An ECOOP web portal for visualising and comparing distributed coastal oceanography model and in situ data

As part of a large European coastal operational oceanography project (ECOOP), we have developed a web portal for the display and comparison of model and in situ marine data. The distributed model and in situ datasets are accessed via an Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) respectively. These services were developed independently and readily integrated for the purposes of the ECOOP project, illustrating the ease of interoperability resulting from adherence to international standards. The key feature of the portal is the ability to display co-plotted timeseries of the in situ and model data and the quantification of misfits between the two. By using standards-based web technology we allow the user to quickly and easily explore over twenty model data feeds and compare these with dozens of in situ data feeds without being concerned with the low level details of differing file formats or the physical location of the data. Scientific and operational benefits to this work include model validation, quality control of observations, data assimilation and decision support in near real time. In these areas it is essential to be able to bring different data streams together from often disparate locations

MusA: Using Indoor Positioning and Navigation to Enhance Cultural Experiences in a museum

In recent years there has been a growing interest into the use of multimedia mobile guides in museum environments. Mobile devices have the capabilities to detect the user context and to provide pieces of information suitable to help visitors discovering and following the logical and emotional connections that develop during the visit. In this scenario, location based services (LBS) currently represent an asset, and the choice of the technology to determine users' position, combined with the definition of methods that can effectively convey information, become key issues in the design process. In this work, we present MusA (Museum Assistant), a general framework for the development of multimedia interactive guides for mobile devices. Its main feature is a vision-based indoor positioning system that allows the provision of several LBS, from way-finding to the contextualized communication of cultural contents, aimed at providing a meaningful exploration of exhibits according to visitors' personal interest and curiosity. Starting from the thorough description of the system architecture, the article presents the implementation of two mobile guides, developed to respectively address adults and children, and discusses the evaluation of the user experience and the visitors' appreciation of these application

Programming patterns and development guidelines for Semantic Sensor Grids (SemSorGrid4Env)

The web of Linked Data holds great potential for the creation of semantic applications that can combine self-describing structured data from many sources including sensor networks. Such applications build upon the success of an earlier generation of 'rapidly developed' applications that utilised RESTful APIs. This deliverable details experience, best practice, and design patterns for developing high-level web-based APIs in support of semantic web applications and mashups for sensor grids. Its main contributions are a proposal for combining Linked Data with RESTful application development summarised through a set of design principles; and the application of these design principles to Semantic Sensor Grids through the development of a High-Level API for Observations. These are supported by implementations of the High-Level API for Observations in software, and example semantic mashups that utilise the API

Linking Text and Image with SVG

Annotation and linking (or referring) have been described as "scholarly primitives", basic methods used in scholarly research and publication of all kinds. The online publication of manuscript images is one basic use case where the need for linking and annotation is very clear. High resolution images are of great use to scholars and transcriptions of texts provide for search and browsing, so the ideal method for the digital publication of manuscript works is the presentation of page images plus a transcription of the text therein. This has become a standard method, but leaves open the questions of how deeply the linkages can be done and how best to handle the annotation of sections of the image. This paper presents a new method (named img2xml) for connecting text and image using an XML-based tracing of the text on the page image. The tracing method was developed as part of a series of experiments in text and image linking beginning in the summer of 2008 and will continue under a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It employs Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to represent the text in an image of a manuscript page in a referenceable form and enables linking and annotation of the page image in a variety of ways. The paper goes on to discuss the scholarly requirements for tools that will be developed around the tracing method, and explores some of the issues raised by the img2xml method

Geospatial information infrastructures

Manual of Digital Earth / Editors: Huadong Guo, Michael F. Goodchild, Alessandro Annoni .- Springer, 2020 .- ISBN: 978-981-32-9915-3Geospatial information infrastructures (GIIs) provide the technological, semantic,organizationalandlegalstructurethatallowforthediscovery,sharing,and use of geospatial information (GI). In this chapter, we introduce the overall concept and surrounding notions such as geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial datainfrastructures(SDI).WeoutlinethehistoryofGIIsintermsoftheorganizational andtechnologicaldevelopmentsaswellasthecurrentstate-of-art,andreflectonsome of the central challenges and possible future trajectories. We focus on the tension betweenincreasedneedsforstandardizationandtheever-acceleratingtechnological changes. We conclude that GIIs evolved as a strong underpinning contribution to implementation of the Digital Earth vision. In the future, these infrastructures are challengedtobecomeflexibleandrobustenoughtoabsorbandembracetechnological transformationsandtheaccompanyingsocietalandorganizationalimplications.With this contribution, we present the reader a comprehensive overview of the field and a solid basis for reflections about future developments

General Solution of Geo-Portals Based on Open-Source GIS Tools

Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá návrhem a implementací serveru umožňujícího napojení GIS GRASS pomocí služby WPS na Internet. Pro řešení tohoto projektu byly použity nástroje GIS GRASS a OpenLayers. Součástí práce je seznámení se standardy OGC a užitými nástroji.The bachelor's thesis is concerned with design and implementation of server which provides connection between GIS GRASS and Internet through WPS service. Part of this thesis is devoted to description of OGC standards and used tools.

