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Manohar Kumar C.V.S.S

Satellite Image Analaysis and PhotoGrammtry
M.Tech in Remote Sensing and GIS
Indian Institute Of Remote Sensing
Indian Space Research Organisation
Dehradun
Cellular Automata for
GIS
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Contents
1. Automata .................................................................................................. 3
2. Cellular Automaton .................................................................................. 3
3. Geographic Information System(GIS) ..................................................... 4
4. Cellular Automata For GIS ...................................................................... 4
4.1 Modelling and Simulation .................................................................. 5
4.2 Urban Development: .......................................................................... 6
5. Bibliography ............................................................................................. 7















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1. Automata
Automata is the study of useful machines under mathematical relation. Automaton is open to the
"real world machine", which we want to model using the automaton.
Automata is closely related to formal language theory. An automaton is a finite representation of
a formal language that may be an infinite set. Automata are often classified by the class of formal
languages they are able to recognize.
Automata play a major role in theory of computation, compiler design, artificial
intelligence, parsing and formal verification.
[1]


2. Cellular Automaton
A cellular automaton consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states,
such as on and off. The grid can be in any finite number of dimensions. For each cell, a set of
cells called its neighborhood is defined relative to the specified cell. An initial state is selected by
assigning a state for each cell. A new generation is created, according to some
fixedrule(generally, a mathematical function) that determines the new state of each cell in terms
of the current state of the cell and the states of the cells in its neighborhood. Typically, the rule
for updating the state of cells is the same for each cell and does not change over time, and is
applied to the whole grid simultaneously, though exceptions are known, such as the stochastic
cellular automaton and asynchronous cellular automaton.
A cellular automaton is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics,
complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling. Cellular automata are also
called cellular spaces, tessellation automata, homogeneous structures, cellular
structures, tessellation structures, and iterative arrays.
[2]

One way to simulate a two-dimensional cellular automaton is with an infinite sheet of graph
paper along with a set of rules for the cells to follow. Each square is called a "cell" and each cell
has two possible states, black and white. The neighborhood of a cell is the nearby, usually
adjacent, cells.
Cellular automata are often simulated on a finite grid rather than an infinite one. In two
dimensions, the universe would be a rectangle instead of an infinite plane. The obvious problem
with finite grids is how to handle the cells on the edges. How they are handled will affect the
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values of all the cells in the grid. One possible method is to allow the values in those cells to
remain constant. Another method is to define neighborhoods differently for these cells. One
could say that they have fewer neighbors, but then one would also have to define new rules for
the cells located on the edges.
[3]

3. Geographic Information System(GIS)
The acronym GIS is sometimes used for geographical information science or geospatial
information studies.An integrated collection of computer software and data used to view and
manage information about geographic places, analyze spatial relationships, and model spatial
processes. A GIS provides a framework for gathering and organizing spatial data and related
information so that it can be displayed and analyzed.
[4]
A GIS, captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that is linked to location.
Technically, GIS is geographic information systems which includes mapping software and its
application with remote sensing, land surveying, aerial photography,
mathematics, photogrammetry, geography, and tools that can be implemented with GIS
software. Still, many refer to "geographic information system" as GIS even though it doesn't
cover all tools connected to topology.Geographic information can be accessed, transferred,
transformed, overlaid, processed and displayed using numerous software applications.
[5]

4. Cellular Automata For GIS
Cellular automata (CA) are one of the simplest forms of complex systems model that are suitable
for modeling dynamic spatial phenomena such as land-use change and urban growth. They
operate in an abstract universe with space represented by an infinite grid of cells and time by a
set of discrete time steps. The grid is usually composed of equally sized square cells, though
hexagons have also been used and triangles proposed. Each cell contains a single value that
represents the state of the phenomena in question, for example, land use. At each time step a set
of simple local rules is applied to each cell to determine its state at the following time step. The
transition rules examine the cells in the neighborhood to determine if and how the central cell
will change state at the following iteration. Neighborhoods are traditionally defined as either the
von Neumann or the Moore neighborhood. Together, these five components make up a
traditional CA model.
[8]

