Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

GUARDIANS final report

Emergencies in industrial warehouses are a major concern for firefghters. The large dimensions together with the development of dense smoke that drastically reduces visibility, represent major challenges. The Guardians robot swarm is designed to assist fire fighters in searching a large warehouse. In this report we discuss the technology developed for a swarm of robots searching and assisting fire fighters. We explain the swarming algorithms which provide the functionality by which the robots react to and follow humans while no communication is required. Next we discuss the wireless communication system, which is a so-called mobile ad-hoc network. The communication network provides also one of the means to locate the robots and humans. Thus the robot swarm is able to locate itself and provide guidance information to the humans. Together with the re ghters we explored how the robot swarm should feed information back to the human fire fighter. We have designed and experimented with interfaces for presenting swarm based information to human beings

Approximation algorithms for network design and cut problems in bounded-treewidth

This thesis explores two optimization problems, the group Steiner tree and firefighter problems, which are known to be NP-hard even on trees. We study the approximability of these problems on trees and bounded-treewidth graphs. In the group Steiner tree, the input is a graph and sets of vertices called groups; the goal is to choose one representative from each group and connect all the representatives with minimum cost. We show an O(log^2 n)-approximation algorithm for bounded-treewidth graphs, matching the known lower bound for trees, and improving the best possible result using previous techniques. We also show improved approximation results for group Steiner forest, directed Steiner forest, and a fault-tolerant version of group Steiner tree. In the firefighter problem, we are given a graph and a vertex which is burning. At each time step, we can protect one vertex that is not burning; fire then spreads to all unprotected neighbors of burning vertices. The goal is to maximize the number of vertices that the fire does not reach. On trees, a classic (1-1/e)-approximation algorithm is known via LP rounding. We prove that the integrality gap of the LP matches this approximation, and show significant evidence that additional constraints may improve its integrality gap. On bounded-treewidth graphs, we show that it is NP-hard to find a subpolynomial approximation even on graphs of treewidth 5. We complement this result with an O(1)-approximation on outerplanar graphs.Diese Arbeit untersucht zwei Optimierungsprobleme, von welchen wir wissen, dass sie selbst in Bäumen NP-schwer sind. Wir analysieren Approximationen für diese Probleme in Bäumen und Graphen mit begrenzter Baumweite. Im Gruppensteinerbaumproblem, sind ein Graph und Mengen von Knoten (Gruppen) gegeben; das Ziel ist es, einen Knoten von jeder Gruppe mit minimalen Kosten zu verbinden. Wir beschreiben einen O(log^2 n)-Approximationsalgorithmus für Graphen mit beschränkter Baumweite, dies entspricht der zuvor bekannten unteren Schranke für Bäume und ist zudem eine Verbesserung über die bestmöglichen Resultate die auf anderen Techniken beruhen. Darüber hinaus zeigen wir verbesserte Approximationsresultate für andere Gruppensteinerprobleme. Im Feuerwehrproblem sind ein Graph zusammen mit einem brennenden Knoten gegeben. In jedem Zeitschritt können wir einen Knoten der noch nicht brennt auswählen und diesen vor dem Feuer beschützen. Das Feuer breitet sich anschließend zu allen Nachbarn aus. Das Ziel ist es die Anzahl der Knoten die vom Feuer unberührt bleiben zu maximieren. In Bäumen existiert ein lang bekannter (1-1/e)-Approximationsalgorithmus der auf LP Rundung basiert. Wir zeigen, dass die Ganzzahligkeitslücke des LP tatsächlich dieser Approximation entspricht, und dass weitere Einschränkungen die Ganzzahligkeitslücke möglicherweise verbessern könnten. Für Graphen mit beschränkter Baumweite zeigen wir, dass es NP-schwer ist, eine sub-polynomielle Approximation zu finden

