Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The timely availability of relevant information is vital for the operations of local authorities. In the case of dealing with natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, geo-information and geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to improve and organize response and consequently minimize their impact. The paper explores the adoption and use of geo-information and GIS applications within an organisational context bound by legal mandates and official procedures. The paper relies on a sociotechnical approach in exploring and understanding this process. This interaction is captured in the organizational routine concept that is a template for understanding mandates and reflects the agreement on the role of the geo-information in organizational activities. Empirically, the paper is based on two local authorities adopting a GIS for natural disaster risk management: Naga City in the Philippines having a flood hazard concern, and Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan City in Nepal having an earthquake concern. The case studies show that the socio-technical interaction of GIS technology for natural disaster management with other organizational needs leads to a continuous re-design cannot be possibly based on pregiven and final users’ needs.

Linkoping University (LiU) has developed a Visual User Interface and Web-enabled advanced 3D visualization to a flood forecasting system in an EC funded project named MUSIC. The project develops state-of-the-art precipitation estimation algorithms, assess their uncertainty and use an innovative combination of the output data of the three independent data sources radar, satellite and rain gauges. The basic role of any real-time quantitative precipitation and flood forecasting system lies in its capability, within the forecasting horizon, of assessing and reducing the uncertainty in forecasts of future events in order to allow improved warnings and operational decisions for the reduction of flood risk. In line with this requirement, the MUSIC project is to develop an innovative technique for improving the weather radar, weather satellite and rain gauge derived precipitation data, taken as independent measurement source. Another key objective is seeking to improve the communication and the dissemination of results to the authorities involved in real-time flood forecasting and management. The project tests the system on real world case studies on two test catchments the Reno and Arno rivers in Italy. LiU is developing the innovative 3D Visual User Interface that will enable the users to take a more active role in the process of visualizing and investigating flood forecasting, allowing them to better understand the data and uncertainty behind the forecasting system. LiU also provides easy-to-use collaborative visualization tools enabling the meteorologists, hydrologists, operations managers and the civil defense manager to view and discuss the forecasting results in real time across the network before finally interacting with the media, the police, other officials and the public. The system will considerably improve the flash flood forecasting reliability and precision and will shorten the time required to detect events that lead to catastrophic flood events.

The landslide map in the Serchio basin (Central Tuscany, Italy) is an official document that represent the actual state of the landslides in the region. At present, the updating of the map is carried out by different municipalities using paper sketch maps, sent by post to the Autorità di Bacino del Fiume Serchio (AdB). The objective of the work presented here was to significantly speed up and simplify this updating process, while taking into account the severe constraints of the municipalities. This was to be achieved by providing them with a lightweight Web based map application that allows inventory of new landslides and submitting them via the WWW directly to the AdB databases. Open Source technology and Open Standards were employed to build a database-driven application. The data is stored in a spatial database backend (MySQL), following OpenGIS Simple Features specifications. Server applications extract data from the database and deliver it as a client-side application in SVG, the Scalable Vector Graphics format of the W3C. This paper presents the technical background and setup of this application and plans for future development.

With the rapid development of Earth observation technology and geospatial information technology, disaster managers (in the broadest sense) now have power tools capable of collecting and integrating data from various sources in an efficient and cost-effective manner. These properties make it particularly attractive to disaster management support activities. This paper examines the problems of geospatial data acquisition for disaster management with a focus, in particular, on urban environments from two perspectives: geospatial data requirements and the role which high-resolution satellite imagery (0.6 − 5 m) can play in satisfying these geospatial information requirements, and effective image exploitation methods. We focus on the potential of available very high-resolution commercial satellite image data for rapid urban mapping and discuss the example of automated building and road extraction from pan-sharpened IKONOS and QuickBird images.

The increase in the frequency of disasters and their associated damages globally is part of a worldwide trend, which results from growing vulnerability and may reflect changing climate patterns. Global risks seem to be increasing.

These trends have significantly initiated the development and implementation of the National Disaster Hazard and Vulnerability Atlas. The main idea was to design and develop database-driven, web-enabled interactive “virtual book” (Atlas). It consists of various “chapters”, such as drought, flood, cyclones, storms, severe weather, and fires.

Web-enabled GIS is used as the most important user communication interface for various hazards. User is able to submit input through maps. Results of various calculations, if spatially distributed, are returned back to user in form of GIS.

