Incorporating fuzzy set methodologies in a DBMS repository for the application domain of GIS

It has been recently recognized that fuzzy set theory provides useful concepts and tools for both the representation and analysis of the uncertainty related to geographical data. Hence the incorporation of fuzzy set methodologies into a DBMS repository for the application domain of GIS should be beneficial and will improve its level of intelligence. Focusing in this area the paper addresses both a representation and a reasoning issue. Specifically, it extends a general spatial data model to deal with the uncertainty of geographical entities, and shows how the standard data interpretation operations available in GIS packages may be extended to support the fuzzy spatial reasoning. Representative geographical operations, suchas the fuzzy overlay, fuzzy distance and fuzzy select, are examined, while several real world examples are given.