A framework for trajectory data warehousing and visual OLAP analysis

This thesis is aimed at designing a formal framework for modelling a Trajectory Data Warehouse, namely a data warehouse able to store aggregate information related to trajectories of moving objects, which also offers visual OLAP operations for data analysis. The TDW model includes both a temporal and a spatial dimensions, that ensure flexibility, making our model general enough to deal with objects that are either completely free or constrained in their movements. This dimensions and associated hierarchies reflect the structure of the objects and of the environment in which they travel. Our framework also includes a visual interface for easily navigating aggregate measures obtained from OLAP queries at different granularities. To highlight the usefulness of the framework, we propose two different case studies, differing for the type of the observed moving objects, the available information about the objects, and their movement constraints.