ObjectFX Releases SpatialRules 2.0; Unique Middleware Component Helps Manage Flood of Spatial and Temporal Information

August 18, 2006; 04:09 AM
ObjectF Corporation, a leader in delivering dynamic location-enabled enterprise information solutions, announced availability of SpatialRules 2.0, a spatiotemporal rule system designed to manage streams of spatial and temporal data. The release follows successful beta testing by several major systems integrators serving the defense and geospatial intelligence communities.

SpatialRules 2.0 strengthens the company's ability to help customers intelligently manage the flood of location-based information that faces many organizations in government and the private sector. Traditional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) vendors have failed to address the need for a scalable, open framework for spatiotemporal rule processing. Initial target industries and applications for the technology include commercial transportation, logistics and supply chain management; government homeland security and law enforcement; military blue/red force tracking, logistics and situational awareness; and intelligence monitoring and analysis.

Organizations that receive and collect vast amounts of location data from Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems and other sources are faced with a key challenge: how to sort the important information from the flood of incoming data. Often, the truly valuable information is based on anomalies, exceptions to normal operating procedures, and conditions that require a human or automated response. Examples include vehicles or objects that are in the wrong place at the wrong time; unauthorized objects in a particular location at a particular time; objects in close proximity to each other; objects moving toward or away from each other or a designated area; and objects moving at a time when they're not supposed to. Humans have very limited ability to monitor spatial and temporal data streams and detect conditions that need attention, and conventional rule engines lack the ability to monitor thousands--if not millions--of objects in time and space where the location of each object and the areas of interest may change constantly. SpatialRules uses unique patent pending methods to deliver the high scalability needed for such advanced geofencing and data reduction operations.

SpatialRules 2.0 is a service-oriented middleware component that receives and analyzes streams of spatial and temporal data. Typical data sources include GPS systems, RFID readers and sensor networks, however "location reports" from a variety of technology platforms that generate data indicating the location of an object at a given point in time, as well as human observation, can also be analyzed. SpatialRules supports a native XML input format and allows output to be directed to queuing systems and relational databases, as well as XML streams such as RSS, GeoRSS, KML and GML.

A SpatialRules implementation consists minimally of the SpatialRules spatiotemporal rule engine, a repository of spatial and temporal boundaries, and a repository of rules. The SpatialRules system includes software for storing and managing the boundary and rule databases. Users define their own boundaries representing "areas of interest" as well as rules that define conditions such as inside, outside, enter, exit, and distance relative to spatial and temporal boundaries. When a rule tests "true"--for example when two objects come within a defined proximity within a boundary--an "event" is generated. Business or operational metadata can be combined with spatial and temporal data and used in rule logic and downstream processing.

SpatialRules 2.0 is designed to be integrated with virtually any system that generates and uses spatial or temporal data. The system provides Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for all aspects of integration, including managing input and output, maintaining the rule repository, and managing the boundary repository. SpatialRules offers users and systems integrators complete flexibility in formatting and delivering output. Events can be used to generate alerts directly to human operators and decision-makers, delivered immediately to downstream systems, or stored in a database for future reference and analysis.

"ObjectFX has delivered a unique product to the marketplace" said David Sonnen, consultant to IDC on spatial information management. "The combination of spatial and temporal reasoning in a simply-integrated rule engine fills a gap in the Spatial Information Management market that is not addressed by traditional GIS or spatial database management systems."

"SpatialRules 2.0 represents an important cornerstone of our strategy," said ObjectFX president Nick Thomey. "Combined with our SpatialFX platform, we have the ability to address the full range of requirements for customers who need to manage dynamic spatial and temporal data. SpatialRules opens up new markets for us by allowing integration with virtually any system, including Google Earth and ESRI."

SpatialRules 2.0 can be purchased as an independent product and integrated with any application or system, or purchased as a complement to SpatialFX(R), the geospatial software platform from ObjectFX. Contact ObjectFX for pricing and additional information. Individuals and organizations who wish to receive a technical white paper on SpatialRules or speak to a sales representative should contact ObjectFX by telephone at (866) 900-2002 or (612) 312-2002, or by e-mail at [email protected].

About ObjectFX Corporation

ObjectFX Corporation provides products and solutions that enable organizations to leverage the full value of dynamic spatial and temporal data to gather intelligence, monitor and improve operations, and respond more quickly to changing conditions. Our Java-based geospatial software products provide an enterprise-class platform for developing and deploying of 2D and 3D map visualization, vehicle routing, address geocoding, spatiotemporal rule processing and other mission-critical operations on a full range of client and server systems. ObjectFX software is deployed in a broad range of industries in which location and timing are critical, including transportation, supply chain management, field force management, homeland security and national defense and intelligence. For more information, visit ObjectFX at www.objectfx.com.