Geospatial Methods for Mapping Domestic Waste Piles and Macro Plastics

There are growing concerns about the threats posed by plastics to human society and natural ecosystems. There is evidence of the harm presented to economies, public health and society. Although plastic pollution is an issue of great concern, low- and middle-income countries lack waste disposal services and this lead to disposal of waste including plastics into the environment. Monitoring presence of waste disposed into the environment is crucial for assessment of remedial measures . Traditional approach for identifying locations with plastic and waste accumulation in the environment involves field surveys, and drone technology is an emerging technology being applied for mapping the presence of plastics and waste in the environment. In this study, I have presented basic requirements for collecting data using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to map plastics and accumulation of domestic waste in the environment. For example, it was observed that a Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) of 2.51 cm is too coarse for mapping plastics of size less than 10 cm. Additionally, the study has also utilized random forest as a machine learning algorithm to classify and identify plastics and waste piles from UAV-derived imagery in a densely populated area of Blantyre, Malawi. The random forest predictions show high performance compared to prior studies for both waste piles (Precision: 0.9048, Recall: 0.95, and F-score: 0.9268) and plastics detection (Precision: 0.8905, Recall: 0.9421, and F-score: 0.9156). With the reported accuracies, UAV imagery can be employed to guide environmental policy implementation by helping in monitoring the effectiveness of policies that have been set to mitigate and address problems such as open waste dumping

Using mobile-based augmented reality and object detection for real-time Abalone growth monitoring

Abalone are becoming increasingly popular for human consumption. Whilst their popularity has risen, measuring the number and size distribution of Abalone at various stages of growth in existing farms remains a significant challenge. Current Abalone stock management techniques rely on manual inspection which is time consuming, causes stress to the animal, and results in mediocre data quality. To rectify this, we propose a novel mobile-based tool which combines object detection and augmented reality for the real-time counting and measuring of Abalone, that is both network and location independent. We applied our portable handset tool to both measure and count Abalone at various growth stages, and performed extended measuring evaluation to assess the robustness of our proposed approach. Our experimental results revealed that the proposed tool greatly outperforms traditional approaches and was able to successfully count up to 15 Abalone at various life stages with above 95% accuracy, as well as significantly decrease the time taken to measure Abalone while still maintaining an accuracy within a maximum error range of 2.5% of the Abalone’s actual size

Robotic Visual Tracking of Relevant Cues in Underwater Environments with Poor Visibility Conditions

Using visual sensors for detecting regions of interest in underwater environments is fundamental for many robotic applications. Particularly, for an autonomous exploration task, an underwater vehicle must be guided towards features that are of interest. If the relevant features can be seen from the distance, then smooth control movements of the vehicle are feasible in order to position itself close enough with the final goal of gathering visual quality images. However, it is a challenging task for a robotic system to achieve stable tracking of the same regions since marine environments are unstructured and highly dynamic and usually have poor visibility. In this paper, a framework that robustly detects and tracks regions of interest in real time is presented. We use the chromatic channels of a perceptual uniform color space to detect relevant regions and adapt a visual attention scheme to underwater scenes. For the tracking, we associate with each relevant point superpixel descriptors which are invariant to changes in illumination and shape. The field experiment results have demonstrated that our approach is robust when tested on different visibility conditions and depths in underwater explorations

Cartographic design of thematic polygons : a comparison using eye-movement metrics analysis

