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Topological Spatio–Temporal Reasoning and Representation
Author(s) -
Muller Philippe
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
computational intelligence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.353
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1467-8640
pISSN - 0824-7935
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8640.00196
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , representation (politics) , basis (linear algebra) , motion (physics) , spatial intelligence , computer science , space (punctuation) , point (geometry) , artificial intelligence , topological space , theoretical computer science , mathematics , topology (electrical circuits) , pure mathematics , geometry , combinatorics , political science , law , operating system , politics
We present here a theory of motion from a topological point of view, in a symbolic perspective. Taking space–time histories of objects as primitive entities, we introduce temporal and topological relations on the thus defined space–time to characterize classes of spatial changes. The theory thus accounts for qualitative spatial information, dealing with underspecified, symbolic information when accurate data are not available or unnecessary. We show that these structures give a basis for commonsense spatio–temporal reasoning by presenting a number of significant deductions in the theory. This can serve as a formal basis for languages describing motion events in a qualitative way.