Unmanned aerial vehicles as mobile multi - sensor platforms

Abstract. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multiple sensors publish data in unpre-dictable manner using considerable bandwidth and missing spatial reference. Additionally, the availa-ble approaches only provide proprietary access to the data. Integrating sensors from UAVs into a synchronized data stream is required for publishing the transmitted data on the Web. This article describes a software framework, which simplifies such integration. In particular, it synchronizes registered sensor data streams and attaches a spatial reference through a geotagging mechanism. Moreover, the resulting data is published on the Web and made accessible in an interoperable way using Sensor Web technology. The presented framework is applied to a multi-sensor equipped UAV for a real-world scenario exploring the surface-near atmosphere of the earth.

Deliverable D7.2. Observation networks tutorials and portfolio of best practices

Report on the collection of best practices and tools for observation networks and data exchange

Avifauna e uso da terra: o caso do Parque Natural de Montesinho

Apresenta-se uma possível utilização da informação dos atlas de avifauna como instrumentos de apoio à gestão de áreas de alta diversidade biológica. O atlas de avifauna do Parque Natural de Montesinho recolhe a informação relativa a um total de 119 espécies, de aves referenciadas, em 48 quadrículas de 5 por 5 quilómetros. A relação entre a avifauna e os sistemas de utilização da terra que a sustenta estimou-se por correlações canónicas (CCA - ter Braak, 1986). Uma análise de classificação (TWINSPAN- Hill, 1979) permitiu discriminar os sectores representativos do PNM. A amplitude de nicho das espécies em relação aos usos da terra, assim como a sua capacidade descritiva e discriminante, avaliam-se, mediante índices de informação (Shannon e Weaver, 1949). Os três eixos gerados pelas CCA avaliaram em 0,594, 0,689 e 0,633 a correlação (Kendall) da avifauna e os usos da terra considerados. Os seus resultados classificam o território do PNM em duas grandes unidades separadas pelo Rio Sabor, o sector ocidental evidencia gradientes climáticos e o oriental gradientes fisiográficos. São fundamentalmente passariformes residentes e biogeografia paleártica (Alauda arvensis, Pica pica, Passer montanus, etc.) as espécies mais envolvidas na dinâmica do território, apresentando os mais elevados valores de entropia. Os usos da terra apresentam distintas relações com o valor informativo das variáveis avifaunísticas. Destacam-se as relações positivas com os secadais, soutos e carvalhais, as neutras com as culturas de regadio e as negativas com os pinhais. A preponderância dos passeriformes residentes na discriminação do território destaca a escala de trabalho, para as quais o uso da terra têm uma importância acrescida na determinação do habitat dessas espécies. As relações com o uso da terra parecem manifestar uma adaptação da avifauna aos sistemas agrários tradicionais ( dos carvalhais aos lameiros e soutos), o que não ocorrerá em relação às formas mais modernas de utilização da terra (regadio e pinhais).Reitoria da Universidade de Coimbra, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento, Câmara Municipal de Coimbra, Região de Turismo do Centro, Banco do Comércio e Indústria, SA, Cafés Delt

Future SDI – Impulses from Geoinformatics Research and IT Trends

The term Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) was defined in the nineties as a set of policies, technologies and institutional arrangements for improving the availability and accessibility of spatial data and information. SDIs are typically driven by governmental organizations, and thus follow top-down structures based on regulations and agreements. The drawback is that it renders SDIs less easily capable of evolving with new technological trends. While organizations are still struggling to implement SDIs, the World Wide Web is increasingly developing into a Geospatial Web, i.e. one that extensively supports the spatial and temporal aspects of information. This article is our contribution to the discussion on the future technological directions in the field of SDIs. We give a conceptual view of the dynamics of both SDIs and the Geospatial Web. We present a picture of the SDI of the future, one which benefits from these developments, based on an analysis of geoinformatics research topics and current ICT trends. We provide recommendations on how to improve the adaptability and usability of SDIs as to facilitate the assimilation of new ICT developments and to leverage self-reinforcing growth

Emerging approaches for data-driven innovation in Europe

Europe’s digital transformation of the economy and society is one of the priorities of the current Commission and is framed by the European strategy for data. This strategy aims at creating a single market for data through the establishment of a common European data space, based in turn on domain-specific data spaces in strategic sectors such as environment, agriculture, industry, health and transportation. Acknowledging the key role that emerging technologies and innovative approaches for data sharing and use can play to make European data spaces a reality, this document presents a set of experiments that explore emerging technologies and tools for data-driven innovation, and also deepen in the socio-technical factors and forces that occur in data-driven innovation. Experimental results shed some light in terms of lessons learned and practical recommendations towards the establishment of European data spaces

The new OGC Publish/Subscribe Standard - applications in the Sensor Web and the Aviation domain

