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

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 1 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 9 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 11 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 12 Advertisements IEEE

The application of artificial intelligence techniques to large distributed networks

Data accessibility and transfer of information, including the land resources information system pilot, are structured as large computer information networks. These pilot efforts include the reduction of the difficulty to find and use data, reducing processing costs, and minimize incompatibility between data sources. Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques were suggested to achieve these goals. The applicability of certain AI techniques are explored in the context of distributed problem solving systems and the pilot land data system (PLDS). The topics discussed include: PLDS and its data processing requirements, expert systems and PLDS, distributed problem solving systems, AI problem solving paradigms, query processing, and distributed data bases

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics - BDEI - Planning Workshop on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics for the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

This proposal solicits funding to organize and conduct a planning workshop that will establish and facilitate research on the informatics needed to address complex issues of biodiversity and ecosystem processes within the Indian River Lagoon. This workshop will provide the opportunity and resources for collaboration and discussion among scientists from diverse fields of biodiversity, ecological sciences, remote sensing, geographic information systems, computer science and intelligent systems. The topics to be discussed will include investigation of novel computational intelligence techniques for modeling, prediction, analysis and database management of the disparate and complex data for the Indian River Lagoon. The explicit products of the proposed workshop will be a white paper and technical report, a formal research agenda that incorporates informatics into existing and planned research, and preparation of a competitive proposal based on the recommendations and preliminary work defined by the workshop

A systematic review of application of multi-criteria decision analysis for aging-dam management

[EN] Decisions for aging-dam management requires a transparent process to prevent the dam failure, thus to avoid severe consequences in socio-economic and environmental terms. Multiple criteria analysis arose to model complex problems like this. This paper reviews specific problems, applications and Multi-Criteria Decision Making techniques for dam management. Multi-Attribute Decision Making techniques had a major presence under the single approach, specially the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and its combination with Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution was prominent under the hybrid approach; while a high variety of complementary techniques was identified. A growing hybridization and fuzzification are the two most relevant trends observed. The integration of stakeholders within the decision making process and the inclusion of trade-offs and interactions between components within the evaluation model must receive a deeper exploration. Despite the progressive consolidation of Multi-Criteria Decision Making in dam management, further research is required to differentiate between rational and intuitive decision processes. Additionally, the need to address benefits, opportunities, costs and risks related to repair, upgrading or removal measures in aging dams suggests the Analytic Network Process, not yet explored under this approach, as an interesting path worth investigating.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness along with FEDER funding (Projects BIA201456574-R and ECO2015-66673-R).Zamarrón-Mieza, I.; Yepes, V.; Moreno-Jiménez, JM. (2017). A systematic review of application of multi-criteria decision analysis for aging-dam management. Journal of Cleaner Production. 147:217-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.092S21723014