ISPRS, as a society based on science, applications, industry and education, decided to support scientific projects following the XXII Congress in 2012.
The first call was launched for 2014. Calls for 2015, 2017 and 2019 followed. ISPRS Council decided to also support education and capacity building activities. The first call for Education and Capacity Building Initiatives was launched for 2018, and the second for 2020. The examples below show open data and open-source tools accessible for all users across the world.
The 2017 call brought results from seven projects. Four of them offer benchmarks covering various topics. A database (open data) for remote sensing application in tropical areas was processed in Brazil within the Benchmark Database for Tropical Agricultural Remote Sensing Application project. An output of the data shows Fig. 1. Authors used Landsat 8, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 data, reference maps and data from two field campaigns.
ISPRS Benchmark Challenge Large Scale Classification of VHR Geospatial Data was processed for the city of Toulouse. Sixteen image tiles are available with 6 classes for testing with class annotation at eight tiles and allows the application of a machine learning tool. The test also includes a fully automatic evaluation tool for change detection.
The Benchmark for Multi-Platform Hyperspectral Image Processing, called HyRANK, comprises validation data for three areas and fourteen land cover classes from the CORINE nomenclature. The training phase was performed in two areas.
The test of the ISPRS Benchmark on Indoor Mapping project, allowing quantitative evaluation of ceilings, floors, walls, windows and doors, is open for submission until June 2020. Remote sensing and computer vision experts closely co-operate in many cases. The SVSC –The UAV Semantic Video Segmentation Challenge 2017 project is such an example. It deals with quantification of semantic segmentation collected from UAV images and videos. Fig. 2 shows a result and interface of the video labelling software.
Data and image processing provided by ISPRS scientists can be made available to use in applications for various SDGs. The project ISPRS Contribution to Transforming Our World: Augmentation of GlobeLand30 with additional Data for monitoring United Nations Sustainable Development Goals presents such examples for eleven goals. A long list of their indicators gives an overview of the large range of activities where ISPRS experts can contribute.
The practical goal of another project, Development of Educational Content: “Small UAS in Civil Engineering Applications” was focused on the needs of civil engineers and architects. A methodology for the application of UAS with low-cost cameras was prepared for such users using the knowledge of measures and accuracies of photogrammetry and geoinformation. The result is an educational module.
In many cases, projects financed by Education and Capacity Building Initiatives focus on the wider, not only the geospatial, community. One example is an online database of camera calibration and performance information, Camera Calibration and Performance Database. The database is a source of information for using cameras for measurement or mapping. Another example is a project involving students of Chinese schools to improve public awareness of the geosciences in China by teaching at elementary schools, e.g.
There are many countries where computer aided teaching and learning material form a very important part of education. This year, 2020, has shown us that this type of education can be used all over the world due to the world epidemy. The Capacity Building for High-Resolution Land Cover Inter-comparison and Validation project deals with land cover. This topic has been processed in many different ways using various data and different methods. The project focuses on the creation of training/educational material for the inter-comparison/validation of high-resolution open geospatial datasets.
The main idea of the project Spreading out the Knowledge from ISPRS Educational Events using a Dissemination Internet Platform aims at making contents of educational events available through e-learning techniques. The authors proposed and created the Dissemination Internet Platform (DIP). The e-learning system will be structured with adaptable architecture.
By Lena Halounová