Embedding Vague Spatial Objects into Spatial Databases using the VagueGeometry Abstract Data Type

Spatial vagueness has been required by geoscientists to handle vague spatial objects, i.e., spatial objects that do not have exact locations, strict boundaries, or sharp interiors. However, there is a gap in the literature in how to handle these objects in spatial database management systems since they mainly provide support to crisp spatial objects, i.e., objects that have well-defined locations, boundaries, and interiors. In this paper, we fill this gap by proposing VagueGeometry, a novel abstract data type that handles vague spatial objects, includes an expressive set of vague spatial operations, and its implementation is open source. Experimental results show that VagueGeometry improved the performance of spatial queries with vague topological predicates from 23% up to 84% if compared with functionalities available in current spatial databases.