This job shows the experience of the office “Servizio Sismico Nazionale” (OSSN - Italian Department of Civil Protection), started in the 1992, to build up the complex information system: SIGE. SIGE, that utilizes a lot of integrated technologies to support the seismic emergency management: G.I.S., G.P.S., G.P.R.S., P.D.A. and W.E.B., is activated in case of an earthquake of magnitude 5 or more that hits the Italian Territory. The article describes the different phases of a seismic crisis: the activities start from the scenario production in the OSSN centre, continue in the involved area with the data collection and close with the production of synthesis maps for the emergency management. SIGE utilizes the positive experience of two IST European project: FORMIDABLE and EGERIS.

Satellite navigation has become an important positioning source for a wide range of applications, many of which going much beyond the traditional transport sector. One example is personal mobility including dense urban, indoor, and outdoor applications. Practically all of the current applications rely on the GPS signals, sometimes also exploiting regional or local augmentations for better accuracy. As applications move into safety-critical and other areas where service reliability is of concern, users and service providers alike are becoming aware of the importance of service qualities and guarantees. Disaster management is one example of such applications. As a first step, an integrity signal is already provided with the SBAS services WAAS and EGNOS. From the year 2008 onwards, full-scale service guarantees will be available on certain signals of the GALILEO system.

In pedestrian user environments like dense urban canyons or indoors, the performance of GNSS (including conventional terrestrial and/or satellite based means of augmentation) for position and integrity reaches well-known technological limits. These limitations can be overcome by adding additional information sources to the system.

The ESA funded project SHADE addresses special handheld-based navigation applications in difficult environments. The main focus of the project lies in the navigation non-transport applications like rescue services, VIP tracking or lone worker protection. A highly mobile demonstration system for pedestrian use has been developed that targets sensor augmented navigation, enhanced through visual representation, in security related fields of operation (e.g. rescue operations). The system architecture is based on the combination of navigation, communication and geoinformation. Geoinformation in this context means the creation of a visualization component for a better 3D orientation at the service Center and for the mobile user.

The modular system architecture of SHADE is built for information exchange between several mobile units and one or more service centers, which regulate and coordinate information and position exchange. The position information is sent from the Mobile Unit via the mobile communication link to the Service Center, where all position information of different users are managed and provided to the SHADE mission Center over fixed internet services. The mission Center accesses its database and the position updates to render images of the surrounding, based on 3D city and/or terrain models. This can be a bird’s view, over the shoulder view, or any other view defined by a mission Center operator. The image is continuously updated and can be accessed by the Mobile Unit.

The system that has been designed, built and tested for SHADE uses three different technologies alternatively. Each of the so-called Pilots provides position and integrity data over the mobile communication link.

The first Pilot applies the assisted GPS principle. It provides position information even in dense urban environments where weak navigation satellite signals are still detectable. The EGNOS-TRAN service Center provides rapid acquisition assistance information, such as satellite almanacs and precise local time, to the mobile unit. Raw pseudo range measurements are sent back to the service Center, where the user position is calculated. Additionally, the server uses EGNOS information to differentially correct GPS measurements and to process integrity.

The second Pilot implements innovative dead-reckoning technologies. GPS positioning is aided during periods of poor reception or bridged during complete signal outages, e.g. indoors or in tunnels. A custom furnished Multi-Sensor Box (MSB) is equipped with a GPS/EGNOS receiver and a number of digital sensors (accelerometers, gyros, barometer, magnetometer). In dead reckoning mode, a step detection algorithm uses accelerometer measurements to calculate displacement vectors. Adding direction measurements of the magnetometer and relative altitude data of the barometer in a Kalman filter, a three-dimensional relative coordinate update is computed.

The third Pilot integrates Loran-C terrestrial radio navigation with GPS and EGNOS satellite navigation in the pseudo range domain. The integration of the Loran-C time-of-arrival (TOA) measurements provides position information in dense urban and even in light indoor environments. The performance depends on the coverage of the terrestrial system and the presence of interference.

