Presentation given by Chris Higgins in Machynlleth, Wales on 21st September 2015

1. COBWEB
End of Summer 2015 Co-Design Projects
Celebration,
Machynlleth,
21st Sept, 2015
Chris Higgins
chris.higgins@ed.ac.uk
Sta

2. Introduction to COBWEB
• Research Project: Funded under the European
Commission’s Framework Programme 7
• Started Nov 2012 for 4 years (Month 35 of 48)
• First demonstrator completed, validated and
tested during the 2015 Summer field season
• Why for COBWEB and Citizen Observatory’s?
– GPS enabled, internet connected mobile devices now
ubiquitous
– Lots of potential, eg, can citizen sourced environmental
data be useful for decision making?

3. Key research questions
• Generic crowdsourcing infrastructure
– A toolkit which can be downloaded and used
in multiple scenarios
• Data which supports policy
• Address data quality issues
• Open standards
• Security and privacy

4. Project Partners

5. UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves
Sites of excellence to foster
harmonious integration of people and
nature for sustainable development
through participation, knowledge
sharing, poverty reduction and human
well-being improvements, cultural
values and society's ability to cope
with change, thus contributing to the
Millennium Development Goals

6. Why Biosphere Reserves?
• Areas of high nature conservation value
• People
• Enthusiastic local communities interested in
sustainability
• Existing internal communication structures
• Designed for purpose – sustainability
science
• Network facilitates comparative functions,
eg, between countries

7. COBWEB Biosphere Reserves
Biosffer Dyfi Biosphere
Mount Olympus
Gorge of Samaria
Wadden See & Hallig islands

8. Dyfi Biosphere Reserve #1
www.biosfferdyfi.org.uk

9. Dyfi Biosphere Reserve #2
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right (2013)
©CountrysideCouncilforWales.Allrightsreserved.

10. Co-design

11. Not just apps #1
A number of demonstrator mobile phone
applications
– Exactly what, deliberately left open and
subject to discussion with community
3 pilot case study areas:
1. Validating earth
observation products
2. Biological monitoring
3. Flooding

12. Not just apps #2

13. How COBWEB works
The crowd
 Validated
 Quality approved
 Compliant
Authoritative
data
Data client
- Commercial
- Government
- Community
Sensors in the
environment

14. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
TRL
1 Basic principles observed and reported
2 Technology concept and/or application formulated
3 Active R&D initiated
Experimental proof of concept
4 Technology validation within a laboratory environment
5 Technology validation in relevant environment
6 Demonstration in a relevant environment
7 Demonstration in an operational environment
8 Actual system completed and qualified through test and
demonstration
9 Actual system proven through successful mission
operations

15. Key components at different TRL’s
• Conflation
• QA workflow editor
• QA WPS/services
• Sensor networks
• GeoNetwork/Portal
• Middleware
• Authoring tool/Survey designer
• Apps
• User management and privacy
• Access control
• Authentication

16. The app itself
Key features
• Capture information
– Images
– Audio
– Text
– Location
• High quality background maps
• Saved maps for use “offline”
• Custom data collection forms
• Manual location correction

17. View COBWEB Portal

18. Join COBWEB Portal

19. Customise your own app for your survey

20. Customise your own app for your survey

21. Customise your own app for your survey

22. Citizen captures data on their phone

23. Some Project Dynamics
1. Project started 1st Nov, 2012 and runs for
4 years, software now validated and tested
• Last quarter of project now…
2. An “SME Targeted Collaborative” project
• 30% EU contribution to SMEs
3. Develop 'citizens' observatories’
• Mobilise citizens
• Emphasised during Grant Negotiation
• “Co-design” fund established
4. A research project doing innovative work
• Crowdsourced environmental data to aid decision
making

24. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
TRL
1 Basic principles observed and reported
2 Technology concept and/or application formulated
3 Active R&D initiated
Experimental proof of concept
4 Technology validation within a laboratory environment
5 Technology validation in relevant environment
6 Demonstration in a relevant environment
7 Demonstration in an operational environment
8 Actual system completed and qualified through test and
demonstration
9 Actual system proven through successful mission
operations

25. Some Project Dynamics
Mainly
medium to
high TRLs
Requires
high TRLs
By definition,
lower TRLs
1. Project started 1st Nov, 2012 and runs for
4 years, software now validated and tested
• Last quarter of project now…
2. An “SME Targeted Collaborative” project
• 30% EU contribution to SMEs
3. Develop 'citizens' observatories’
• Mobilise citizens
• Emphasised during Grant Negotiation
• “Co-design” fund established
4. A research project doing innovative work
• Crowdsourced environmental data to aid decision
making

26. Balancing Act
• Validating our concept of Citizen
Observatory
• Testing the software
• But, research and development
continues in parallel
• However, we do recognise some components
need to be of higher TRL
• But, this is a research and development project
– Don’t have all the answers
– Don’t know exactly where we are going to end up

27. Remainder of project…emphasis shifting
• Rolling out software
• Getting greater buy-in
• Sustainability
• Progressing the research agenda
• Greater focus on Greece, Germany
• Additional Biosphere Reserves

28. Some parameters constraining 2016 activity
• More people using the technology
• A broader demographic
• Using their own handsets
• Geographically more widespread
• Data finds its way into existing
infrastructures like the National
Biodiversity Network

29. What would I like out of todays activity
• Dialogue
– Between the Co-Design projects
– Co-Design projects and COBWEBbers
– Co-Design projects, COBWEBbers and you
• Assistance in formulating plans for 2016
• Some fun, lot of good work done and a
knees up overdue

30. Thank you
• Website: http://cobwebproject.eu/
• Mailing list:
http://eepurl.com/Ita05
or use the QR code
• Follow us: @cobwebfp7
• And look out for members of the
COBWEB team at events.
chris.higgins@ed.ac.uk