Journal of Geography and Earth Sciences

A New Approach for Computing Anisotropic Cost Surfaces and Least-Cost Paths
C. Romo, J.C. Torres, G. Arroyo and A. León

Abstract
Cost surfaces are a useful tool for solving many spatial analysis problems. However, GIS tools are limited when used to compute cost surfaces. This is primarily because they can only deal with isotropic frictions or, at best, they use a very limited definition of anisotropic friction that only considers local information, thereby generating unnatural paths. This paper proposes a novel algorithm for computing anisotropic cost surfaces from a cell traversing cost which not only incorporates the direction of movement, but also the change of direction. As such we can solve real-world anisotropic problems, such as the design of roads. The paper also describes the implementation of this approach on GRASS GIS.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jges.v10n1a1