Mapping and the citizen sensor (ICT COST Action TD1202)

About the Action

The rise of citizen sensors (e.g. volunteers contributing information from remote devices) provides immense potential to radically change mapping. The quality of citizen sensor data, however, is highly variable and activity is uncoordinated. A major internationally recognised mapping challenge is how to deal with the vast amounts of image data and large bank of uncoordinated citizen sensors in a way to allow accurate mapping.

This Action will evaluate the utility of citizen sensors in mapping, debate means to encourage standardisation, coordination of activity and identify how mapping can proceed with imperfect data. It will produce protocols for the collection and use of volunteered data, encouraging good practices while not constraining volunteers. The work is highly inter-disciplinary, at the interface of ISCH, ICT, TUD, ESSEM, FA and FPS domains, and benefits from expertise distributed across Europe. The Action provides a means to foster advances mainly via networking of typically disparate groups for broad benefit.

IIASA Research

ESM researcher Steffen Fritz has been elected Vice-Chair of the Action. 

This Action is focuses on networking and meeting others researchers to discuss issues within four main working groups. IIASA is co-chair of Working Group 1 on Aqcuiring and Managing Volunteered Geographic Information(VGI). At this stage, the first action is to undertake a comprehensive review of what VGI is out there and present this at a meeting to be held in April 2013 in Nottingham, UK (dates still to be confirmed).

Note: If you want to get involved in this Action contact Steffen Fritz or Linda See. 

Last edited: 30 November 2012