GeoWorlds: A Geographically-based Information System for Situation Understanding and Management

GeoWorlds (http://www.isi.edu/geoworlds ) is a component-based information management system aimed at helping organizations to marshal, analyze, discuss, and act on all of the available information about a situation playing out over space and time. The system integrates digital library, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensor data management technologies, together with other information analysis, retrieval and collaboration tools. It shows how users can rapidly assemble a custom repository of geographic information about a region, bi-directionally link it to collections of documentbased information from the World-Wide Web, and monitor real-time sensor data for information that might change conclusions or decisions formed on the basis of this rich information set. This functionality is provided within a framework that enables synchronous and asynchronous collaboration over finding, filtering, organizing and visualizing the needed information.