This May a team from COBWEB (Nicola Osborne, EDINA and Barry Evans, University of Aberystwyth),  EDINA’s Geodata services (Addy Pope) and the Open University’s nQuire and Sense-it projects (Prof. Mike Sharples, Eloy Villasclaras-Fernandez) collaborated on a “Citizen Science� session for the British Science Association’s Science Communication Conference 2014, held at the University of Surrey, Guildford.

The conference, which was opened by Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics, Professor of Public Engagement in Science and host of Radio 4’s “The Life Scientific�, brought together science communication and public engagement practitioners from across the UK and Europe for two days of talks, workshops and hands on sessions covering all aspects of science communication, and including contributions from the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, universities and research organisations, the Wellcome Trust, BIS, science centres around the UK, and even a few science comedians.

The aim of the workshop was to demonstrate how easy it is to create interesting and engaging participatory science missions.  After a 5 minute over-view of each app, participant paired up and headed outside. Their mission was to collect data on sounds around the University campus with each pair having access to both Fieldtrip GB and Sense-it.  They had around 15 minutes to collect as much data as they could before returning back to the classroom. 

Once everyone was back, the team uploaded the data and displayed it to the group.  Nicola Osborne, COBWEB, then gave a short presentation on using social media  to amplify and engage the community in citizen science projects, which led into discussion of the opportunities and challenges of using citizen science or crowdsourcing as part of science communication activities.  The discussion provided useful feedback for COBWEB and for the app developers, it also raised some interesting scenarios where these types of tools could be used in participatory science.

The COBWEB, FieldTrip GB and Open University team which arranged it hope to continue the discussions on citizen science through a new Google+ Community which they have set up. It is hoped that a follow up Google+ Hangout will take place over the summer for further discussion of both technical and social aspects, challenges, and issues of citizen science projects. 

Find out more:

• Join the Citizen Science Google+ Community to continue the discussions: https://plus.google.com/communities/104894414032760144202 
• View Nicola’s presentation, “Attention Citizens!”, on social media, citizen science and using these types of projects in science communication: http://www.slideshare.net/CobwebFP7/sci-comm14-nklo
• Find out more about the British Science Association Science Communication Conference 2014: http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/science-communication-conference/science-communication-conference-2014/
• Read blog posts on the conference, including a write up of the Citizen Science session: http://nicolaosborne.blogs.edina.ac.uk/tag/scicomm14/
• Download the EDINA FieldTrip GB app: http://fieldtripgb.blogs.edina.ac.uk/
• Download the Open University Sense-it app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.greengin.sciencetoolkit

This May a team from COBWEB (Nicola Osborne, EDINA and Barry Evans, University of Aberystwyth),  EDINA’s Geodata services (Addy Pope) and the Open University’s nQuire and Sense-it projects (Prof. Mike Sharples, Eloy Villasclaras-Fernandez) collaborated on a “Citizen Science� session for the British Science Association’s Science Communication Conference 2014, held at the University of Surrey, Guildford.

The conference, which was opened by Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics, Professor of Public Engagement in Science and host of Radio 4’s “The Life Scientific�, brought together science communication and public engagement practitioners from across the UK and Europe for two days of talks, workshops and hands on sessions covering all aspects of science communication, and including contributions from the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, universities and research organisations, the Wellcome Trust, BIS, science centres around the UK, and even a few science comedians.

The aim of the workshop was to demonstrate how easy it is to create interesting and engaging participatory science missions.  After a 5 minute over-view of each app, participant paired up and headed outside. Their mission was to collect data on sounds around the University campus with each pair having access to both Fieldtrip GB and Sense-it.  They had around 15 minutes to collect as much data as they could before returning back to the classroom. 

Once everyone was back, the team uploaded the data and displayed it to the group.  Nicola Osborne, COBWEB, then gave a short presentation on using social media  to amplify and engage the community in citizen science projects, which led into discussion of the opportunities and challenges of using citizen science or crowdsourcing as part of science communication activities.  The discussion provided useful feedback for COBWEB and for the app developers, it also raised some interesting scenarios where these types of tools could be used in participatory science.

