A Conceptual Multi-level Data Model for Road Networks

Emerging road network data management needs data integration which conventional planar road data models are insufficient to support. And the prevalent data models have advantages and disadvantages varying in representation scale. In order to comprehend the user requirements, an integrated road data model for multi-scale transportation applications was introduced, including three topology abstraction levels to describe the transportation networks in different scales. Level-1 adapts the conventional planar model to provide the quick route finding. Level-2 and Level-3 are non-planar. Level-2 describes all the linear section which is designed for the vehicular movement. Level-3 is more detailed than Level-2, being lane-based to express the details of the traffic flow. By managing to express the requirements in three abstraction levels, the multi-scale transportation applications are expected to be achieved.