Collective Sensing: Integrating Geospatial Technologies to Understand Urban Systems—An Overview

Remote Sensing

Thomas Blaschke¹  Geoffrey J. Hay³  Qihao Weng² 

[1] Centre for Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Str. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria;Center for Urban and Environmental Change, Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Geography, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; E-Mail:

关键词: urban remote sensing;    collective sensing;    in situ sensing;    sensor web;    human-environment interactions;    future trends;    smart city;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs3081743

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Cities are complex systems composed of numerous interacting components that evolve over multiple spatio-temporal scales. Consequently, no single data source is sufficient to satisfy the information needs required to map, monitor, model, and ultimately understand and manage our interaction within such urban systems. Remote sensing technology provides a key data source for mapping such environments, but is not sufficient for fully understanding them. In this article we provide a condensed urban perspective of critical geospatial technologies and techniques: (i) Remote Sensing; (ii) Geographic Information Systems; (iii) object-based image analysis; and (iv) sensor webs, and recommend a holistic integration of these technologies within the language of open geospatial consortium (OGC) standards in-order to more fully understand urban systems. We then discuss the potential of this integration and conclude that this extends the monitoring and mapping options beyond “hard infrastructure” by addressing “humans as sensors”, mobility and human-environment interactions, and future improvements to quality of life and of social infrastructures.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.