The COBWEB, FieldTrip GB and Open University team which arranged it hope to continue the discussions on citizen science through a new Google+ Community which they have set up. It is hoped that a follow up Google+ Hangout will take place over the summer for further discussion of both technical and social aspects, challenges, and issues of citizen science projects. 

Find out more:

• Join the Citizen Science Google+ Community to continue the discussions: https://plus.google.com/communities/104894414032760144202 
• View Nicola’s presentation, “Attention Citizens!”, on social media, citizen science and using these types of projects in science communication: http://www.slideshare.net/CobwebFP7/sci-comm14-nklo
• Find out more about the British Science Association Science Communication Conference 2014: http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/science-communication-conference/science-communication-conference-2014/
• Read blog posts on the conference, including a write up of the Citizen Science session: http://nicolaosborne.blogs.edina.ac.uk/tag/scicomm14/
• Download the EDINA FieldTrip GB app: http://fieldtripgb.blogs.edina.ac.uk/
• Download the Open University Sense-it app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.greengin.sciencetoolkit

On Monday 13^th January, as part of the Architecture Implementation Pilot Phase 6 (AIP-6) Results Presentation Side Event at the GEO X Plenary, COBWEB was part of a significant milestone: data mixing between secured services.

In the session international participants witnessed simultaneous access to secured NASA and ESA OGC Web Services using the COBWEB Test Federation, powered by the rasdaman Big Data engine (Web Coverage Service), effectively bridging the Atlantic in real time serving protected data. The user signed on only once in the Test Federation, making for a significantly more straightforward and positive user experience.

How did it work?

The Web Browser based client (OpenLayers) on a laptop in Geneva accessed the NASA Ames server to fetch a color image taken by a NASA drone, Ikhana, while it was supporting local firefighters combatting large bushfires in California. From ESA, an elevation model giving height information about the Californian hills was retrieved, originally obtained from a radar satellite. Both were combined in the browser to a 3-D landscape that could be zoomed into and viewed from all sides, similar to a virtual globe like GoogleEarth.

The client made use of the OGC Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) standard, a language that allows clients to task servers with processing and filtering on massive spatio-temporal data assets, such as satellite images or climate data sets. The servers on each side of the Atlantic have their own independent access protection and therefore the pilot required the use of the integration capabilities of the COBWEB Test Federation, created under AIP-6 as part of the project’s contribution to GEOSS.

This pilot has shown that security-interoperable access is possible via an “Access Management Federation� setup.  It establishes a well-defined level of trust between parties and supports Single-Sign-On: A user logging in at one organization within the federation and having access to a resource is able to access subsequent resources hosted by other federation members without having to provide their credentials again. Because of this powerful Single-Sign-On, applications can, as demonstrated, make use of protected services from different domains.

An international collaboration between two FP7 projects made this transatlantic gathering possible. Led by Secure Dimensions, COBWEB provided the overarching security solution.  For the EarthServer project, Jacobs University and rasdaman GmbH provided the Big Raster Analytics engine, which NASA Ames Research Center and ESA are running on their servers. MEEO performed data ingest at ESA. Partners met during their collaboration in the OGC standards development and international research collaborations.

The live demonstration of COBWEB’s contribution to the GEOSS AIP-6 Pilot showed the power of access management federations for managing complex authentication contexts – something that is essential to the appropriate combination of data from different providers that will be used in COBWEB. And, altogether, the unique technology demonstration paves the way for services merging data across data centers, nations, continents – ultimately, across the planet.

Find out more

The federation used for the demonstration was the COBWEB Test Federation which you can find on our Development page. Currently the following organisations are taking part in the COBWEB Test Federation: EDINA (University of Edinburgh); NASA Ames Research Center; CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc); GDI.DE (Spatial Data Infrastructure Germany) Coordination Office; Secure Dimensions; EarthServer project; Catapult; MEEO; Environment Systems.

