Newswise — The Earth information needs of our society are enormous. Until now, we have relied on government-sponsored satellites and observing systems as the foundation for gathering this data. However, there is a rapid emergence of citizen science and social networks that yields an exciting new means to become better stewards of our planet.
Community Remote Sensing is a new field that combines remote sensing with citizen science, social networks, and crowd-sourcing to enhance the data obtained from traditional sources. It includes the collection, calibration, analysis, communication, or application of remotely sensed information by these community means.
The rapidly evolving theme of Community Remote Sensing (CRS) is receiving special attention within the summer 2010 issue of Imaging Notes magazine, including articles on the potential impact of CRS, along with profiles of two pioneering projects using CRS.
Explains Myrna James, Publisher of Imaging Notes, the emphasis on Earth observations is clearly on the rise, but also the rise of Community Remote Sensing offers serious potential.
“Finally, Earth observations are getting the attention they deserve, in recognition of their potential, ultimately, to increase the capabilities for using the data to save Earth, save homes, save livelihoods and save lives,” James said. “One of the emerging fields helping to increase these capabilities is Community Remote Sensing, or citizen science/citizen mapping, or to use a more casual term, crowd-sourcing, of data,” she noted.
A sense of relationships
Community Remote Sensing (CRS) is becoming recognized as a key element in filling the data gap for remote sensing. The data provided from people and sensors “on the ground” will be instrumental in seeing a much fuller picture for projects around the world, from vehicles collecting road and weather data to disaster management for emergency responders – just to name a few examples.
Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation (SWF), salutes such efforts as Google Earth and the concept of citizen access to high-resolution data from space. “It is no longer an exotic notion, no longer a dream. Anyone with access to the Internet can now explore the view from space of their neighborhood,” he said.
More important, SWF’s Williamson added, citizens can add more detailed information to features that show up within their community. “What these images provide is an awareness of surroundings and a sense of relationships that are not easy to envision from a view on the ground. Citizens are filling the scale gap with information that they and their neighbors on the Internet can use.”
Furthermore, now that smartphones and other Internet devices have proliferated widely, these remarkable devices can be used to provide that information to local authorities. This is what has been called Community Remote Sensing, Williamson said.
Global Vision for Local Action
The power of Community Remote Sensing, along with decades of work on instrumentation, techniques, and applications development in satellite monitoring of our globe are also being highlighted later this month at the 2010 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers meeting of the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS).
This year’s 30th IGARSS gathering is being held July 25-30 in Honolulu, Hawaii, encompassing a conference theme of: “Remote Sensing: Global Vision for Local Action.”
Secure World Foundation is pleased to be a symposium supporter at the Platinum level, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA.
For more information on Community Remote Sensing, contact:
Dr. Ray A. Williamson, Executive DirectorSecure World Foundation314 W. Charles St.Superior, CO 81321
Phone: 303-554-1560 Cell Phone: 303-501-0430
Email: [email protected]
Imaging Notes partnership
Imaging Notes is the premier publication for commercial, government and academic remote sensing professionals around the world. It provides objective exclusive in-depth reporting that demonstrates how remote sensing technologies and spatial information illuminate the urgent interrelated issues of the environment, energy and security.
Imaging Notes has a partnership with Secure World Foundation and is affiliated with the Alliance for Earth Observations, a program of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.
For free access to the summer 2010 issue of Imaging Notes, go to:
http://www.secureworldfoundation.org/index.php?id=173&page=Imaging_Notes
About Secure World Foundation
Secure World Foundation (SWF) is headquartered in Superior, Colorado, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Austria. SWF is a private operating foundation dedicated to the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples.
SWF engages with academics, policy makers, scientists and advocates in the space and international affairs communities to support steps that strengthen global space sustainability. It promotes the development of cooperative and effective use of space for the protection of Earth’s environment and human security.
The Foundation acts as a research body, convener and facilitator to advocate for key space security and other space related topics and to examine their influence on governance and international development.
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