Web map-based POI visualization for spatial decision support

The ability to extract useful information from data is a topic of considerable interest, especially with regard to organizing point-of-interest (POI) information containing many attributes as well as data about business. In generating intuitive results from investigations of traditional relational databases, traditional scientific visualization approaches for multidimensional data (e.g., Visualization in Scientific Computing) are inefficient, and deficiencies are often encountered when organizing multidimensional POIs using current online mapping tools (e.g., Google Maps). A new web visualization strategy combining a tile base map and POI symbols is proposed in this study to address the problem. In this strategy, web maps are used as the background, and POI symbols are overlaid on top of the geographical base map through a web visualization. The design and implementation of the variable model of the POI symbol were developed based on the principles of cognitive psychology. Using the information management system of welfare lottery terminals in Hubei Province in China as an example, the system architecture and functions were built using the hypermedia model, and detailed spatial decision support was provided based on the proposed visual environment integrating DCM (i.e., Digital Cartographic Model) and DLM (i.e., Digital Landscape Model) together.