If you would like to find out more about the GEOSS AIP-6 Pilot Project or the COBWEB Test Federation please do get in touch, or take a look at our recent presentations and publications.

You can view a further news item on this “Big data mash up� on the Jacobs University website. You can also download the AIP-6 poster which was exhibited at the OGC stand at GEO-X, or watch this video of AIP-6 being demonstrated at GEO-X.

On Monday 13^th January, as part of the Architecture Implementation Pilot Phase 6 (AIP-6) Results Presentation Side Event at the GEO X Plenary, COBWEB was part of a significant milestone: data mixing between secured services.

In the session international participants witnessed simultaneous access to secured NASA and ESA OGC Web Services using the COBWEB Test Federation, powered by the rasdaman Big Data engine (Web Coverage Service), effectively bridging the Atlantic in real time serving protected data. The user signed on only once in the Test Federation, making for a significantly more straightforward and positive user experience.

How did it work?

The Web Browser based client (OpenLayers) on a laptop in Geneva accessed the NASA Ames server to fetch a color image taken by a NASA drone, Ikhana, while it was supporting local firefighters combatting large bushfires in California. From ESA, an elevation model giving height information about the Californian hills was retrieved, originally obtained from a radar satellite. Both were combined in the browser to a 3-D landscape that could be zoomed into and viewed from all sides, similar to a virtual globe like GoogleEarth.

The client made use of the OGC Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) standard, a language that allows clients to task servers with processing and filtering on massive spatio-temporal data assets, such as satellite images or climate data sets. The servers on each side of the Atlantic have their own independent access protection and therefore the pilot required the use of the integration capabilities of the COBWEB Test Federation, created under AIP-6 as part of the project’s contribution to GEOSS.

This pilot has shown that security-interoperable access is possible via an “Access Management Federation� setup.  It establishes a well-defined level of trust between parties and supports Single-Sign-On: A user logging in at one organization within the federation and having access to a resource is able to access subsequent resources hosted by other federation members without having to provide their credentials again. Because of this powerful Single-Sign-On, applications can, as demonstrated, make use of protected services from different domains.

An international collaboration between two FP7 projects made this transatlantic gathering possible. Led by Secure Dimensions, COBWEB provided the overarching security solution.  For the EarthServer project, Jacobs University and rasdaman GmbH provided the Big Raster Analytics engine, which NASA Ames Research Center and ESA are running on their servers. MEEO performed data ingest at ESA. Partners met during their collaboration in the OGC standards development and international research collaborations.

The live demonstration of COBWEB’s contribution to the GEOSS AIP-6 Pilot showed the power of access management federations for managing complex authentication contexts – something that is essential to the appropriate combination of data from different providers that will be used in COBWEB. And, altogether, the unique technology demonstration paves the way for services merging data across data centers, nations, continents – ultimately, across the planet.

Find out more

The federation used for the demonstration was the COBWEB Test Federation which you can find on our Development page. Currently the following organisations are taking part in the COBWEB Test Federation: EDINA (University of Edinburgh); NASA Ames Research Center; CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc); GDI.DE (Spatial Data Infrastructure Germany) Coordination Office; Secure Dimensions; EarthServer project; Catapult; MEEO; Environment Systems.

If you would like to find out more about the GEOSS AIP-6 Pilot Project or the COBWEB Test Federation please do get in touch, or take a look at our recent presentations and publications.

You can view a further news item on this “Big data mash up� on the Jacobs University website. You can also download the AIP-6 poster which was exhibited at the OGC stand at GEO-X, or watch this video of AIP-6 being demonstrated at GEO-X.

The COBWEB Team are excited to announce our forthcoming half day workshop in Machynlleth on 20th May 2014. 

