Category Archives: COVID-19 INSPIRE Hackathon 2020: CHALLENGES

CHALLENGE #3: Citizen Science Network for Peer to Peer Maps Sharing

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Mentors: Frantisek Zadrazil, Pavel Hajek, Jan Vrobel

Current situation with COVID 19 is opening new possibilities for virtual contribution of citizens to collect scientific data. Many scientific information can be collected in the form of a Map. Significant progress has been made in standardization of data access protocols and implementation of servers and clients capable of combining and visualizing remote datasets through mainstream OGC standards like WMS and WFS. This allows information to be flexibly re-used across organizational and thematic boundaries.

This allows people to build spatial applications that combine public, proprietary and private information for a multitude of purposes ranging from spatial planning, to smart agriculture and, of great relevance of late, crisis management.

Something that is still missing and that would add significant business value is a mechanism for sharing complex map compositions that combine data sharing services, cartography, visualizations and geospatial markup. Shared map compositions should be possible to explore in mainstream proprietary and open source GIS tools targeting both online and desktop environments.

  • We are sharing a lot of data
  • Data are facts and are «true» within limits
  • We share a lot of data across systems
  • Maps can be many things
  • Expressions of opinions
  • Means of discovering multi-dimensional spatio-temporal patterns
  • Communication of knowledge, science
  • Maps are not necessarily true
  • We share very few maps across systems – except as images

The idea is to publish maps in the form of Map Compositions.  Map compositions are:

  • An open JSON based interchange data model that describe maps (see https://github.com/hslayers/hslayers-ng/wiki/Composition-schema )
  • Extends the OGC Web Map Context specification that is limited to stacking WMS layers on top of eachother
  • In some ways map compositions resemble the «project files» of professional GIS tools
  • Includes a stacks of «layers»
  • Includes embedded «markup», redlining
  • Are lightweight
  • Are interchangeable
  • Are data centric rather than visualization centric
  • Can be rendered using web map clients and professional GIS clients
  • Can be used as a platform for collaborative development of maps and data

In the past, a solution was developed, which is part of the concept of more Digital Innovation Hubs. See the scheme:

This allows easy publishing of new Maps from the Web environment and also from QGIS. The focus of Hackathon will be to build a citizen community, which will be able share maps on DiHs. We will include more DiHs into experiment:

The second goal will be to develop a mechanism, which will allow to share this map compositions among different Hubs. This will lead to the peer to peer concept of Map sharing.

Additional dream is to involve external solution and test sharing of maps with other platforms

Expected outcomes of the team members’ and mentors’ common efforts are: 

  • build citizens science communities sharing maps
  • validate existing platforms
  • build large scale peer to peer network
  • use maps for agriculture support and regional development
  • promote rural regions

The challenge will demonstrate added value in terms of improved technology and skills among potential data users as well as the economic potential of reusing open data, validated through real-world trials. Participants will gain technical experience with open data, metadata, standards, online collaboration, content creation, spatial data, geomatics and thematic mapping. Furthermore,they will gain knowledge on natural and cultural heritage and receive training in how to think business and sustainable social innovation

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About your mentors

FRANTISEK ZADRAZIL is a Project Coordinator of the HSLayers-NG framework. He has been working in the GIS field since he graduated in 2006 (Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Engineering). After the years of SW development using various platforms (MapServer, GeoServer, ArcGIS) he became a GIS team leader and project manager and contributed to implementing numerous GEO systems for the public and private sector. He has an expertise in GIS architecture and analysis.

PAVEL HAJEK is a researcher and a lecturer at the Department of Geomatics. He participated in several EU projects such as OpenTransportNet, GEPAM, Peregrinus Silva Bohemica or EUXDAT. His focus is mainly on data modelling, assembling and gathering. His doctoral internship was taken at TU Delft (2014). Research activities: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), multidimensional data modelling – especially 3D data handling, cartography and visualisation, 3D GIS/CAD/BIM.

JAN VROBEL is a developer with the main focus on python QGIS plugins. He graduated in field applied informatics. Since 2016 he has been working in the field of GIS and software development. He has experience with GIS software like QGIS, Erdas and with developing in python and javascript languages.

 

 

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CHALLENGE #2 Atlas of Regional Specialities

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Mentors: Petr Horak, Kristyna Cerbova

Problem situations related to Covid-19, such as restrictions or temporary interruptions of work, quarantine, restrictions on the number of people in stores or restrictions on sales time, can lead to a change in shopping habits. The result can be an oversupply of households leading to unequal distribution, a temporary shortage of certain foods, and rising prices.

The challenge proposal aims to eliminate the above-mentioned problem situations by supporting regional primary producers and primary food processors (farmers, fruit and vegetable growers, butchers, etc.), collecting information about their products and making this information and products available to end customers.