Fire spread across inner courtyards façades

2n premi al millor Treball de Fi de Grau del CGATE 2021.El present treball té per objecte l’estudi de la propagació d’incendis en façanes de patis interiors. El primer capítol aporta una visió general dels diferents processos físics i químics que intervenen en el foc i els conceptes de resistència i reacció al foc. La segona part del primer capítol és un repàs sobre l’evolució de la normativa de protecció contra incendis a l’Estat espanyol, des de l’aparició de la primera Norma Tecnològica l’any 1974 fins l’actual Codi Tècnic d’Edificació, d'ara endavant CTE. També s’inclou el cas particular de l’Ordenança Municipal de la ciutat de Barcelona. El segon capítol tracta la propagació del foc a través de façanes a partir de la classificació realitzada per Pilar Giraldo en la seva tesi doctoral. Aquesta, distingeix quatre mecanismes de propagació del foc per façana: A través de les finestres, a través del pas entre forjat i façana, a través de cambres ventilades i mitjançant revestiments combustibles. S’analitzen cadascun d’aquests mecanismes a partir d’imatges de casos reals i de com el CTE tracta la limitació de la propagació. En cada un d’aquests mecanismes es fa una reflexió sobre com Bombers afronta aquest fenomen a nivell operatiu. El tercer capítol tracta la propagació del foc a través de patis interiors, prenent com a punt de partida el que la comunitat científica ha establert respecte el moviment del fum en els edificis. Es classifiquen els patis interiors en tres tipus; patis de ventilació, celoberts i patis interiors d’illa. El fil conductor, com en el segon capítol, és l’exposició de casos reals i l’anàlisi del tractament que el CTE fa d’aquest problema, des del punt de vista de l’actuació de Bombers. La prioritat en cas d’incendi d’habitatge és el salvament de persones i en segon lloc l’extinció. Per aquest motiu, tracta la relació entre pati interior i caixa d’escala, per la repercussió directa sobre la seguretat en l’evacuació de les persones i el salvament. En el quart capítol s’exposen catorze casos d’incendi ocorreguts tots ells a Barcelona i l’Àrea Metropolitana en els anys 2007 a 2019. Són casos en que en què la propagació del foc pel pati interior i/o recinte de caixa d’escala ha tingut paper important en el desenvolupament de l’incendi. Un d’aquest casos, el cas 14, s’ha tractat de manera més profunda i és objecte d’anàlisi en el cinquè capítol. En el cinquè capítol és la continuació de l’estudi del cas 14 tractat en el quart capítol, a partir del modelatge i simulació computacional d’incendis amb el programa Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). Prèvia recollida de dades sobre l’edifici i circumstàncies de l’incendi, s’ha construït un model geomètric que reprodueix la geometria real de l’edifici, mobiliari existent, situació de les obertures i propietats calorífiques dels materials. Concretament s’ha modelat el pati interior, dos patis de ventilació un recinte d’escala protegida i les parts confrontants de les quatre finques afectades per l’incendi.The present work aims to study the spread of fires on inner courtyard facades. It begins with the collection and thinking about the information related to the spread of fire in inner courtyards that has been found in the recent technical literature. A set of real cases are analysed and studied; to continue to the computational modelling of a paradigmatic case. Next there is a detailed summary of each chapter. The first chapter deals with the spread of fire across the inner courtyards, taking as a starting point what the scientific community has established regarding the movement of smoke in buildings. There are three types of inner courtyards: Airy patio, light patio and inner courtyard of the block. The guiding thread is the exposition of real cases and the analysis of the treatment that the CTE makes of this problem from the point of view of the fire service. The priority in case of a housing fire is the rescuing of people, and secondly the extinction. For this reason, it deals with the relationship between the inner courtyard and the staircase due to the direct repercussion of the security in the evacuation of people. The second chapter presents fourteen cases of fire, all of which took place in Barcelona and the Metropolitan Area from 2007 to 2019. These are cases in which the spread of fire across the inner courtyard and/or box enclosure scale has played an important role in the development of the fire. One of these cases, Case 14, has been dealt with more depth in Chapter 3. The third chapter is a continuation of the study of case 14 that is analysed in the second chapter. Its analysis is based on the computer modelling and simulation of fires with the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) program. After collecting data of the building and of the circumstances of the fire, a geometric model has been constructed that reproduces the actual geometry of the building, the existing furniture, the location of the openings and the calorific properties of the materials. It was a light patio, two small airy patios and a protected staircase with the adjoining parts of the four buildings affected by the fire were modelled. The general conclusions of the study are established when the previous chapters are completed. There are two areas of conclusions and some final recommendations. The conclusions of the analysis on the spread of fire and its real effects are explained. The conclusions of the computational analysis of FDS program about case 14 are presented. Finally, some recommendations are established in order to improve technical and functional parameters on inner courtyards.Award-winnin