The event, which has been organised by members of the COBWEB project from EcoDyfi, is open to oragnisations in an environmental field, or those working with people who could potentially collect data for the COBWEB project – volunteers, students, organisational members, visitors and local people.

During the workshop participants will have an opportunity to find out more about the project and the potential of mobile devices for data collection, and to learn more about how their own organisation might be able to collaborate with the COBWEB project, including some contract opportunities. 

Find out more about this workshop on it’s event page, or download the draft agenda or poster. And please do let any colleagues or contacts based in or near the Dyfi Biosphere know about this event. 

Mae tîm COBWEB yn falch o gyhoeddi ein gweithdy hanner diwrnod, sydd i’w gynnal ym Machynlleth ar 20fed Mai 2014.

Mae’r digwyddiad, a drefnir gan aelodau prosiect COBWEB sy’n gweithio i ecodyfi, yn agored i fudiadau sy’n gweithio yn yr amgylchedd, neu rhai sy’n gweithio gyda phobl a allai gasglu data ar gyfer prosiect COBWEB maes o law – gwirfoddolwyr, myfyrwyr, aelodau mudiadau, ymwelwyr a phobl leol.

Yn ystod y gweithdy, bydd cyfle i bobl ddarganfod mwy ynghylch y prosiect, a photensial dyfeisiau symudol ar gyfer casglu data, ac i ddysgu mwy ynglŷn â sut gall eu mudiadau gydweithio gyda phrosiect COBWEB, gan gynnwys rhai cyfleoedd ar gyfer contractau.

Mae rhagor o wybodaeth ynglÅ·n â’r gweithdy ar ei dudalen digwyddiad, neu lawrlwythwch yr agenda drafft neu’r poster. Ac mae croeso mawr i chi adael i gydweithwyr neu gydnabod yn ardal Biosffer Dyfi a’r cyffiniau wybod am y digwyddiad.

The COBWEB Team are excited to announce our forthcoming half day workshop in Machynlleth on 20th May 2014. 

The event, which has been organised by members of the COBWEB project from EcoDyfi, is open to oragnisations in an environmental field, or those working with people who could potentially collect data for the COBWEB project – volunteers, students, organisational members, visitors and local people.

During the workshop participants will have an opportunity to find out more about the project and the potential of mobile devices for data collection, and to learn more about how their own organisation might be able to collaborate with the COBWEB project, including some contract opportunities. 

Find out more about this workshop on it’s event page, or download the draft agenda or poster. And please do let any colleagues or contacts based in or near the Dyfi Biosphere know about this event. 

Mae tîm COBWEB yn falch o gyhoeddi ein gweithdy hanner diwrnod, sydd i’w gynnal ym Machynlleth ar 20fed Mai 2014.

Mae’r digwyddiad, a drefnir gan aelodau prosiect COBWEB sy’n gweithio i ecodyfi, yn agored i fudiadau sy’n gweithio yn yr amgylchedd, neu rhai sy’n gweithio gyda phobl a allai gasglu data ar gyfer prosiect COBWEB maes o law – gwirfoddolwyr, myfyrwyr, aelodau mudiadau, ymwelwyr a phobl leol.

Yn ystod y gweithdy, bydd cyfle i bobl ddarganfod mwy ynghylch y prosiect, a photensial dyfeisiau symudol ar gyfer casglu data, ac i ddysgu mwy ynglŷn â sut gall eu mudiadau gydweithio gyda phrosiect COBWEB, gan gynnwys rhai cyfleoedd ar gyfer contractau.

Mae rhagor o wybodaeth ynglÅ·n â’r gweithdy ar ei dudalen digwyddiad, neu lawrlwythwch yr agenda drafft neu’r poster. Ac mae croeso mawr i chi adael i gydweithwyr neu gydnabod yn ardal Biosffer Dyfi a’r cyffiniau wybod am y digwyddiad.

In June members of the COBWEB team will be running an AGILE & COBWEB Workshop – “Citizen Science, Quality and Standards” which will take place on 3rd June 2014, back to back with AGILE 2014 in Castellón, Spain. 

