FLOOD-WATER LEVEL ESTIMATION FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES

In the event of a flood, being able to build accurate flood level maps is essential for supporting emergency plan operations. In order to build such maps, it is important to collect observations from the disaster area. Social media platforms can be useful sources of information in this case, as people located in the flood area tend to share text and pictures depicting the current situation. Developing an effective and fully automatized method able to retrieve data from social media and extract useful information in real-time is crucial for a quick and proper response to these catastrophic events. In this paper, we propose a method to quantify flood-water from images gathered from social media. If no prior information about the zone where the picture was taken is available, one possible way to estimate the flood level consists of assessing how much the objects appearing in the image are submerged in water. There are various factors that make this task difficult: i) the precise size of the objects appearing in the image might not be known; ii) flood-water appearing in different zones of the image scene might have different height; iii) objects may be only partially visible as they can be submerged in water. In order to solve these problems, we propose a method that first locates selected classes of objects whose sizes are approximately known, then, it leverages this property to estimate the water level. To prove the validity of this approach, we first build a flood-water image dataset, then we use it to train a deep learning model. We finally show the ability of our trained model to recognize objects and at the same time predict correctly flood-water level

Internet of Things for Sustainability: Perspectives in Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Future Trends

In the sustainability IoT, the cybersecurity risks to things, sensors, and monitoring systems are distinct from the conventional networking systems in many aspects. The interaction of sustainability IoT with the physical world phenomena (e.g., weather, climate, water, and oceans) is mostly not found in the modern information technology systems. Accordingly, actuation, the ability of these devices to make changes in real world based on sensing and monitoring, requires special consideration in terms of privacy and security. Moreover, the energy efficiency, safety, power, performance requirements of these device distinguish them from conventional computers systems. In this chapter, the cybersecurity approaches towards sustainability IoT are discussed in detail. The sustainability IoT risk categorization, risk mitigation goals, and implementation aspects are analyzed. The openness paradox and data dichotomy between privacy and sharing is analyzed. Accordingly, the IoT technology and security standard developments activities are highlighted. The perspectives on opportunities and challenges in IoT for sustainability are given. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of sustainability IoT cybersecurity case studies

floodX: urban flash flood experiments monitored with conventional and alternative sensors

The data sets described in this paper provide a basis for developing and testing new methods for monitoring and modelling urban pluvial flash floods. Pluvial flash floods are a growing hazard to property and inhabitants' well-being in urban areas. However, the lack of appropriate data collection methods is often cited as an impediment for reliable flood modelling, thereby hindering the improvement of flood risk mapping and early warning systems. The potential of surveillance infrastructure and social media is starting to draw attention for this purpose. In the floodX project, 22 controlled urban flash floods were generated in a flood response training facility and monitored with state-of-the-art sensors as well as standard surveillance cameras. With these data, it is possible to explore the use of video data and computer vision for urban flood monitoring and modelling. The floodX project stands out as the largest documented flood experiment of its kind, providing both conventional measurements and video data in parallel and at high temporal resolution. The data set used in this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.830513

Architectural wind turbine design for improved social acceptance

Obecny trend w sektorze energii minimalizacji zależności od paliw kopalnych opiera się na stopniowym rozwoju odnawialnych źródeł energii. W celu utrzymania ekonomicznie wydajnego tempa rozwoju energetyki wiatrowej, w krajach północnej Europy i która jest technologicznie zaawansowana, należy znaleźć rozwiązania dla powiększającej się bariery społecznej. Proponowane jest w tym celu zastosowanie Architektonicznego Projektu Turbiny Wiatrowej. Sugerowane podejście dostosowuje rozwiązania z innych obszarów ludzkiego doświadczenia, które tradycyjnie stosują rozwiązania dla sytuacji, w których następuje interakcja społeczeństwa ze sztucznymi wyrobami i konstrukcjami. Proponowane podejście wykorzystuje doświadczenia z zakresu architektury, urbanistyki i marketingu, uwzględniając jednocześnie kryteria inżynieryjne i możliwości produkcji. Biorąc pod uwagę psychologię formy, został zaproponowany nowy Architektoniczny Projekt Turbiny Wiatrowej. Projekt uwzględnia estetyczne wytyczne dotyczące proporcji oraz bierze pod uwagę elementy psychologiczne np. poczucie bezpieczeństwa i wprowadzenia strefy buforowej między skalą turbiny a skalą otaczającego krajobrazu. W innowacyjny sposób nadaje tożsamość, proponując wprowadzenie dodatkowych funkcji przestrzennych i partycypacyjnego procesu projektowania. Integralność strukturalna nowatorskiej turbiny wiatrowej jest lepsza od tradycyjnej konstrukcji w warunkach obniżonego naprężenia, odkształcenia i wyboczenia oraz posiada większą obciążalność. Dzieje się to kosztem dodatkowej wagi i złożoności elementów strukturalnych, prowadząc również do możliwej nieznacznej poprawy wydajności rocznej produkcji elektryczności i przedłużenia strukturalnej i mechanicznej długości życia turbiny.The current trend in the energy sector to minimize fossil fuel dependency relies on the gradual growth of renewable energy sources. In order to ensure the further development of wind energy, which is economically efficient and technologically advanced, barriers to social acceptance must be mitigated. The use of Architecturally Designed Wind Turbines is proposed as a novel approach to this challenge. By adapting solutions from other fields of human activity, which traditionally address social interaction with man-made products and structures, the proposed approach uses experiences from architecture, urban planning and marketing, and incorporates them into a well-engineered wind turbine mechanical design and manufacturability. Taking account of the psychology of form, a novel architectural design for wind turbines is proposed, which respects aesthetical guidelines for proportions and gives sense of security and gradual scale buffer zone issues. The innovation in addressing the phenomenon of identity is based on additional social functionalities and a participatory design process. The structural integrity of the novel wind turbine design is superior to the traditional one in terms of decreased stresses, deflection and buckling, and increased load capacity. At the cost of additional weight and complexity, the new design allows for a slight improvement of the annual energy yield and increases the structural and mechanical life expectancy of the turbine