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Cellular automata are mathematical models for systems in which many simple components act
together to produce complicated patterns of behavior.CA have close associations with
complexity theory and have been employed in the exploration of a diverse range of urban
phenomena. Urban applications of CA range from traffic simulation and regional-scale
urbanization to land-use dynamics, historical urbanization, and urban development. The
integration of GIS and CA will accelerate GISs ability of simulating geographical process
greatly especially.
4.1 Modeling and Simulation
Cellular automata as a tool for modeling and simulation of processes taking place in the real
world are now increasingly used, as evidenced by their use not only as a tool for creating
simulations, but also by their use in areas of crisis management. Using GIS knowledge it is
possible to create cellular automata, which can appropriately and authentically reflect the water
flow on the Earths surface. The issue of the water flow simulation on the surface using cellular
automata is a complex problem, into which a large number of external factors enter. Some of
these factors are necessary to be generalized to a great extent; some must be included in the
model itself. These factors may include, for example, liquid balance equation where it is
necessary to determine the amount of liquid which is located in the cell, the amount of liquid
which is absorbed into the terrain (infiltration) and that which is partially evaporated
(evapotranspiration). Another factor is determination of the speed of distribution of liquid
amongst the cells during each step of the simulation.
[9]
A models are usually based on fine regular tessellations such as a grid, in which every cell is
identical, has identical relations with each of its neighbors, and has a standard neighborhood of
cells in which these relations operate. These neighborhoods are strictly local in that they are
based on physically adjacent cells. In geographic and urban models, this may be over-simplistic,
and it has some restrictions in cellular shape, neighborhood and neighbor rules, which restrict the
CAs ability to simulate real world. The standard CA exists some problems mainly as follows:
(1) Space partition, namely determination of space pixel. Each kind of graphical object has itself
space scale in the system which plenty of graphical entities exist together. In addition, graphical
entity represents different behavior in different space scale. It is a problem how to determinate a
uniform spatial resolution. (2) Precision & Quantity. CA models are usually based on fine
regular tessellations, cell is similar to the grid of grid data in GIS, it exists some problems such
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as imprecise locating and tremendous quantity. (3) Cell space is divided into regular tessellations
on abstract space in standard CA. Every cell is identical, has identical relations with each of its
neighbors. This kind of CA can expose local reciprocity among cells. But geographical system is
a typical complex system, which is a compound system consisted of physical, social and
economic subsystems. The complexity is an essential characteristic of Geo-Spatial System for its
complexity properties such as non-equilibrium, multi-scale, indeterminacy, hierarchy, self-
organizing, self-similarity, randomicity, iterativeness, and so forth. So regular space system
exists hardly in real world.
[6]
4.2 Urban Development
The human geographical processes of urbanization and urban spread will apparently continue
unabated into the twenty-first century. By the last decade of this century (1995), 21 world cities
had total metropolitan area populations of over 6 million, led by Tokyo(30 300 000), New
York(18 087 251), Seoul (15 850 000), Mexico City(14 100 000) and Moscow(13 150 000).
Also by 1995, the number of people worldwide living in settlements of five thousand or more
reached 51%, a majority of humankind and a dramatic increase from 29% in 1950. Gottmann
(1961) coined the term megalopolis to describe the coalescence of metropolitan areas in the
northeastern United States. In the era of GIS, remote sensing and digital map products have
recorded the birth and growth of similar megalopolises in California and in Mexico, South
America, Europe, and Asia. New estimates of the world population in 2100ad indicate an
increase from the present population of 5.5 billion to 10 to 20 billion. We have termed the
resultant super cities gigalopolis , the twenty-first century system of world cities containing
billions of people centered on the worlds major urban areas. Gibsons fictional view of the
future urban United States, for example, talks only of the `East Sprawl and the `West Sprawl.
The magnitude of gigalopolis in population terms, however, understates the most critical
permanent impact of increased urban-space consumption, which is usually at the expense of
prime agricultural land essential for food production. Looked at spatially, each expanding
metropolitan area will become both physically and virtually connected to other growing
concentrations of people in the coming century through raw gain of territory as well as broader
communication, transportation, and economic ties. Not since the dominance of agriculture within
human affairs millennia ago has humankinds habitat changed so quickly and irreversibly.
Simultaneously, recent trends show first that people are consuming more space per person within
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their urban environment, but also that the average household size is decreasing, at least in
western cities. Urbanization and urban growth go hand-in-hand, and generate many other land
transitions, with several varied land use types eventually converting to urban use. The spatial
consequences of the urban transition deserve serious study by scientists and policy makers
concerned with global change because they will impact humankind directly and profoundly.
Vitousek (1994 ) called land use/land cover changes, including the urban transition, one of the
few certainties of global change, because we are `certain that they are going on, and certain that
they are human-caused.
[7]
5. Bibliography
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automata_theory
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_automaton
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_automata
[4] http://wiki.gis.com/wiki/index.php/New_to_GIS#Related_links
[5] http://wiki.gis.com/wiki/index.php/GIS#Raster
[6] Hu Shiyuan and Li Deren "Vector Cellular Automata Based Geographical Entity"
Geoinformatics 2004 Proc. 12th Int. Conf. on Geoinformatics Geospatial Information Research: Bridging the
Pacific and Atlantic University of Gvle, Sweden, 7-9 June 2004
[7] Keith C. Clarke "Loose-coupling a cellular automaton model and GIS: long-term urban
growth prediction for San Francisco and Washington/Baltimore", int. j. geographical information
science, 1998, vol. 12, no. 7, 699 714
[8] Daniel Stevens, Suzana Dragicevi " A GIS-based irregular cellular automata model of land-
use change" Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 2007, volume 34, pages 708 ^ 724
[9] Juraj, Cirbus, Michal, Podhornyi " Cellular Automata For Earth Surface Flow Simulation"
GIS Ostrava 2011, 23. 26. 1. 2011, Ostrava