Detección de carriles en caminos rurales no pavimentados

El trabajo presenta un procedimiento para la detección de caminos rurales, particularmente aquellos de tierra, grava, ripio o estabilizado, que por sus características constructivas no presentan delimitaciones laterales parejas, ni demarcación central o lateral. Este tipo de caminos es frecuente en varios países que, por su infraestructura vial, aún tienen un gran porcentaje de carreteras consideradas como pertenecientes a la red terciaria –sin pavimentar ni delinear-. El procedimiento propuesto de detección de bordes de los caminos utiliza una estrategia de análisis primario de los canales de matiz, saturación e intensidad de la imagen a fin de detectar cuál de ellos provee, en cada caso, mejor información. Posteriormente se aplica una secuencia de filtros de convolución que faciliten la detección de las curvas que mapean ambos bordes laterales mediante una transformada de Hough adaptativa.IX Workshop Procesamiento de Señales y Sistemas de Tiempo Real (WPSTR)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Detección de carriles en caminos rurales no pavimentados

El trabajo presenta un procedimiento para la detección de caminos rurales, particularmente aquellos de tierra, grava, ripio o estabilizado, que por sus características constructivas no presentan delimitaciones laterales parejas, ni demarcación central o lateral. Este tipo de caminos es frecuente en varios países que, por su infraestructura vial, aún tienen un gran porcentaje de carreteras consideradas como pertenecientes a la red terciaria –sin pavimentar ni delinear-. El procedimiento propuesto de detección de bordes de los caminos utiliza una estrategia de análisis primario de los canales de matiz, saturación e intensidad de la imagen a fin de detectar cuál de ellos provee, en cada caso, mejor información. Posteriormente se aplica una secuencia de filtros de convolución que faciliten la detección de las curvas que mapean ambos bordes laterales mediante una transformada de Hough adaptativa.IX Workshop Procesamiento de Señales y Sistemas de Tiempo Real (WPSTR)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Detección de carriles en caminos rurales no pavimentados

El trabajo presenta un procedimiento para la detección de caminos rurales, particularmente aquellos de tierra, grava, ripio o estabilizado, que por sus características constructivas no presentan delimitaciones laterales parejas, ni demarcación central o lateral. Este tipo de caminos es frecuente en varios países que, por su infraestructura vial, aún tienen un gran porcentaje de carreteras consideradas como pertenecientes a la red terciaria –sin pavimentar ni delinear-. El procedimiento propuesto de detección de bordes de los caminos utiliza una estrategia de análisis primario de los canales de matiz, saturación e intensidad de la imagen a fin de detectar cuál de ellos provee, en cada caso, mejor información. Posteriormente se aplica una secuencia de filtros de convolución que faciliten la detección de las curvas que mapean ambos bordes laterales mediante una transformada de Hough adaptativa.IX Workshop Procesamiento de Señales y Sistemas de Tiempo Real (WPSTR)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Automatic Generation of Urban Road 3D Models for Pedestrian Studies From LiDAR Data

[Abstract] The point clouds acquired with a mobile LiDAR scanner (MLS) have high density and accuracy, which allows one to identify different elements of the road in them, as can be found in many scientific references, especially in the last decade. This study presents a methodology to characterize the urban space available for walking, by segmenting point clouds from data acquired with MLS and automatically generating impedance surfaces to be used in pedestrian accessibility studies. Common problems in the automatic segmentation of the LiDAR point cloud were corrected, achieving a very accurate segmentation of the points belonging to the ground. In addition, problems caused by occlusions caused mainly by parked vehicles and that prevent the availability of LiDAR points in spaces normally intended for pedestrian circulation, such as sidewalks, were solved in the proposed methodology. The innovation of this method lies, therefore, in the high definition of the generated 3D model of the pedestrian space to model pedestrian mobility, which allowed us to apply it in the search for shorter and safer pedestrian paths between the homes and schools of students in urban areas within the Big-Geomove project. Both the developed algorithms and the LiDAR data used are freely licensed for their use in further research.This research study was funded by the Directorate-General for Traffic of Spain, grant number SPIP2017-0234

Safety-critical scenarios and virtual testing procedures for automated cars at road intersections

