Reasoning about qualitative spatio-temporal relations at multiple levels of granularity
Thomas Bittner · 2002
Abstract. This paper discusses aspects of qualitative reasoning about approximate spatio-temporal location at multiple levels of granularity. We start by defining systems of granularities which are tree-like hierarchical structures and which are used as frames of ref-erence in order to specify approximate location of objects. We then define levels of granularities within those tree structures and strati-fied map spaces over such granularity structures. Stratified maps are descriptions of objects in a certain domain at different levels of gran-ularity. The structure of stratified map spaces allows us to perform reasoning about location which is specified at different levels of gran-ularity like: Assume that John is in the same place in which Mary is (in Hyde Park) and that Mary is also in the same place in which Paula is (in London). It is then our aim to derive that John and Paula are in the same place (in London). 1