Object Oriented Spherical Interface Position System (OOSIPS)

James Stephen Schaefer

Abstract:	Traditional Global Positioning Systems have been successfully implemented in space, air, marine, and land application for many years. A primary issue in building such systems is how to structure the data they contain in a manor that provides economy, flexibility, reusability, and ease of use. By using Object Oriented Programming (OOP) techniques to develop an Object Oriented Spherical Interface Position System (OOSIPS) Model we can address these issues. This paper discusses the theory underlying this model, its implementation, and finally provides a preliminary evaluation of the resulting system. In this model, the Earth is encapsulated in an imaginary three-dimensional figure built from a finite number of flat triangular panels of uniform size. The icosahedron has been chosen to represent the basic concepts of the OOSIPS Model, in this paper. However, a geodesic sphere consisting of congruent triangles (e.g. 1450 faces) could be substituted as a starting point. The reason for choosing the icosahedron will become apparent as we develop our OOP model. Once encapsulated, an icosahedron can be used to make a flat map that gives good approximations of distances on Earth’s surface [Lars9S]. Then OOP techniques can be used to construct a corresponding “Class” structure. This structure would contain distortion information introduced when projecting the Earth’s surface outward to the icosahedron and specific location information for objects selected for tracking (e.g. satellite, aircraft, ship, vehicle, etc.) or inventory (e.g. state, county, city, street, building, room, etc.). Finally, integrated tracking and inventory information can be seamlessly presented through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to those interested in geographical and land management applications and those interested in navigation and tracking applications. This paper will attempt to show that the OOSIPS Model represents a streamlined method of pooling investment by federal, state, and county governmental agencies, as well as the private sector.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 18 - 20, 1995 Disneyland Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	223 - 229
Cite this article:	Schaefer, James Stephen, "Object Oriented Spherical Interface Position System (OOSIPS)," Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 1995, pp. 223-229.
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