Engineering at San Jose State University, Fall 2017

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/engr_news/1016/thumbnail.jp

Accurate Detection of Illegal Dumping Sites Using High Resolution Aerial Photography and Deep Learning

Urban waste impacts human and environmental health. Waste management has become one of the major challenges faced by local governing authorities. Illegal dumping has become an important problem in many cities around the world. Effective and fast detection of illegal dumping sites could be a useful tool for the local authorities to manage urban waste and keep their administrative zones clean. Remote sensing based on satellite imagery or aerial photography is a key technology for dumping management, aiming at locating illegal waste sites and monitoring the required actions after the detection.This study focuses on developing a method for detection and reporting illegal dumping sites from high-resolution airborne images based on deep learning (DL). Due to data unavailability for training a DL model, we use synthetic images. The trained model is evaluated based on a real-world dataset containing images from the city of Houston, USA. The results show that the proposed method solves the problem with high precision and constitutes a useful tool as part of a complete solution targeting dumping management by authorities.</p

An Application of IoT in a Drone Inspection Service for Environmental Control

This paper presents an exploratory activity with a drone inspection service for environmental control. The aim of the service is to provide technical support to decision-makers in environmental risk management. The proposed service uses IoT for the interaction between a mobile application, a Smart City platform, and an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The mobile application allows the users to report risky situations, such as fire ignition, spills of pollutants in water, or illegal dumping; the user has only to specify the class of the event, while the geographical coordinates are automatically taken from device-integrated GPS. The message sent from the mobile application arrives to a Smart City platform, which shows all the received alerts on a 3D satellite map, to support decision-makers in choosing where a drone inspection is required. From the Smart City platform, the message is sent to the drone service operator; a CSV file defining the itinerary of the drone is automatically built and shown through the platform; the drone starts the mission providing a video, which is used by the decision-makers to understand whether the situation calls for immediate action. An experimental activity in an open field was carried out to validate the whole chain, from the alert to the drone mission, enriched by a Smart City platform to enable a decision-maker to better manage the situation

Launching the Grand Challenges for Ocean Conservation

The ten most pressing Grand Challenges in Oceans Conservation were identified at the Oceans Big Think and described in a detailed working document:A Blue Revolution for Oceans: Reengineering Aquaculture for SustainabilityEnding and Recovering from Marine DebrisTransparency and Traceability from Sea to Shore:  Ending OverfishingProtecting Critical Ocean Habitats: New Tools for Marine ProtectionEngineering Ecological Resilience in Near Shore and Coastal AreasReducing the Ecological Footprint of Fishing through Smarter GearArresting the Alien Invasion: Combating Invasive SpeciesCombatting the Effects of Ocean AcidificationEnding Marine Wildlife TraffickingReviving Dead Zones: Combating Ocean Deoxygenation and Nutrient Runof

Conceptualization of satellite, UAS and UGV downscaling approach for abandoned waste detection and waste to energy prospects

The aim of this research is to develop a multiparametric downscaling analysis for the detection of abandoned waste in the environment. This methodology, using a multi-technological approach, involves the adoption VHR satellite images, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). The identified Warning Areas (WA) will be investigated through an in-situ analysis with air quality measurement devices based on advanced sensors mounted on drones. The creation of a Cadastre Accumulation of Abandoned Materials (CAMA) and the related APP will allow the administrations to monitor the phenomenon. Finally, the waste product analysis, retrieved by means of UAS dataset computation, allows to retrieve some interesting prospects regarding Waste to Energy framework. Here, preliminary results obtained by the on-going INTESA Project are presented

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF A SATELLITE, UAS AND UGV DOWNSCALING APPROACH FOR ABANDONED WASTE DETECTION AND WASTE TO ENERGY PROSPECTS

The aim of this research is to develop a multiparametric downscaling analysis for the detection of abandoned waste in the environment. This methodology, using a multi-technological approach, involves the adoption VHR satellite images, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). The identified Warning Areas (WA) will be investigated through an in-situ analysis with air quality measurement devices based on advanced sensors mounted on drones. The creation of a Cadastre Accumulation of Abandoned Materials (CAMA) and the related APP will allow the administrations to monitor the phenomenon. Finally, the waste product analysis, retrieved by means of UAS dataset computation, allows to retrieve some interesting prospects regarding Waste to Energy framework. Here, preliminary results obtained by the on-going INTESA Project are presented

U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade Facilitation, Enforcement, and Security

[Excerpt] This report describes and analyzes import policy and CBP’s role in the U.S. import process. (The report does not cover CBP’s role in the U.S. export control system.) The first section of the report describes the three overarching goals of U.S. import policy and the tension among them. Second, the report provides a legislative history of customs laws, followed by an overview of the U.S. import process as it operates today. Third, the import process and CBP’s role in it are discussed. The final section highlights several policy issues that Congress may consider in its oversight role or as part of customs or trade legislation, including measures seeking to provide additional trade facilitation benefits to importers and others enrolled in “trusted trader” programs, to improve enforcement of intellectual property and trade remedy laws, to strengthen cargo scanning practices, and/or to promote modernization of customs data systems, among other issues. A list of trade-related acronyms used in the report is provided in Appendix A