3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios. GIS Pilot Applications

The project 3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios: GIS Pilot Applications has been devised with the intention to deal with the demand for research, innovation and applicative methodology on the part of the international programme, requiring concrete results to increase the capacity to know, anticipate and respond to a natural disaster. This project therefore sets out to develop an experimental methodology, a wide geodatabase, a connected performant GIS platform and multifunctional scenarios able to profitably relate the added values deriving from different geotechnologies, aimed at a series of crucial steps regarding landscape reconstruction, event simulation, damage evaluation, emergency management, multi-temporal analysis. The Vesuvius area has been chosen for the pilot application owing to such an impressive number of people and buildings subject to volcanic risk that one could speak in terms of a possible national disaster. The steps of the project move around the following core elements: creation of models that reproduce the territorial and anthropic structure of the past periods, and reconstruction of the urbanized area, with temporal distinctions; three-dimensional representation of the Vesuvius area in terms of infrastructuralresidential aspects; GIS simulation of the expected event; first examination of the healthcareepidemiological consequences; educational proposals. This paper represents a proactive contribution which describes the aims of the project, the steps which constitute a set of specific procedures for the methodology which we are experimenting, and some thoughts regarding the geodatabase useful to “package” illustrative elaborations. Since the involvement of the population and adequate hazard preparedness are very important aspects, some educational and communicational considerations are presented in connection with the use of geotechnologies to promote the knowledge of risk

Análisis estructural de infraestructuras a partir de la hibridación de sensores geomáticos

[ES]Resulta incuestionable la función que desempeñan las infraestructuras, desde posibilitar el desarrollo de un país hasta el valor sentimental que representan para las sociedades. Pero en determinadas circunstancias se muestra desconocido el estado estructural actual de una infraestructura, condicionando con ello la vida útil de las construcciones, además de poner en riesgo la calidad de su servicio o su integridad global. Esta tarea de evaluación estructural se dificulta de manera considerable en las ocasiones en las que no se dispone de información geométrica, debido a la inexistencia de la documentación gráfica de su diseño, o causada por modificaciones a lo largo del tiempo. Motivado por ello, la presente Tesis Doctoral centra su esfuerzos en desarrollar y aplicar métodos y procedimientos de trabajo para obtener modelos geométricos, de manera precisa y eficiente, de diferentes tipos de infraestructuras con los que llevar a cabo análisis que evalúen su comportamiento estructural. El modelado geométrico se consigue a partir de una metodología basada en la hibridación de diferentes técnicas geomáticas de carácter no invasivo, utilizando sensores tales como el láser escáner terrestre 3D (TLS) y el georradar (GPR). Estos modelos obtenidos son implementados en programas de análisis numérico mediante el método de los elementos finitos (MEF) que permiten diagnosticar su estado estructural. Con el fin de corroborar la aplicabilidad de los procedimientos desarrollados, estos son empleados en diferentes tipos de infraestructuras: por un lado, las asociadas a las infraestructuras viarias, de vital importancia en el desarrollo social y cultural. Por otro, la edificación subterránea contemplada dentro del Patrimonio Histórico y por último, torres metálicas en celosía para el transporte de energía eléctrica, tan necesaria en los tiempos presentes. A raíz de los resultados obtenidos, se concluye que los sensores geomáticos adquieren un protagonismo esencial en el conocimiento de la geometría de una construcción. Por un lado, la metodología de hibridación del TLS y el GPR suministra abundante y completa información de las características geométricas y físicas. Por otro lado, ambos se establecen como complemento perfecto para suministrar datos al análisis numérico por elementos finitos, con el que evaluar mecánicamente una estructura

Integrating Volunteered Geographic Information into Pervasive Health Computing Applications

In this paper we describe the potential for using Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in pervasive health computing. We use the OpenStreetMap project as a case-study of a successful VGI project and investigate how it can be expanded and used as a source of spatial information for pervasive computing technologies particularly in the area of access to information on healthcare services

Comparing Mobile and Aerial Laser Scanner point cloud data sets for automating the detection and delimitation procedure of safety-critical near-road slopes

