An Agent-based, Global User Interface for Distributed Geographic Information Services

This paper establishes an architecture for global user interfaces by defining appropriate user tasks and designing an agent-based interface mechanism for distributed geographic information services. User tasks include query, display, data integration, and GIS processing functions. The use of intelligent agents is justified in the context of increasing geospatial data volume, increasing complexity of GIS modeling, and the diversity of GIS software resources available on local and distributed networks. The architecture is defined within a context of distributed component technology. Internet-based GIS use can be facilitated by a global user interface, which is platform-independent, modularized, self-describing, and able to access multiple, heterogeneous, geographic information services distributed on the Internet.