Assessing quality of volunteer crowdsourcing contributions: lessons from the Cropland Capture game

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) is the assembly of spatial information based on public input. While VGI has proliferated in recent years, assessing the quality of volunteer-contributed data has proven challenging, leading some to question the efficiency of such programs. In this paper, we compare several quality metrics for individual volunteers’ contributions. The data were the product of the ‘Cropland Capture’ game, in which several thousand volunteers assessed 165,000 images for the presence of cropland over the course of 6 months. We compared agreement between volunteer ratings and an image's majority classification with volunteer self-agreement on repeated images and expert evaluations. We also examined the impact of experience and learning on performance. Volunteer self-agreement was nearly always higher than agreement with majority classifications, and much greater than agreement with expert validations although these metrics were all positively correlated. Volunteer quality showed a broad trend toward improvement with experience, but the highest accuracies were achieved by a handful of moderately active contributors, not the most active volunteers. Our results emphasize the importance of a universal set of expert-validated tasks as a gold standard for evaluating VGI quality.     

地表覆盖遥感产品更新完善的研究动向

近年来,多尺度地表覆盖遥感产品的不断涌现,为环境变化研究、地球系统模拟、地理国(世)情监测和可持续发展规划等提供了重要科学数据。为更好地满足广大用户日益增长的应用需求,应对地表覆盖遥感产品进行持续更新完善,保持其时效性、增强时序性、丰富多样性。针对大面积地表覆盖遥感产品更新完善所面临的主要问题,介绍和评述了国内外有关研究动向,包括影像与众源信息相结合的更新、数据类型细化与完善、地表覆盖真实性验证,并作了简要展望。     

Satellite image analysis using crowdsourcing data for collaborative mapping: current and opportunities

ABSTRACT

Researchers are continually finding new applications of satellite images because of the growing number of high-resolution images with wide spatial coverage. However, the cost of these images is sometimes high, and their temporal resolution is relatively coarse. Crowdsourcing is an increasingly common source of data that takes advantage of local stakeholder knowledge and that provides a higher frequency of data. The complementarity of these two data sources suggests there is great potential for mutually beneficial integration. Unfortunately, there are still important gaps in crowdsourced satellite image analysis by means of crowdsourcing in areas such as land cover classification and emergency management. In this paper, we summarize recent efforts, and discuss the challenges and prospects of satellite image analysis for geospatial applications using crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing can be used to improve satellite image analysis and satellite images can be used to organize crowdsourced efforts for collaborative mapping.     

国外自发地理信息研究进展及对我国的启示

在内涵解析的基础上,主要从数据质量评估、贡献者分类与动机以及法律议题三方面归纳与梳理国外自发地理信息的研究情况。相比较而言,我国对自发地理信息的研究无论从深度还是广度上都处于起步阶段,未来研究应从四个方面深入开展:政府主导下的公众贡献自发地理信息;数据质量控制;移动自发地理信息以及自发地理信息涉及的法律议题。     

基于众包数据的室内定位方法和平台

随着WLAN的普及,基于Wi-Fi的室内定位方法逐渐成为研究与应用的热点。虽然,其中基于位置指纹的定位算法研究相对广泛,应用效果较好,然而现有的指纹定位方法或系统仍存在以下3个问题：① 离线阶段的数据标定和定位模型的训练需要耗费大量人力物力,以及时间消耗,使系统很难得到实际应用;② 真实环境中WLAN信号波动呈现高动态性,采集的数据存在显著的时效性,无法提供长时间的有效定位保证;③ 实际环境中AP设备变动频繁,导致训练数据与定位数据特征维度不等长,造成模型失效。针对上述问题,本文提出了一种基于众包数据的模型更新方法,通过不断融合增量数据,使定位模型保持实时有效。该方法主要包括半监督极速学习机(SELM)、具有时效机制的增量式定位方法(TMELM)和特征自适应的在线极速学习机(FA-OSELM)3部分。基于上述方法,本文设计并实现了基于众包数据的室内定位平台系统。实际应用表明,本文提出的方法能够显著降低模型训练阶段的数据采集工作量,有效提升模型训练速度,并且长时间保持较高的定位精度。     

Cartographica incognita: ‘Dijital Jedis’, Satellite Salvation and the Mysteries of the ‘Missing Maps’

Like Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) and Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) crowdsourced collaborative mapping is often imagined as an alternative to conventional cartographic practice. This paper examines collaborative mapping projects designed to assist in humanitarian work and respond to catastrophes. These projects, their technological complexity and wide range of collaborators, including affected locals, international Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and anonymous online contributors, invite closer consideration. In this article I unpick the gnarly question of how the remote sourcing of information through cloud collaboration and satellite imagery jostles with grounded work encouraging local control of local geoinformation. My critical analysis of these projects explores: (1) justifications for action – what is being promised through digital mapping as aid or satellite salvation?; (2) forms of participation – the role of ‘hotties’ ‘nodders’ and ‘digital jedis’; and (3) contingencies of mapping practices and the assemblages of actors within which they are embedded – as the mysteries of the ‘missing maps’. The conclusion considers differing approaches towards the inclusion of local knowledges within participatory digital aid mapping and identifies remote mapping practices that are both incognito and incognisant.     

Crowdsourcing a cyclist perspective on suggested recreational paths in real-world networks

ABSTRACT

Routing and navigation services for leisure activities are conditioned by special needs and trade-offs. The advent of online communities and large crowdsourced datasets offers opportunities to improve the adoption of a user’s perspective in these suggested paths. This paper focuses on achieving two goals. First, the presented methodology analyses a dataset of 190,610 historical GPS traces to gain insights into the appreciation or attractiveness of each edge in a real-world network for a specific leisure activity (i.e. road cycling). Second, as literature on these leisure activities is still sparse, we want to create a thorough understanding of the activities at hand for future work. An appreciation model is proposed and the spread of this score is analyzed in shortest-path alternatives of popular routing engines for this activity. This analysis successfully discriminates these shortest paths based on the scoring value and three morphological parameters of the path. However, the robustness of the model should be improved to ensure the viability of the proposed approach in future work. More specifically, further research on the local optimality of the route choices will be imperative.     

基于众包模式的智慧城市时空信息云平台构建研究

智慧城市建设是拓展城市综合承载能力、促进城市转型升级发展的重要途径,时空信息云平台是智慧城市建设的重要基础设施,为城市大数据的发掘、应用提供时空化承载。借鉴互联网商业的众包理念建设智慧城市时空信息云平台,将有助于满足城市发展的现实需求,解决城市治理的主要问题。     

全球4D数据产品研制

本文以我国自主高分辨率遥感立体测图卫星为主要数据源,利用高精度卫星影像无地面控制几何定位技术和智能采编技术,研制了全球陆域范围统一框架下的多尺度、多类型的基础地理信息产品,以发挥测绘地理信息在全球治理和可持续发展方面的重要作用,为“一带一路”倡议,国家经济社会发展,全球战略实施,智慧社会建设提供科技支撑。