This thesis addresses the problem of road intersection safety with regard to a mixed population of automated vehicles and non-automated road users. The work derives and evaluates safety-critical scenarios at road junctions, which can pose a particular safety problem involving automated cars. A simulation and evaluation framework for car-to-car accidents is presented and demonstrated, which allows examining the safety performance of automated driving systems within those scenarios. Given the recent advancements in automated driving functions, one of the main challenges is safe and efficient operation in complex traffic situations such as road junctions. There is a need for comprehensive testing, either in virtual testing environments or on real-world test tracks. Since it is unrealistic to cover all possible combinations of traffic situations and environment conditions, the challenge is to find the key driving situations to be evaluated at junctions. Against this background, a novel method to derive critical pre-crash scenarios from historical car accident data is presented. It employs k-medoids to cluster historical junction crash data into distinct partitions and then applies the association rules algorithm to each cluster to specify the driving scenarios in more detail. The dataset used consists of 1,056 junction crashes in the UK, which were exported from the in-depth On-the-Spot database. The study resulted in thirteen crash clusters for T-junctions, and six crash clusters for crossroads. Association rules revealed common crash characteristics, which were the basis for the scenario descriptions. As a follow-up to the scenario generation, the thesis further presents a novel, modular framework to transfer the derived collision scenarios to a sub-microscopic traffic simulation environment. The software CarMaker is used with MATLAB/Simulink to simulate realistic models of vehicles, sensors and road environments and is combined with an advanced Monte Carlo method to obtain a representative set of parameter combinations. The analysis of different safety performance indicators computed from the simulation outputs reveals collision and near-miss probabilities for selected scenarios. The usefulness and applicability of the simulation and evaluation framework is demonstrated for a selected junction scenario, where the safety performance of different in-vehicle collision avoidance systems is studied. The results show that the number of collisions and conflicts were reduced to a tenth when adding a crossing and turning assistant to a basic forward collision avoidance system. Due to its modular architecture, the presented framework can be adapted to the individual needs of future users and may be enhanced with customised simulation models. Ultimately, the thesis leads to more efficient workflows when virtually testing automated driving at intersections, as a complement to field operational tests on public roads

Drones and Geographical Information Technologies in Agroecology and Organic Farming

Although organic farming and agroecology are normally not associated with the use of new technologies, it’s rapid growth, new technologies are being adopted to mitigate environmental impacts of intensive production implemented with external material and energy inputs. GPS, satellite images, GIS, drones, help conventional farming in precision supply of water, pesticides, fertilizers. Prescription maps define the right place and moment for interventions of machinery fleets. Yield goal remains the key objective, integrating a more efficient use or resources toward an economic-environmental sustainability. Technological smart farming allows extractive agriculture entering the sustainability era. Societies that practice agroecology through the development of human-environmental co-evolutionary systems represent a solid model of sustainability. These systems are characterized by high-quality agroecosystems and landscapes, social inclusion, and viable economies. This book explores the challenges posed by the new geographic information technologies in agroecology and organic farming. It discusses the differences among technology-laden conventional farming systems and the role of technologies in strengthening the potential of agroecology. The first part reviews the new tools offered by geographic information technologies to farmers and people. The second part provides case studies of most promising application of technologies in organic farming and agroecology: the diffusion of hyperspectral imagery, the role of positioning systems, the integration of drones with satellite imagery. The third part of the book, explores the role of agroecology using a multiscale approach from the farm to the landscape level. This section explores the potential of Geodesign in promoting alliances between farmers and people, and strengthening food networks, whether through proximity urban farming or asserting land rights in remote areas in the spirit of agroecological transition. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons 4.0 license

Urban Informatics

This open access book is the first to systematically introduce the principles of urban informatics and its application to every aspect of the city that involves its functioning, control, management, and future planning. It introduces new models and tools being developed to understand and implement these technologies that enable cities to function more efficiently – to become ‘smart’ and ‘sustainable’. The smart city has quickly emerged as computers have become ever smaller to the point where they can be embedded into the very fabric of the city, as well as being central to new ways in which the population can communicate and act. When cities are wired in this way, they have the potential to become sentient and responsive, generating massive streams of ‘big’ data in real time as well as providing immense opportunities for extracting new forms of urban data through crowdsourcing. This book offers a comprehensive review of the methods that form the core of urban informatics from various kinds of urban remote sensing to new approaches to machine learning and statistical modelling. It provides a detailed technical introduction to the wide array of tools information scientists need to develop the key urban analytics that are fundamental to learning about the smart city, and it outlines ways in which these tools can be used to inform design and policy so that cities can become more efficient with a greater concern for environment and equity

Urban Informatics

This open access book is the first to systematically introduce the principles of urban informatics and its application to every aspect of the city that involves its functioning, control, management, and future planning. It introduces new models and tools being developed to understand and implement these technologies that enable cities to function more efficiently – to become ‘smart’ and ‘sustainable’. The smart city has quickly emerged as computers have become ever smaller to the point where they can be embedded into the very fabric of the city, as well as being central to new ways in which the population can communicate and act. When cities are wired in this way, they have the potential to become sentient and responsive, generating massive streams of ‘big’ data in real time as well as providing immense opportunities for extracting new forms of urban data through crowdsourcing. This book offers a comprehensive review of the methods that form the core of urban informatics from various kinds of urban remote sensing to new approaches to machine learning and statistical modelling. It provides a detailed technical introduction to the wide array of tools information scientists need to develop the key urban analytics that are fundamental to learning about the smart city, and it outlines ways in which these tools can be used to inform design and policy so that cities can become more efficient with a greater concern for environment and equity