An inappropriately maintained road cut-slope is likely to fail, resulting in landslides or falling rocks that compromise road safety. Thus, road managers need to know the location of dangerous slopes along the road in order to prevent these events from happening. In this article, we compare two different approaches for conducting the digitization of the road environment and the automatic detection and delimitation of road slopes: Mobile Laser Scanners (MLS) and Aerial Laser Scanners (ALS). The point clouds obtained using the first kind of devices are dense, rich in detail and generated from a ground perspective; the second type of scanners produce less dense clouds from a zenithal perspective. We explore what is the effect of the point cloud density and scanner point of view over the slope detection procedure. Two road segments from the Spanish A55 and A52 highways were used as study zones, and a total of 28.61 km were analyzed. Better detection and delimitation results were achieved when using the ALS data and its corresponding algorithm. It was observed that the higher point density and detail of the MLS clouds were not an advantage for the slope detection task, and that measuring the road from a terrestrial perspective affected in a negative way during the detection process: the crest of the slopes often remained unmeasured, hidden behind vegetation or man-made elements, thus resulting in the slopes not being complete in the MLS clouds. Meanwhile, the whole slope structure is scanned when the scene is measured from an aerial perspective, henceforth obtaining better detection rates despite the relatively low resolution. The findings of this study provide valuable information in the field of road asset management, and help road managers make decisions when choosing what technology to use for the data gathering process.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2022-140662OB-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

AUTHORITATIVE CARTOGRAPHY IN BRAZIL AND COLLABORATIVE MAPPING PLATFORMS: CHALLENGES AND PROPOSALS FOR DATA INTEGRATION

Brazil has a large area with missing or outdated mapping on the largest scales of its authoritative mapping. The use of data from collaborative mapping platforms appears as an alternative that may contribute to minimizing this problem, either by updating or completing the mapping coverage in Brazil, as proposed or performed by some National Mapping Agencies abroad. The present work aims to analyze a methodology to provide accurate and documented integration of volunteered geographic information and the Brazilian authoritative mapping. The proposal starts with the semantic compatibility between the conceptual models adopted in both official cartography and OpenStreetMap platform. The research continues with the identification of object classes with the most significant potential for integration. Finally, we developed some experiments to evaluate and validate the OSM data integration process in a 1:25,000 scale cartographic database. Even in regions with a recent mapping, the results of the preliminary assessment indicate the potential for an increase of about 52% and 16% of features in the ‘road system’ category, which suggests a very promising method for use in areas with missing or outdated mapping, and its applicability to other categories

Online citizen reporting on urban maintenance: a collection, evaluation and decision support system

We present an online support system for urban maintenance which: 1. lets citizens directly report neighbourhood issues which may require attention from the urban maintenance services: 2. evaluates the priority of reported issues; 3. allows the allocation and management of resources and workforce on solving issues and 4. permits public tracking of their status. The web application was entirely developed using low-cost Google cloud services, with the advantage of low deployment and hosting costs and practically no systems administration costs, a highly replicable and transferrable solution, and a rapid development process relying on robust Google services. The model for evaluating priority of reported issues is based on the the ELECTRE TRI rating method. In the paper we present the system's standard workflow, the evaluation model and the implementation details. We also discuss its possible more general implications for fostering and supporting citizens participation. Unlike many existing platforms for citizens reporting of maintenance issues, our system incorporates an explicit and publicly accessible evaluation model to prioritise issues and assign resources for their solution. This, we argue, is a crucial prerequisite for the principles of transparency, publicity, accountability and equity be observed by municipal governments

Visualisation as a Model. Overview on Communication Techniques in Transport and Urban Planning

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) changed the way planners present and operate with their projects. New visualisation tools have changed the ways projects and plans are presented and disseminated. However, the opportunities given by visualisation are not completely exploited in the professional practice. This is due to several bottlenecks which occur in the daily carrying out of activities. The paper is organised in three sections. The first one explains how visualisation can be an added value to the planning practice if it is organised and designed as a framework of information; conceiving the visualisation as a model, data can be managed and represented in order to provide information at different levels of expertise, allowing city plans to be analysed and understood before their realisation. The second section resumes the changes caused by the introduction of ICT within the daily practice; a comparison between pre-digital and digital approaches highlights current opportunities for implementing the communication values of plans and projects. The third part illustrates some examples of innovative visualisations in the urban and transport planning practice, showing a number of uses of visualisation to fit different purposes. The paper concludes this insight formulating the necessity for integrating the studies on visualisation coming from different disciplines into a scientific method that can be proposed as a guideline in building the images of urban and transport plans. This would be particularly useful for obtaining a more scientific approach in the choices of representation and visualisation of urban aspects