Spatial network analysis software
Spatial network analysis software are computer tools used to prepare various graph-based analysis of spatial networks. They stem from the research field of space syntax in the domain of architecture, although they can now be used to analyse road networks over an entire continent.
As the domain of space syntax has expanded, there are now a plethora of tools associated with it. Since most were developed within the academic community, most tend to be free for academic use, and some are open source.
- Ajanachara. Open source software developed by Gerald Franz at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics to perform [visibility graph analysis] of 3D Studio Max and VRML models.
- Axman The (near) original developed by Nick Sheep Dalton of UCL to perform axial line analysis on computers running Mac OS. This spawned many offshoots such as Pesh (for the analysis of convex space networks) and SpaceBox (for the analysis of 'all-line' axial maps).
- Confeego Developed by the commercial company Space Syntax Limited, but available free for academic use, this software plugs directly into MapInfo to analyse line axial networks.
- Depthmap Developed by UCL, this software was first developed to perform visibility graph analysis of building systems on computers running Windows, but now includes the automatic generation of axial line networks and analysis of axial line networks and road segment line networks at anything up to the level of the USA or Europe.
- Spatialist Developed at Georgia Institute of Technology, this software is plugs into the Microstation CAD package to analyse networks of automatically generated 'e-spaces' and 's-spaces', this software plugs into.
- Webmap Also developed by Nick Sheep Dalton at UCL, this software is free to use (althought it requires registration), and allows users to analyse axial maps through a web browser interface.