Map design research has strongly come into the agenda with the extensive use of GIS and maps in geoportals. Geoportals are used to find, access and display geographic data via the Internet. Novel opportunities and techniques for displaying geographic data in viewing services also introduce new challenges and issues in cartographic design. Specifically, thematic polygon layers (foreground) will obscure information in the background. Also, discriminating extents and locations of thematic polygon layers, that overlap each other is an issue. The aim of this thesis is to compare different cartographic design principles for thematic polygons and to utilize the eye-tracking methodology for solving cartographic design problems. Those suggestions are supported by empirical data collected from eye-movement metrics from subjects who performed inference tasks using maps of restriction areas. In this study, 32 participants with knowledge in cartography/geography/GIS were asked to solve practical map reading tasks in a controlled experiment. Cartographic design can be studied with eye-tracking, which is a commonly utilized method to study visual search problems and provide design guidelines to improve usability. To compare different cartographic design principles for polygon objects in a geoportal, four design techniques (boundary lines, transparency, hatches and icons) were empirically tested on 16 physical map areas, with two tasks (polygon identification and background search). These designs are provided by a Swedish standardization project in web cartography (SIS/TK570). Empirical results show that to interpret the extent of the polygon on the conditions created in this study, the hatches design gave better results. As the hatches had the shortest scan path, one could interpret that this design was good for this particular map task solving experiment. Also, the hatches had the shortest fixation duration, thus meaning the design was good for this particular task. Furthermore, since the fixation count was smallest with the hatches design, one could assume that this map stimuli or layout was easily interpreted. When comparing the results between tasks, it is evident that during the polygon identification task the hatches work way better than other designs. But during the background search task, the difference between designs is smaller, except for fixation count. Thus, from the results of the background search task, it is evident that the hatches are obscuring the background map, hiding important information. Based on the analysis of the four designs one can state that to improve design techniques for polygons that are on top of each other and on top of the background map would be a design that includes elements from various designs. It is important that geoportals enable various design properties to manipulate by the users and more than one default design option, because all tasks can’t be solved with the same design. Eye-tracking offers additional information, more than just reaction time and correctness of answers. From the eye-movement data it is possible to conclude why the reaction time and quality of inference are different between designs. Disadvantages are that the experiment design and artificial task design are far from the real task solving situation and the results are only effective in laboratory circumstances. The amount of studies that are using this method has increased, specifically studies that seek empirical evidence for better design techniques. The results can be generalized for similar thematic polygons and map reading tasks as used in this study.Map design makes a difference Geographic data are used by broad audiences for solving many difficult problems. Access to geographic data is mainly by maps, which are visual interfaces to information stored in spatial databases. Geoportals are used to find, access and display geographic data in viewing services, via the Internet. Novel opportunities and techniques for displaying geographic data in viewing services also introduce new challenges and issues. From this aspect, geoportals differ from common map products by the lack of a cartographer, who selects and optimizes data presentations and design according to the map purpose. Cartographic design can be studied with eye-tracking, which is a commonly utilized method to study visual search problems and provide design guidelines to improve usability. Cartographic designs can be compared by using an eye-tracking methodology, an eye-tracking experiment, to find designs that work better. Previous studies introduce new methods that help to solve challenges and issues with cartographic design, but none of these have explicitly studied thematic polygon layer design. Specifically, if thematic layers hide information in the background map and to see the extent and location of the polygon layer, that overlap each other. These affect the readability and usability of the geographic data viewed in maps and geoportals. This is important because many EU countries are now setting up the geoportals. Swedish Standardization Agency coordinates an ongoing (2015) project in web cartography (SIS/TK 570) which among others, include design recommendations for thematic polygons. To verify the best design principles in geoportals empirical evidence are needed. Furthermore, perceiving information efficiently and effectively is risen into the research agenda because graphical environments are turning more complex and hard to understand. In this study, 32 participants with knowledge in cartography/geography/GIS were asked to solve practical map reading tasks in a controlled experiment. To compare different cartographic design principles for polygon objects, four design techniques (boundary lines, transparency, hatches and icons) were empirically tested on 16 physical map areas. Empirical results show that to interpret the extent of the polygon, the hatches design gave better results. As the hatches had the shortest scan path, fixation duration and fixation count, one could assume that this map design was easily was good and easily interpreted. Based on the analysis, a design that includes elements from various designs would be a good improvement. For example, when including likeability of the transparency (to make readers like the map more), overall usage of borders and overall best performance for the hatches design, optimal design combination for geoportals can be recommended. Eye-tracking offers additional information, more than just reaction time and correctness of answers. From the eye-movement data it is possible to conclude why the reaction time and quality of inference are different between designs. The results can be generalized for similar thematic polygons and map reading tasks as used in this study. Official title: Cartographic design of thematic polygons: a comparison using eye-movement metrics analysi

Conch Calls into the Anthropocene: \u3ci\u3ePututus\u3c/i\u3e as Instruments of Human-Environmental Relations at Monumental Chavín

Pututus, conch shell musical horns, are known in the Andes as annunciatory devices enabling their players to call across long distances. Beyond their iconic call, the sonic and gestural versatility possible in pututu performance constitutes dynamical evidence for prehistorical uses and site-specific cultural valuations of these multifaceted ritual instruments. Pututus appear in drawings created during the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Andes, and intact shell horns have been excavated from monumental architecture in Perú preceding the Inca by more than two millennia. At the late Andean Formative center at Chavín de Huántar, Perú, a well-preserved ceremonial complex active during the first millennium BCE, pututus were depicted in stone and on decorated ceramics, and twenty-one intact shell horns have been excavated. The use-worn, identity-projecting, and symbolically notched Chavín pututus provide physical and acoustical evidence for instruments prominently depicted in site graphics. Here, I take a cross-disciplinary approach to examine the Chavín pututus with respect to site archaeology and its particular Andean highland setting, especially considering their dynamical potential. Chavín\u27s built environment and material record evince past strategies for environmental negotiations that foreshadow present-day discourse regarding the Anthropocene. Intrinsic to site ritual, the Chavín pututus were pivotal instruments in the expression of human-ecological (re)positionings. Archaeological engagement of both sound-related matters and environmental framing is at stake in my exploration of human-environmental interdynamics and their conceptualization, as evinced in the material culture of monumental Chavín and its setting. Chavín’s site-excavated Strombus pututus were tools for ritual communication that link diverse ecologies with human interventions towards environmental control. The human-environmental positionality of Chavín’s monumental architecture relates to the ecological materiality of pututus in their anthropic transposition from marine animal to (super)human vocal transformer and proxy: a technology of air transformation and wind interaction as well as sound production. Environmental interventions via Chavín architecture and these multimodal instruments manifest strategic realizations of human dominance while communicating negotiation within a flow-directing ritualscape. The Chavín pututus harbor cosmological significance whose details are mired in the uncertainty of archaeology, yet whose materiality conveys reference and function: they are instruments of human-environmental relations; ritual technologies for humans asserting agency in ordering their cosmos

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 141)

This special bibliography lists 267 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1975

Making a stronger case for comparative research to investigate the behavioral and neurological bases of three-dimensional navigation

The rich diversity of avian natural history provides exciting possibilities for comparative research aimed at understanding three-dimensional navigation. We propose some hypotheses relating differences in natural history to potential behavioral and neurological adaptations possessed by contrasting bird species. This comparative approach may offer unique insights into some of the important questions raised by Jeffery et al