The potential of knowing more: A review of data-driven urban water management

The promise of collecting and utilizing large amounts of data has never been greater in the history of urban water management (UWM). This paper reviews several data-driven approaches which play a key role in bringing forward a sea change. It critically investigates whether data-driven UWM offers a promising foundation for addressing current challenges and supporting fundamental changes in UWM. We discuss the examples of better rain-data management, urban pluvial flood-risk management and forecasting, drinking water and sewer network operation and management, integrated design and management, increasing water productivity, wastewater-based epidemiology and on-site water and wastewater treatment. The accumulated evidence from literature points toward a future UWM that offers significant potential benefits thanks to increased collection and utilization of data. The findings show that data-driven UWM allows us to develop and apply novel methods, to optimize the efficiency of the current networkbased approach, and to extend functionality of today’s systems. However, generic challenges related to data-driven approaches (e.g., data processing, data availability, data quality, data costs) and the specific challenges of data-driven UWM need to be addressed, namely data access and ownership, current engineering practices and the difficulty of assessing the cost benefits of data-driven UWM

The potential of knowing more: A review of data-driven urban water management

The promise of collecting and utilizing large amounts of data has never been greater in the history of urban water management (UWM). This paper reviews several data-driven approaches which play a key role in bringing forward a sea change. It critically investigates whether data-driven UWM offers a promising foundation for addressing current challenges and supporting fundamental changes in UWM. We discuss the examples of better rain-data management, urban pluvial flood-risk management and forecasting, drinking water and sewer network operation and management, integrated design and management, increasing water productivity, wastewater-based epidemiology and on-site water and wastewater treatment. The accumulated evidence from literature points toward a future UWM that offers significant potential benefits thanks to increased collection and utilization of data. The findings show that data-driven UWM allows us to develop and apply novel methods, to optimize the efficiency of the current networkbased approach, and to extend functionality of today’s systems. However, generic challenges related to data-driven approaches (e.g., data processing, data availability, data quality, data costs) and the specific challenges of data-driven UWM need to be addressed, namely data access and ownership, current engineering practices and the difficulty of assessing the cost benefits of data-driven UWM

Sewer asset management – state of the art and research needs

Sewer asset management gained momentum and importance in recent years due to economic considerations, since infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation directly represent major investments. Because physical urban water infrastructure has life expectancies of up to 100 years or more, contemporary urban drainage systems are strongly influenced by historical decisions and implementations. The current decisions taken in sewer asset management will, therefore, have a long-lasting impact on the functionality and quality of future services provided by these networks. These decisions can be supported by different approaches ranging from various inspection techniques, deterioration models to assess the probability of failure or the technical service life, to sophisticated decision support systems crossing boundaries to other urban infrastructure. This paper presents the state of the art in sewer asset management in its manifold facets spanning a wide field of research and highlights existing research gaps while giving an outlook on future developments and research areas

Gestion patrimoniale des systèmes d'assainissement. Etat de l'art et besoins de recherches

Sewer asset management gained momentum and importance in recent years due to economic considerations, since infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation directly represent major investments. Because physical urban water infrastructure has life expectancies of up to 100 years or more, contemporary urban drainage systems are strongly influenced by historical decisions and implementations. The current decisions taken in sewer asset management will, therefore, have a long-lasting impact on the functionality and quality of future services provided by these networks. These decisions can be supported by different approaches ranging from various inspection techniques, deterioration models to assess the probability of failure or the technical service life, to sophisticated decision support systems crossing boundaries to other urban infrastructure. This paper presents the state of the art in sewer asset management in its manifold facets spanning a wide field of research and highlights existing research gaps while giving an outlook on future developments and research areas

Sewer asset management - state of the art and research needs

ISSN:1573-062XISSN:1744-900