Bluetooth beacons are becoming increasingly popular for various applications such as marketing or indoor navigation. However, designing a proper beacon installation requires knowledge of the possible sources of interference in the target environment. While theoretically beacon signal strength should decay linearly with log distance, on-site measurements usually reveal that noise from objects such as Wi-Fi networks operating in the vicinity significantly alters the expected signal range. The paper presents a novel mobile Geographic Information System for measurement, mapping and local as well as online storage of Bluetooth beacon signal strength in semireal time. For the purpose of on-site geovisual analysis of the signal, the application integrates a dedicated interpolation algorithm optimized for low-power devices. The paper discusses the performance and quality of the mapping algorithms in several different test environments.
Mapping and analysis of air photos enabled preparation of a photogeological map of the Hansbreen-Sofiekammen region in a scale of 1 : 10,000. Glacial, slope and marine landforms and sediments were distinguished. Supplied with thermoluminescence and radiocarbon data, a morphogenetic evolution of the area could be presented. Four Pleistocene and Holocene glacier advances were distinguished. Seven raised marine beaches result from the Pleistocene and the Holocene uplift of the land.
This paper discussed the results of pilot magnetic investigations carried out at the foot of the Fugleberget mountain and in the Skå valley in the area of the morthwestern shores of the Hornsund Fiord. The investigations showed the large usefulness of the magnetic method in stratification of different rock types which occur within the metamorphic complex, and, in the case of magma intrusions, they found that dolerity dykes are characterized by high, uniform magnetization and very simple geometrical form.
Great ablation of the Werenskiold Glacier created the need of recording the changes particularly superficial ones, after melting of its icingsGround stereophotogrammetric photos done during the Polar Expedition of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1983 enabled to prepare a map in the scale of 1:10,000 covering by its two sheets the whole glacier, a system of open crevasses inclusive. The map presents the actual state of the glacier and enables a comparison with earlier photogrammetric measurements carried out several times since 1957.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology that was conceived in 1999. The key components of the IoT are intelligent sensors, which represent objects of interest. The adjective ‘intelligent’ is used here in the information gathering sense, not the psychological sense. Some 30 billion sensors that ‘know’ the current status of objects they represent are already connected to the Internet. Various studies indicate that the number of installed sensors will reach 212 billion by 2020. Various scenarios of IoT projects show sensors being able to exchange data with the network as well as between themselves. In this contribution, we discuss the possibility of deploying the IoT in cartography for real-time mapping. A real-time map is prepared using data harvested through querying sensors representing geographical objects, and the concept of a virtual sensor for abstract objects, such as a land parcel, is presented. A virtual sensor may exist as a data record in the cloud. Sensors are identifi ed by an Internet Protocol address (IP address), which implies that geographical objects through their sensors would also have an IP address. This contribution is an updated version of a conference paper presented by the author during the International Federation of Surveyors 2014 Congress in Kuala Lumpur. The author hopes that the use of the IoT for real-time mapping will be considered by the mapmaking community.
The grid method is the most widely used technique for measurement-based noise assessment, and indeed is part of the ISO 1996-2 standard. Nevertheless it has certain disadvantages. The present work is an analysis of the grid method for evaluating noise, firstly in the city of Cáceres and, secondly in two other smaller towns. Using as reference a 200 metre grid study, a study was made of the effect of varying the size and form of the grid on the city’s overall noise value, the percentage of data found to lie above some reference thresholds, and the noise value assigned to a certain zone of the city. The ISO 1996 recommendations of the necessity of new sampling points and the method’s predictive capacity for these new measurements were also analyzed.
This paper presents an innovative method of technology mapping of the circuits in ALM appearing in FPGA devices by Intel. The essence of the idea is based on using triangle tables that are connected with different configurations of blocks. The innovation of the proposed method focuses on the possibility of choosing an appropriate configuration of an ALM block, which is connected with choosing an appropriate decomposition path. The effectiveness of the proposed technique of technology mapping is proved by experiments conducted on combinational and sequential circuits.
This paper addresses an interesting issue in name theory, specifically the relationship between toponyms and spatial representations, as well as the cultural differences manifesting themselves in connection with these. Studies have shown that the name model (a general knowledge of names) created based on the mental representation of names is partly language and culture dependent. Thus, the knowledge of the speaker on how reliably the toponyms correlate with the actual features of the landscape or whether they should only be considered as labels identifying an area is culturally determined. This, in turn, influences the extent to which name-users may rely on them in structuring space and in creating a cognitive map.
Field mapping and analysis of air photos enabled to prepare a photogeological map of Treskelen-Hyrnefjellet-Kruseryggen area in scale of 1:10,000. Slope, glacial and nival landforms and sediments, and ten raised marine beaches were distinguished. Morphogenetic evolution of the area is also presented, with discussion of probable glacier advances and land uplift during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.
Bunger Oasis (66° 15'S 100° 45'E), which lies in the deep interior of the Antarctic Continent, was the destination of the Polish Polar Expedition in 1978/1979. The area of Oasis which is free of ice, with a surface area of 1000 km2, its own hydrographic network and diversified relief of the terrain, has over the recent years been populated by live organisms, birds (cheek-bone and snow fulmar) and Wedell seal. In valleys and depressions of the terrain, traces of soil, mosses and lichens appear. The relief of the terrain of Oasis is undergoing continuous intensive change as a result of the natural effects of the Antarctic climate.
Landscape is an object of perception, while its image is the sum of ideas on this object. Both terms used in the title of the paper have fairly strong impact on each other. In order to manage the city’s image well, it is necessary to take care of the landscape in all its areas especially in the “forgotten” and degraded ones. The aim of the author was to identify elements of landscape exposure along railway lines – areas with low aesthetic value in many cities around the world. The research area includes railway lines, in Cracow and Wrocław. The method adopted for the implementation of the study is the analysis of mental maps made in 2018 during field workshops. The paper is ended by conclusions on the landscape impact on the image of the city.
In the research on historic, composed green areas various computer technologies are applied, including among others reconstruction ideograms and virtual spatial models. They are created on the basis of historical cartographic materials, among which Prussian maps Urmesstichblatts and Messtischblatts deserve special attention as they provide extraordinarily useful and often otherwise unavailable information concerning the system of spatial composition.
The article presents a method of procedure on the example of selected research objects. Such studies are extremely useful in the process of research, analyses and documentation of the authentic state of historical sites. Moreover, they provide a significant material for further analyses concerning revalorisation and creation of the cultural landscape.
Satellite remote sensing provides a synoptic view of the land and a spatial context for measuring drought impacts, which have proved to be a valuable source of spatially continuous data with improved information for monitoring vegetation dynamics. Many studies have focused on detecting drought effects over large areas, given the wide availability of low-resolution images. In this study, however, the objective was to focus on a smaller area (1085 km2) using Landsat ETM+ images (multispectral resolution of 30 m and 15 m panchromatic), and to process very accurate Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification to determine with great precision the effects of drought in specific classes. The study area was the Tortugas-Tepezata sub watershed (Moctezuma River), located in the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico. The LULC classification was processed using a new method based on available ancillary information plus analysis of three single date satellite images. The newly developed LULC methodology developed produced overall accuracies ranging from 87.88% to 92.42%. Spectral indices for vegetation and soil/vegetation moisture were used to detect anomalies in vegetation development caused by drought; furthermore, the area of water bodies was measured and compared to detect changes in water availability for irrigated crops. The proposed methodology has the potential to be used as a tool to identify, in detail, the effects of drought in rainfed agricultural lands in developing regions, and it can also be used as a mechanism to prevent and provide relief in the event of droughts.