ISPRS-IPS-GPS-IPIN

[ image: ISPRS ]

"...The majority of today's mobile mapping systems are either focusing on acquiring 3D point clouds by means of mobile laser scanners or georeferenced panoramic imagery. However, there are a number of well-established and highly-efficient surveying techniques such as airborne and close range multiray and stereo photogrammetry, which could be adapted to and exploited in land-based mobile mapping. While first experiments with stereovision based mobile mapping date back some 20 years, recent progress in positioning and imaging sensors, onboard data storage, algorithms and computing technologies such as High-Performance Computing are enabling very powerful stereovision mobile mapping approaches. They don't just give the possibility to increase the efficiency in 3D geodata acquisition; they also support new ways of managing and exploiting road infrastructure data. These include the intuitive and accurate 3D mapping of geo-objects, the automatic creation of depth maps and 3D point clouds using dense matching, the interaction of georeferenced imagery with a GIS or the augmentation of the georeferenced imagery with geospatial contents. In this paper we introduce a state-of-the-art stereovision mobile mapping system with different stereo imaging sensors and present a series of performance tests carried out with this system. The aim of these empirical tests was to investigate different performance aspects under real-world conditions."

More information here.

3D Continuous Positioning for Security Applications - full article here

[ image : extremetech ]

Links and leads also pointing across to The Robotics Institute.

Sizing Up

Sizing-Up

[image:the-conversation]

"....

This resulted in the National Measurement Institute undertaking a scoping exercise to report to the TCF Industries Innovation Council on the requirements for developing a national sizing standard and anthropometric database.

As discovered, valid public domain anthropometric surveys are expensive and logistically difficult projects. The Innovation Council did not deem it a priority to develop a national sizing standard and anthropometric database.

That said, it is understood, that the subject is still on the Council’s agenda."

Push For Police Cameras

[ Article ]

Reality Mining

Some fascinating work being done at MIT Media Lab on what they are calling Reality Mining.

You might find it interesting to compare the following chart from this source (2009):

with some of the work conducted by Kosta, Gasson et al. on Normality Mining (2011) and Michael, McNamee, Michael & Tootell (2006) on Location Intelligence.

Share Your Data

[image: run-the-line]

".....Keep all of your workout data stored at Garmin Connect for comprehensive analysis. Garmin Connect presents your data in clear and easy to understand evaluation. Over the coming months we'll provide even more tools to help you optimize your training."

".....Export your activity for upload to other programs. From the Details page you can export a .TCX file for other fitness programs and .KML for Google Earth. From the Splits page you can export a CSV file with the details of your activity."

"...Put your favorite activities on your Facebook wall and let your Facebook community see what you're tracking."

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ISACA offer another view....the fun, functionality and fear side of the data volunteerism that these applications and services encourage.

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For a robust emergent ethic specific consideration - http://works.bepress.com/kmichael/7/

Experts close to turning bionic eye dream into reality

Compare this research:

Researchers say they could be months away from offering hope to people with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, the leading causes of sight loss in industrial countries.

The technology centres on an intricate and minuscule implant containing 98 electrodes, which is designed to stimulate nerve cells in the retina.

Images taken by an external camera implanted in glasses worn by the patient would be processed and relayed via an external wire to a receiver implanted behind the ear, from which signals will be sent to the retina processing chip. If all goes to plan the retina, having been stimulated with the signals, will send information to vision processing centres in the brain.

to this:

Parents Tracking Children with GPS

An emerging set of mobile tracking applications have burst onto the scene since mid 2011. Here is another trial taking place in Western Australia targetting parents and children called the Myionu by AffinityOne.

If you are interested in some of our preliminary outcomes linked to parental tracking of children or the ethics of tracking and monitoring people using GPS-enabled devices you might like to follow up these papers:

The Social and Behavioral Implications of Location-Based Services

Location-Based Social Networking and Its Impact on Trust

Emerging Forms of Covert Surveillance using GPS-Enabled Devices

Research Note on Ethics in Emerging Age of Uberveillance

Control, Trust, Privacy and Security in Location-Based Services

Location-Based Intelligence- Modelling Behavior in Humans Using GPS

The Emerging Ethics of Humancentric GPS

Does tracking children necessarily make them safer? Is this really a way to help children develop a street-smart awareness? Wearable or luggable devices can be left behind giving parents a false sense of security. In addition, the security of such "up-to-the-second" data is a minefield.

Free Encyclopedia Entry: Steve Mann's Wearable Computing

If you are an avid reader of literature on wearable computing, then you will love this entry by Steve Mann! It is not only a historical account of his contribution to the field, but also shows the development of wearables...

MG Michael and I contributed a commentary on his encyclopedia entry with reference to sousveillance especially.

Below are a selection of photographs embedded in our commentary from our recent workshop on Sousveillance and POV in Law Enforcement, held on 22 February 2012.

Fortunate to have Professors Kevin Haggerty and David Lyon and Mr Mark Lyell presenting a keynote, invited paper and plenary.

Alexander Hayes presenting on body-worn POV in the education context.

DUSS Pty Ltd demonstrating body worn recording technology to delegates. 

Artist Tim Burns presenting on his creative works as related to the workshop.

 

Glass To Battlefield

The original concept clip from Google..

The battlefield version.

The Microsoft version.

The interrupted version.

Qube

Consider the Qube. It’s 3 feet long, weighs about 5 pounds and can be assembled in a jiffy. It’s equipped with thermal and high-resolution cameras. It can fly all by itself, for 40 minutes at a time, hovering noiselessly at up to 500 feet. And it films all it sees.

The Qube, made by AeroVironment Inc. (AVAV), is one model in a growing fleet of drones -- or, technically, unmanned aerial vehicles -- now plying the skies above the U.S., piloted remotely by National Guard units and Customs and Border Protection agents, for just two examples. These machines have proved invaluable in war zones, and their expanding use domestically holds great promise.

But surveillance drones also create daunting privacy concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration now requires government and research organizations to apply for authorization before they can operate such aircraft. A bill signed Feb. 14, however, charges the FAA with speeding up the approval process for new operators and with fully integrating drones into American airspace by Sept. 30, 2015.

As it does so, the FAA, working with other agencies, should take steps to help ensure that drones fly within the parameters of the Constitution.

Full article at Bloomberg