Exploring a Geographical Dataset with GEOLIS

Geographical data are mainly structured in layers of information. However, this model of organisation is not convenient for navigation inside a dataset, and so limits geographical data exploration to querying. We think information retrieval could be made easier in GIS by the introduction of a navigation based on geographical object properties. For this purpose, we propose a prototype, GEOLIS, which tightly combines querying and navigation in the search process of geographical data. GEOLIS relies on logical information systems (LIS), which are based on formal concept analysis (FCA) and logics. In this paper, we detail data organisation and navigation process in GEOLIS. We also present the results of an experimentation led on a real dataset.