The COBWEB team would like to invite you – those interested and engaged with the COBWEB project - to participate in this event and have produced a call for participation which you can find over on the event page for the workshop. 

More details here: http://cobwebproject.eu/events/agile-conference-workshop-2014-cobweb-citizen-science-quality-and-standards/

And you can view a PDF of the Invitation here. 

The organisers for this event, who will be pleased to answer any of your questions or comments, are:

• Stephanie Ties, Environment Systems
• Bart De Lathouwer, OGCE
• Mike Jackson, University of Nottingham,
• Lars Bernard, TU Dresden
• Mason Davis, Welsh Government

In June members of the COBWEB team will be running an AGILE & COBWEB Workshop – “Citizen Science, Quality and Standards” which will take place on 3rd June 2014, back to back with AGILE 2014 in Castellón, Spain. 

The COBWEB team would like to invite you – those interested and engaged with the COBWEB project - to participate in this event and have produced a call for participation which you can find over on the event page for the workshop. 

More details here: http://cobwebproject.eu/events/agile-conference-workshop-2014-cobweb-citizen-science-quality-and-standards/

And you can view a PDF of the Invitation here. 

The organisers for this event, who will be pleased to answer any of your questions or comments, are:

• Stephanie Ties, Environment Systems
• Bart De Lathouwer, OGCE
• Mike Jackson, University of Nottingham,
• Lars Bernard, TU Dresden
• Mason Davis, Welsh Government

We are delighted to let you know that COBWEB has been featured in the latest issue (March 2014) of GeoConnexion International, a leading publication for professionals working in the geospatial industry and GIS. 

The article, which discusses “The Importance of Universities” as a space for innovation in geospatial, was co-authored by Steven Liang and COBWEB’s own Chris Higgins and can be found on page 22 of the current print edition of GeoConnexion, or can be read online here. 

The article looks at the work of the OGC Universities Domain Working Group, in which COBWEB plays a central role. If the article piques your interest you can read much more about the work of this group on the OGC website. 

COBWEB benefits from participation by six well regarded universities: University of Edinburgh; University College Dublin; Aberystwyth University, University of Nottingham, Technische Universitat Dresden and University of Patras. 

Find out more

• Read the article: The importance of universities
 by Steve Liang and Chris Higgins. 
• Find out more about the Universities DWG, and all of the OGC’s Domain Working Groups here. 
• Browse all of the COBWEB Project partners, including the Universities participating in the consortium. 

Last month (5th-7th February 2014) COBWEB was invited to attend, and present, at the Citizens Science and Smart Cities Summit which was arranged by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre, the Institute for Environment and Sustainability. 

Chris Higgins presented an overview of the COBWEB project as part of a session in which all five Citizens Observatories projects took part. You can view all materials from the event on the JRC website or access Chris’ presentation via SlideShare. 

The event sought to explore the interoperability and reusability of data across citizen-centred projects, and to explore the relationships between “Smart Cities” and citizen-centred projects. Find out more about the purpose of the day by taking a look at host Max Craglia’s introductory presentation. 

The COBWEB team found the event really useful for connecting with and exchanging experiences with others interested in the potential for citizen centre projects across Europe, particularly as openness and interoperability sit at the heart of the COBWEB project. Anyone interested in finding out more about a huge range of current projects and initiatives should definitely take a look through the presentations from the event, or to explore the resources on the UrbanQool: Citizen Science Observatory of New Indicators of Urban Sustainability website. 

Find out more

• Find out more about the Citizens Science and Smart Cities Summit, including all presentations from the event, via the JRC website. 
• Browse the map and other resources on the UrbanQool website.
• View or download Chris’ COBWEB presentation via SlideShare.
• Explore other recent presentations and publications by the COBWEB team on our Dissemination and Publications and Presentations pages. 
• Find out more about interoperability through INSPIRE , which JRC is the technical coordinator for.