Conception:

One of the possible solutions is to connect regional information about farmers and their available products with various platforms for trading in these products (stone shop, e-shop, purchase from the yard). The Atlas of the Best Practices will be used as the basic technological platform, on the basis of which a pilot prototype of the Atlas of Regional Specialties will be created.

The Atlas of Regional Specialties will present regional information on individual farms, but also on related events and other regional attractions. The Atlas of Regional Specialties will be connected with a local e-shop focused on the sale of regional products – https://sumavaprodukt.regionalnispeciality.cz/. Also other points of sale will be listed within the Atlas of Regional Specialties – especially direct sales from the yard of individual farms, or stone shops with regional products. As part of the implementation, data on individual farms will be collected and updated – for this purpose, a prototype of the web application Atlas Editor will be tested, which enables the acquisition of information records about individual farms. The challenge will use technological elements and procedures based on the H2020 Enabling and Liverur projects.

Main goals of the challenge:

  • How to connect the information base and e-shop
  • Creation of data structure and method of data collection
  • Various forms of promotion of individual farms and their products – links to social networks
  • Involvement of local stakeholders in data collection
  • Creating an extensive database
  • Connection with existing databases
  • Transfer of experience to other regions

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About your mentors

PETR HORAK Education: Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Forest engineering. SW development experience, mainly web solution for geo-spatial data, GIS specialisation, research, development, testing and exploitation of services and geo-information technologies for spatial data management in the area of natural, technical and social sciences, new development, testing and exploitation of services and technologies for spatial data management in areas of rural development including agriculture and forestry, emergency systems, logistics and public administration, implementation of new communication and navigation technologies. Extensive experience of EC projects (project management, development and implementation): Enabling – Enhance New Approaches in BioBased Local Innovation Networks for Growth (2017 – present), Envirogrids (2009 – 2012), Plan4all (project manager, system developer, 2009 – 2011), EarthlookCZ (co-ordinator of the project, 2007-2009), Collaboration at Rural – C@R (2006 – 2010), AMI4FOR new model for knowledge management in forestry based on integration of principles of ambiente mobile intelligence, new methods of navigation and integration of space imaging (2005 – 2008), MILQ-QC-TOOL the development of predictive models on the Internet for optimisation of heat treatment of raw milk in small and medium-sized dairy companies (2005 – 2007), NATURNET-REDIME New Education and Decision Support Model for Active Behaviour in Sustainable Development Based on Innovative Web Services and Qualitative (2005 – 2007).

KRISTYNA CERBOVA Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague. She works now as a communication manager in ROSIE project – Research and responsible innovation (Central Europe). Experience in education, languages, social sciences with a special focus on philosophy, history and archival science (2005-2007 digitalization activities in the National Archives of the Czech Republic). She works for other Plan4all H2020 projects such as LIVERUR or SIEUSOIL focusing mainly on smart agriculture topics.

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CHALLENGE #1 Best practices catalogue for EBAG (eco-, bio-, agro-, geo-) distance education

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Mentors: Otakar Cerba, Kristyna Cerbova

The current COVID-19 period requires to find and use a new approach to education, including stress on individualized learning and training as well as the implementation of distance (remote) methods. This challenge follows Rosie and CentraLab projects which were focused on education and training, including the development of smart catalogues.

The goal of this challenge is to create a tool (database and an interface for users) supporting access and orientation in various web resources. We focus on the EBAG domain, which covers issues related to ecology, bioscience, agriculture and geosciences. The developed tool will be used as a resource of free materials as well as for inspiration and potential networking.

The challenge includes the following tasks:

  • To create and test the structure (model) of the database
  • To populate the database
  • To check existing web tools working as catalogues with users’ data
  • To integrate database and catalogue tool
  • To develop or modify a web application for working with data (if it will be necessary)

About your mentors

OTAKAR CERBA Assoc. prof. Otakar Čerba, PhD works at the Department of Geomatics (Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West Bohemia, Plzeň, Czech Republic) and cooperates with Plan4all. He is focused on cartographic visualization of spatial data, Linked Data on the geographic domain and semantic issues of geographic data. He has been involved in many international projects such as Polivisu, Humboldt, SDI4Apps, SmartOpenData, Plan4all or ROSIE. Otakar Čerba is the member of the board of Czech Association of GeoInformation and the chair of the Commission on Maps and the Internet of International Cartographic Association

KRISTYNA CERBOVA Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague. She works now as a communication manager in ROSIE project – Research and responsible innovation (Central Europe). Experience in education, languages, social sciences with a special focus on philosophy, history and archival science (2005-2007 digitalization activities in the National Archives of the Czech Republic). She works for other Plan4all H2020 projects such as LIVERUR or SIEUSOIL focusing mainly on smart agriculture topics.

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