Besides a continuous position update, reliability information is of main interest in the context of disaster management. Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems and their integrity provisions have been primarily designed for aviation applications. The potential use of such augmentation systems for land-mobile and maritime applications is subject to a number of ongoing research and development projects. EGNOS and WAAS offer two types of information to the user: Differential range corrections to improve the accuracy of GPS pseudorange measurements, and integrity information consisting of differential signal-in-space accuracy input for protection level computation. The protection levels are finally compared to thresholds called the alert limits. Although the differential pseudo range corrections can be applied for non-aviation applications without modifications, the integrity concept needs re-assessment and a number of modifications in order to be useable for land-mobile. Different integrity requirement figures, necessitating changed probability multipliers, and a slightly different probability equation according to other operational procedures and user dynamics, can be handled rather easily. The magnitude and bounding of local error contributions to the integrity equation are more challenging. Atop of this, the applied sensor fusion, as in the SHADE MSB, poses new challenges on the protection level algorithms when additional types of measurement are introduced to the position computation. Consequently, each of the three SHADE Pilots implements specific adaptations to the integrity processing.

Field demonstrations of the SHADE system encompass nine campaigns with different key application objectives. They have been performed over a scheduled duration of six months in spring and summer 2004. The environmental scenarios include the Expo’98 Park at Lisbon (Portugal), a scenic hotel and an office building at Bolzano (Italy) and a road tunnel in the Center of Rome (Italy). Especially for the sensor-based second Pilot, the tests showed promising results even in difficult environments. GPS outages occurring in tunnels, indoors or in urban areas just slightly degraded the navigation performance. The involvement of targeted user groups (public safety authorities, fire brigades, etc.) in the demonstrations showed user group acceptance and provided detailed feedback on the concept and the architecture.

The paper presents in particular the system architecture of SHADE, the design of the three different integrated navigation technologies and the modified integrity processing approaches. Field test results and application domain feed back complement the presented technical information.

The organizational structure that deals with the Response phase in disaster and risk management is based on a strong co-operation between several organizations, such as the police, fire departments, the local government and the health services The size of the organization depends largely upon the scale of the disaster itself. Van Dijke 2003 identifies 31 processes, that concern information flows and coordination of forces, that are relevant in these cases.

This paper concentrates on the information process at the first aid in hospitals, which is part of ‘somatic health care’. Research has been conducted on the information problems during emergency operations at first aid departments in Italy and The Netherlands. The results identify location information (location of patients, equipment, physicians and/or relatives, and so on) as a critical factor for improve quality and coordination of health services.

In most cases the location has to be determined indoors, where the most common global 3D positioning (based on GPS) is not available. It is still a challenge to obtain accurate positions indoors.

In general terms, one can distinguish between two broad classes of location technology: global (telecommunications) and local (WiFi, Bluetooth) network approaches, based on absolute (providing coordinates) or relative (providing speed and direction of movement) positioning. Currently, the most commonly used approaches for indoor positioning are based on WiFi and RFID.

This paper presents a system for indoor positioning and LBS to support hospital teams in emergency management. The paper discusses current information problems, investigates the required functionality of a system for hospital services, and the added value of indoor location technology.

Disastrous accidents (fire, chemical releases, earthquake, terrorist attacks, etc) in large public and residential buildings (discotheques, cafes, trade and industrial buildings) usually result in tragic consequences for people and environments. Such accidents have clearly showed that need for reliable systems supporting rescue operations is urgently appealing. Amongst all, giving appropriate information to the ordinary people in/around the affected area considering the disaster developments (available exists, assessable corridors, etc.) and the human factors (age, gender, disability) are of critical importance for the success of the rescue operation.

This paper promotes a new approach (based on 3D models) for giving evacuation instruction to people. The paper is organized in three general parts. The first part discusses briefly current approaches for alarming people in buildings showing their disadvantages. The second part presents the 3D system architecture and elaborates on the needed components. Discussion on the required developments concludes the paper.

Current software for estimating potential losses from hazards uses GIS software in order to display results of damage analysis on a map. In parallel, within the fields of geographic visualization and GISc systems capable of visualizing data for entire planets are starting to appear. One of the new challenges in this context is to develop a simple and intuitive general purpose navigation mode that will work well for a single planet from outer space to a street level. Such works are missing today. Although the need for global navigation in disaster management applications is rather conceptual than practical, introducing a conceptually better navigation mode has positive practical consequences also for applications in this field. By better concept for a navigation mode we mean: The navigation become generally usable around the whole globe regardless location of the viewpoint or level of detail used for the scene rendering; the navigation is intuitive for humans; and the navigation is simple by utilizing a single set of straightforward mathematical relations. In this text we introduce such global navigation mode, which has been implemented in Grifinor system.