Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

Integrating Olfaction in a Robotic Telepresence Loop

In this work we propose enhancing a typical robotic telepresence architecture by considering olfactory and wind flow information in addition to the common audio and video channels. The objective is to expand the range of applications where robotics telepresence can be applied, including those related to the detection of volatile chemical substances (e.g. land-mine detection, explosive deactivation, operations in noxious environments, etc.). Concretely, we analyze how the sense of smell can be integrated in the telepresence loop, covering the digitization of the gases and wind flow present in the remote environment, the transmission through the communication network, and their display at the user location. Experiments under different environmental conditions are presented to validate the proposed telepresence system when localizing a gas emission leak at the remote environment.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Seeing the invisible: from imagined to virtual urban landscapes

Urban ecosystems consist of infrastructure features working together to provide services for inhabitants. Infrastructure functions akin to an ecosystem, having dynamic relationships and interdependencies. However, with age, urban infrastructure can deteriorate and stop functioning. Additional pressures on infrastructure include urbanizing populations and a changing climate that exposes vulnerabilities. To manage the urban infrastructure ecosystem in a modernizing world, urban planners need to integrate a coordinated management plan for these co-located and dependent infrastructure features. To implement such a management practice, an improved method for communicating how these infrastructure features interact is needed. This study aims to define urban infrastructure as a system, identify the systematic barriers preventing implementation of a more coordinated management model, and develop a virtual reality tool to provide visualization of the spatial system dynamics of urban infrastructure. Data was collected from a stakeholder workshop that highlighted a lack of appreciation for the system dynamics of urban infrastructure. An urban ecology VR model was created to highlight the interconnectedness of infrastructure features. VR proved to be useful for communicating spatial information to urban stakeholders about the complexities of infrastructure ecology and the interactions between infrastructure features.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102559Published versio

WEB-GIS BASED BRIDGE INFORMATION DATABASE VISUALIZATION ANALYTICS AND DISTRIBUTED SENSING FRAMEWORK

The national bridge system plays very important role in society operations ensuring mobilities that can sustain social and economic growth. Recent increasingly growing concerns about the safety of existing bridges are shared by highway agencies at all levels of government, including federal, state and municipal. To provide a user-friendly and effective environment and services for accessing and analyzing the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database, a powerful bridge data management system needs be developed to assist the bridge managers or professionals to manage and maintain effectively and efficiently the national bridge system. The objective of this research is to develop a Web-GIS (geographic information system) based bridge information database visualization analytics and distributed sensing framework for nation-wide bridge system management. This is accomplished by integrating modern technologies including GIS, Internet, database, remote sensing, visualization, and smartphone technologies. The objectives of this study include: 1) establishment of a system framework for effective use of current available bridge condition data and volunteering sensing data; 2) development of visualization and visual analytic applications appropriate for bridge information; 3) development of user-defined criteria query for decision-making support; and 4) development of a remote sensing database to aid engineers and other professionals in accessing, retrieving and manipulating information from the bridge database. The citizen-based sensors for bridge monitoring utilize voluntary information-sharing from individuals as a monitoring technique. The Web-GIS based Bridge Management System (BMS) framework developed in this research allows centralized data collection and data visualization analytics at any place and any time. It is intended as a critical step towards rapid bridge diagnostics using an integrated sensing data approach. Current bridge management is predominantly at state level. Furthermore, by adopting the “citizen sensor” concept, public data can be added into the bridge database as additional information for bridge management. The outcome of this research is a framework called: “Bridge-WGI.” The six critical modules formed the core of the framework, which are: 1) bridge database systems; 2) general bridge information visualization; 3) bridge information analytical visualization; 4) user-defined criteria query; 5) citizen sensing application in bridge monitoring; and 6) remote sensing database application. The Bridge-WGI framework demonstrates the capabilities of Web-based BMS can be accomplished via the integration of several technologies. These capabilities include: 1) application of volunteering sensing; 2) flexible accessibility via Internet; 3) several advanced visualization of bridge data; 4) bridge data integration; and 5) online user- defined query for decision making support

Workshop on NASA workstation technology

RIACS hosted a workshop which was designed to foster communication among those people within NASA working on workstation related technology, to share technology, and to learn about new developments and futures in the larger university and industrial workstation communities. Herein, the workshop is documented along with its conclusions. It was learned that there is both a large amount of commonality of requirements and a wide variation in the modernness of in-use technology among the represented NASA centers

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