare the performance of graph indices for measuring NTP similarity. An empirical application using bike‐share system data shows that the method is useful for detecting different usage patterns of two heterogenous user groups.

Measuring the structural similarity of network time prisms using temporal signatures with graph indices

New publication: Jaegal Y, Miller HJ. (2019) Measuring the structural similarity of network time prisms using temporal signatures with graph indices. Transactions in GIS. 00:1–24. https ://doi.org/10.1111/tgis.12582

Abstract.  The network‐time prism (NTP) is an extension of the space‐time prism that provides a realistic model of the potential pattern of moving objects in transportation networks. Measuring the similarity among NTPs can be useful for clustering, aggregating, and querying potential mobility patterns. Despite its practical importance, however, there has been little attention given to similarity measures for NTPs. In this research, we develop and evaluate a methodology for measuring the structural similarity between NTPs using the temporal signature approach. The approach extracts the one‐dimensional temporal signature of a selected property of NTPs and applies existing path similarity measures to the signatures. Graph‐theoretic indices play an essential role in summarizing the structural properties of NTPs at each moment. Two extensive simulation experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and compare the performance of graph indices for measuring NTP similarity. An empirical application using bike‐share system data shows that the method is useful for detecting different usage patterns of two heterogenous user groups.

Measuring the geometric and semantic similarity of space–time prisms using temporal signatures

New publication: Miller, H.J., Jaegal, Y. and Raubal, M. (2019) “Measuring the geometric and semantic similarity of space-time prisms using temporal signatures,” Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 109, 730-753.

Well-established techniques exist for measuring the similarity of space–time paths. These measures support clustering and aggregation of space–time paths as well as moving objects database queries based on similar movement patterns or semantics. Little attention has been paid, however, to the analogous problem of measuring space–time prism (STP) similarity, despite comparable applications. This article presents and evaluates a method for measuring STP similarity through dimensionality reduction that leverages their inherent temporal ordering. The technique sweeps an STP along the time axis and derives one-dimensional temporal signatures based on a measured STP property that captures its geometry or semantics. These temporal signatures can be visualized directly as curves. We can also apply existing space–time path similarity measures to these signatures. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, we perform two sets of experiments measuring geometric and semantic similarity among STPs and assess the information within these curves using visualization, Fréchet distances, and clustering techniques. Results suggest that the temporal signature curves capture meaningful similarities and differences among STPs.