RAPID WEBGIS DEVELOPMENT FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

The use of spatial data during emergency response and management helps to make faster and better decisions. Moreover spatial data should be as much updated as possible and easy to access. To face the challenge of rapid and updated data sharing the most efficient solution is largely considered the use of internet where the field of web mapping is constantly evolving. ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action) is a non profit association founded by Politecnico di Torino and SITI (Higher Institute for the Environmental Systems) as a joint project with the WFP (World Food Programme). The collaboration with the WFP drives some projects related to Early Warning Systems (i.e. flood and drought monitoring) and Early Impact Systems (e.g. rapid mapping and assessment through remote sensing systems). The Web GIS team has built and is continuously improving a complex architecture based entirely on Open Source tools. This architecture is composed by three main areas: the database environment, the server side logic and the client side logic. Each of them is implemented respecting the MCV (Model Controller View) pattern which means the separation of the different logic layers (database interaction, business logic and presentation). The MCV architecture allows to easily and fast build a Web GIS application for data viewing and exploration. In case of emergency data publication can be performed almost immediately as soon as data production is completed. The server side system is based on Python language and Django web development framework, while the client side on OpenLayers, GeoExt and Ext.js that manage data retrieval and user interface. The MCV pattern applied to javascript allows to keep the interface generation and data retrieval logic separated from the general application configuration, thus the server side environment can take care of the generation of the configuration file. The web application building process is data driven and can be considered as a view of the current architecture composed by data and data interaction tools. Once completely automated, the Web GIS application building process can be performed directly by the final user, that can customize data layers and controls to interact with the

Desenvolupament d'un servidor d'informació geogràfica

L'explosió d'aplicacions a Internet basades en oferir serveis de localització, com són portals web de mobilitat o aplicacions de seguiment de vehicles en línia han motivat aquest projecte. Google Maps ens permet afegir mapes fàcilment en un lloc web amb la seva API, però OpenLayers, una llibreria JavaScript lliure ens dóna l'opció de carregar cobertures de mapa i marcadors des de qualsevol font. OpenStreetMap proporciona dades geogràfiques de manera lliure, com per exemple mapes de carrers i carreteres. Un estudi acurat de l'estructura i agrupació de les dades en el format OSM i el desenvolupament d'un servidor basat en el model de tessel·les, són els principals elements de partida per crear la nostra pròpia font de dades cartogràfiques. En aquest projecte s'analitza i processa DXF Drawing eXchange Format passant al format OSM. Un fitxer OSM conté la informació geogràfica necessària per a la base de dades espaial a partir de la qual, entre d'altres aplicacions, es podran visualitzar els mapes propis en una aplicació de seguiment de vehicles o en un portal web.La explosión de aplicaciones en Internet basadas en ofecer servicios de localización, como pueden ser portales web de movilidad o aplicaciones de seguimento de vehículos en línea han motivado este proyecto. Google Maps nos permite añadir mapas fácilmente en un sitio web con su API, pero OpenLayers, una librería JavaScript libre nos da la opción de cargar coberturas de mapa y marcadores desde cualquier fuente. OpenStreetMap proporciona datos geográficos de forma libre, por ejemplo mapas de calles y carreteras. Un estudio detallado de la estructura y agrupación de los datos en el formato OSM y el desarrollo de un servidor basado en el modelo de teselas, son los principales elementos de partida para crear nuestra propia fuente de datos cartográficos. En este proyecto se analiza y procesa DXF Drawing eXchange Format pasando al formato OSM. Un fichero OSM contiene la información geográfica necesaria para la base de datos espacial a partir de la cual, entre otras aplicaciones, se podrán visualizar los propios mapas en una aplicación de seguimento de vehículos o en un portal web.The growing of Internet applications based on offering localizing services, like movility portals or on-line vehicle tracking applications ar the main intention of this project. Google Maps halp us to add maps in a web site trought its API, but OpenLayers, a free JavaScript library can load map layers and markers from any source. OpenStreetMap share free geographical data, like street maps and roadways. Studying the structure and data groupment of OSM format and a tile-based model server development are the main starting points to create our own cartographical data source. In this project DXF Drawing eXchange Format are analized and processed to obtain OSM files. An OSM file contains the geographical information necessary in a spatial data base from whom we can display our own maps in a tracking application or in an on-line portal