Abstract The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has conducted much work in the past on event-based models and architectures. However, the current OGC standard baseline only supports synchronous web service capabilities, which have insofar primarily addressed the request/reply model, where a client makes a request and the server usually responds synchronously, with either the requested information or a failure. Recently, the OGC Publish/Subscribe 1.0 Standard has introduced an abstract model for publish/subscribe message exchange, a long-awaited building block in the OGC suite of geospatial standards. The publish/subscribe pattern is distinguished from the request/reply one by the asynchronous delivery of messages and the ability for a client to specify an ongoing, persistent expression of interest. In this work, we report on the experimentation of the new OGC Publish/Subscribe 1.0 Standard in the context of the OGC Testbed-12 initiative and related fields of work, particularly in the application domains of Sensor Web and Aviation. We illustrate and discuss the enhancements in comparison to previous OGC service architectures, highlighting the benefits of introducing the PubSub 1.0 Standard into the considered systems and their workflows

SensorThings API et la famille de normes OGC API : une nouvelle génération de normes d'interopérabilité pour les infrastructures de données de recherche afin d'améliorer le partage des données d'observation des océans

International audienceThis article discusses the potential of standards such as the OGC SensorThings API and the new OGC API family of standards to develop a new generation of marine Sensor Web systems. While standards such as the OGC Sensor Observation Service were already used within several projects, the new generation of OGC standards promises several advantages such as more lightweight interfaces and encodings. Thus, combining the results and experiences of previous projects and established systems with more lightweight standards (i.e., OGC SensorThings API and the different modules of the OGC API framework) is a chance to further increase the adoption of interoperability standards within marine research data infrastructures. In this paper, the potential changes as well as the challenges that need to be resolved are discussed.Cet article traite du potentiel de normes telles que l'API SensorThings de l'OGC et la nouvelle famille de normes API de l'OGC pour développer une nouvelle génération de systèmes Web de capteurs marins. Alors que des normes telles que le service d'observation des capteurs de l'OGC ont déjà été utilisées dans le cadre de plusieurs projets, la nouvelle génération de normes de l'OGC promet plusieurs avantages tels que des interfaces et des encodages plus légers. Ainsi, la combinaison des résultats et des expériences des projets précédents et des systèmes établis avec des normes plus légères (c'est-à-dire l'API SensorThings de l'OGC et les différents modules du cadre API de l'OGC) permet d'accroître l'adoption des normes d'interopérabilité dans les infrastructures de données de recherche marine. Dans cet article, les changements potentiels ainsi que les défis qui doivent être résolus sont discutés

Sensor Web Standards for Interoperability between in-situ Earth Observation Networks

International audienceExisting earth observation networks deliver a multitude of in-situ data capturing the state of the earth. The data sets delivered by these networks are of high value for scientists and other stakeholders from different domains and backgrounds. However, the access and integration of the data sets made available by these earth observation networks are often complex as different data delivery methods and formats are used. To strengthen and broaden the use of the available data sets, it is important to offer efficient methods for accessing the data from different types of applications (e.g. for data analysis or data visualisation). The Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) are adopted by more and more stakeholders and may serve as a good baseline for increasing the interoperability of data flows. This harmonisation of standards is also one of the core objectives of the ENEON (European Network of Earth Observation Networks) initiative promoted by the European Horizon 2020 project ConnectinGEO (Coordinating an Observation Network of Networks EnCompassing saTellite and IN-situ to fill the Gaps in European Observations). In this contribution, we illustrate how domain-specific profiles of the OGC SWE standards may help to increase interoperability within specific domains. This includes for example the specification of SWE profiles for hydrology (e.g. resulting from the European GEOWOW project) or the e-Reporting SWE profiles for ambient air quality in Europe. Another example are SWE profiles for oceanology which are currently developed by several projects such as BRIDGES, Eurofleets 2, FixO 3 , IOOS, Jerico-Next, NeXOS, ODIP II, and SeaDataNet (e.g. using RelaxNG and Schematron for defining a structure of SWE encoded messages to be applied in tools, vessels and fixed stations). Finally, a Sensor Web-based scenario from the ConnectinGEO project covering energy and solar radiation will be introduced that connects data providers and users

Geospatial IoT - the Need for Event-Driven Architectures in Contemporary Spatial Data Infrastructures

The nature of contemporary spatial data infrastructures lies in the provision of geospatial information in an on-demand fashion. Though recent applications identified the need to react to real-time information in a time-critical way. In particular, research efforts in the field of geospatial Internet of Things have identified substantial gaps in this context, ranging from a lack of standardization for event-based architectures to the meaningful handling of real-time information as ”events”. This manuscript presents work in the field of event-driven architectures as part of spatial data infrastructures with a particular focus on sensor networks and the devices capturing in-situ measurements. The current landscape of spatial data infrastructures is outlined and used as the basis for identifying existing gaps that retain certain geospatial applications from using real-time information. We present a selection of approaches — developed in different research projects — to overcome these gaps. Being designed for specific application domains, these approaches share commonalities as well as orthogonal solutions and can build the foundation of an overall event-driven spatial data infrastructure.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom