An IEEE value loop of human-technology collaboration in geospatial information science

ABSTRACT

Geosensing and social sensing as two digitalization mainstreams in big data era are increasingly converging toward an integrated system for the creation of semantically enriched digital Earth. Along with the rapid developments of AI technologies, this convergence has inevitably brought about a number of transformations. On the one hand, value-adding chains from raw data to products and services are becoming value-adding loops composed of four successive stages – Informing, Enabling, Engaging and Empowering (IEEE). Each stage is a dynamic loop for itself. On the other hand, the “human versus technology” relationship is upgraded toward a game-changing “human and technology” collaboration. The information loop is essentially shaped by the omnipresent reciprocity between humans and technologies as equal partners, co-learners and co-creators of new values.

The paper gives an analytical review on the mutually changing roles and responsibilities of humans and technologies in the individual stages of the IEEE loop, with the aim to promote a holistic understanding of the state of the art of geospatial information science. Meanwhile, the author elicits a number of challenges facing the interwoven human-technology collaboration. The transformation to a growth mind-set may take time to realize and consolidate. Research works on large-scale semantic data integration are just in the beginning. User experiences of geovisual analytic approaches are far from being systematically studied. Finally, the ethical concerns for the handling of semantically enriched digital Earth cover not only the sensitive issues related to privacy violation, copyright infringement, abuse, etc. but also the questions of how to make technologies as controllable and understandable as possible for humans and how to keep the technological ethos within its constructive sphere of societal influence.     

Multi-scale remote sensing to support insurance policies in agriculture: from mid-term to instantaneous deductions

ABSTRACT

Climate change is today one of the biggest issues for farmers. The increasing number of natural disasters and change of seasonal trends is making insurance companies more interested in new technologies that can somehow support them in quantifying and mapping risks. Remotely sensed data, with special focus on free ones, can certainly provide the most of information they need, making possible to better calibrate insurance fees in space and time. In this work, a prototype of service based on free remotely sensed data is proposed with the aim of supporting insurance companies’ strategies. The service is thought to calibrate annual insurance rates, longing for their reduction at such level that new customers could be attracted. The study moves from the entire Piemonte region (NW Italy), to specifically focus onto the Cuneo province (Southern Piemonte), which is mainly devoted to agriculture. MODIS MOD13Q1-v6 and Sentinel-2 L2A image time series were jointly used. NDVI maps from MODIS data were useful to describe the midterm phenological trends of main crops at regional level in the period 2000–2018; differently, Sentinel-2 data permitted to map local crop differences at field level in 2016 and 2017 years. With reference to MODIS data, the average phenological behavior of main crop classes in the area, obtained from the CORINE Land Cover map Level 3, was considered using a time series decomposition approach. Trend analyses showed that the most of the crop classes alternated three phases (about 7 years) suggesting that, presently, this is probably the time horizon to be considered to tune mid-term algorithms for risk estimates in the agricultural context. Crop classes trends were consequently split into three phases and each of them modeled by a first-order polynomial function used to update correspondent insurance risk rate. Sentinel-2 data were used to map phenological anomalies at field level for the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons; shifts from class average behavior were considered to locally and temporarily tune insurance premium around its average trend as described at the previous step. Synthesizing, one can say that this approach, integrating MODIS and Sentnel-2 data, makes possible to locally and temporarily calibrate premiums of indexed insurance policies by describing the average trends of crop performance (NDVI) at regional level by MODIS data and refining it at field and specific crop level by Sentinel-2 data.     

基于多协议的地理信息服务集成

设计了多协议地理信息服务集成框架,探讨解决了其中的关键问题,实现了从不同地理信息服务获取的影像数据、矢量数据和DEM数据的无缝集成。     

LBS在智能交通系统中的应用及构架研究

基于位置的信息服务(LBS)在正确的时间和地点,向正确的人群提供正确的位置信息,因而在智能交通系统中有着广泛的应用,其应用领域涉及车辆的导航、跟踪、监控、调度与安全,事件响应,信息获取与定制,进入区域提示,按位置收费等.从系统集成的角度,以LBS为核心来构建智能交通系统是一个先进而且经济的选择,该解决方案是一种以分布式、可互操作、使用标准的Internet和无线通讯网络协议为基础建立起来的架构,由客户层、中间件层、应用服务层和数据访问层组成.客户层是融无线通信、计算机、无线定位于一体的个人信息终端;中间件层提供一组与第三方无线定位系统集成的APIs,它支持与多种定位技术的连接;应用服务层由ITS的子系统和空间服务器组成,提供地图生成、邻近查找、地理编码、路径规划、身份认证、收费等服务;数据访问层为ITS存储和管理各种空间信息、交通信息和车辆信息.     

对空间数据不确定性研究的思考

对GIS中空间数据不确定性研究中存在的问题进行思考后提出了5点建议.主要包括:1) 要区分GIS中确定性目标和不确定性目标;2) 要区分用离散点逼近曲线/曲面的逼近误差和离散点自身量测误差及其传播;3) 要研究GIS中的几何不确定性,更要重视研究属性和时态不确定性;4) 要研究空间数据质量,更要研究空间信息服务的质量;5) 空间数据不确定性研究要努力向实际应用转化.     

发达国家空间信息共享与服务及启示

提高信息的共享与服务水平是一个国家迈向信息社会与服务型社会的重要举措,而空间信息共享与服务在其中占据十分重要的位置。许多发达国家在这方面走在前列,并在其经济社会发展中发挥着重要的作用。本文作者在对国外空间信息共享与服务进行分析比较研究的基础上,根据我国实际情况提出了关于空间信息共享与服务的体会和意见。     

对空间数据不确定性研究的思考

对GIS中空间数据不确定性研究中存在的问题进行思考后提出了5点建议。主要包括:1)要区分GIS中确定性目标和不确定性目标;2)要区分用离散点逼近曲线/曲面的逼近误差和离散点自身量测误差及其传播;3)要研究GIS中的几何不确定性,更要重视研究属性和时态不确定性;4)要研究空间数据质量,更要研究空间信息服务的质量;5)空间数据不确定性研究要努力向实际应用转化。     

A cost–benefit appraisal of coastal managed realignment policy

European coasts are coming under increasing threat as a result of climate change from erosion and flooding. While coastal defences such as sea walls have been constructed since Roman times to protect human settlements from the sea, it is now increasingly recognised that these defences are unsustainable. The security provided by ‘hard’ engineered defences has encouraged development on the coast, and the defences themselves have led to the loss of intertidal habitat and the natural protection it provides.An alternative to maintaining ‘hard’ defences (hold-the-line) to protect land from increasing sea levels is managed realignment, where the engineered defences are deliberately breached. By allowing the coastline to recede to a new line of defence further inland, intertidal habitat is created providing natural protection from flooding and erosion.The study evaluates the economic efficiency—using cost–benefit analysis—of various managed realignment scenarios compared to a strategy of holding-the-line within the Humber estuary in North-east England. The results of this analysis show that managed realignment can be more economically efficient than holding-the-line over a sufficiently long time period—generally greater than 25 years. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that results are more sensitive to the amount and value of intertidal habitat generated than they are to the amount and value of carbon stored by this habitat. Cost–benefit analysis is viewed as one component of a wider policy appraisal process within integrated coastal management.     

基于SuperMap IS.NET的地图网站设计与实现

地图网站是地理空间信息面向公众发布的最好形式。以湖南地图网(www.dzmap.cn)为例,介绍了基于SuperMap IS.NET的地图网站的服务定位、地图数据分析与处理,并讨论了网络地图发布平台架构、网络地图功能与属性数据库设计、数据更新等方面的设计与实现。     

基于NB-IoT技术的地震预警信息发布终端设备研制

天津市地震局于2015年通过首都圈预警示范工程项目建设，完成地震预警信息服务网络建设，并选取6所学校安装地震预警信息发布装置，提供地震预警信息示范服务，但由于信息发布装置安装复杂且价格偏高，在一定程度上影响终端设备的普及，制约地震预警信息社会化服务进程。同时，已有终端设备如同黑箱，不利于二次开发应用，存在安全隐患，影响服务质量。因此，天津市地震局积极推进基于NB-IoT技术的地震预警信息发布终端设备研制，实现低成本、低功耗、低延时目标及地震预警信息社会化服务。