COBWEB is a European Commission-funded research project that developed a generic crowdsourcing infrastructure called the Citizen Observatory Web. The COBWEB framework allows for co-design of mobile applications to collect environmental data from citizens. It provides tools for quality assurance of citizen-sourced data and publishing data using open standards. The project is working to open source components of the COBWEB framework and synchronize work with other groups to promote adoption of geospatial standards for citizen science data.

1. COBWEB
COBWEB technology platform and future
development needs,
ISPRA,
27th Jan, 2016
Chris Higgins
chris.higgins@ed.ac.uk
Sta

2. Introduction to COBWEB
• Research Project: Funded under the European
Commission’s Framework Programme 7
• SME Targeted Collaborative project
• Required to work within GEOSS framework
• Started Nov 2012, ends Oct 31st 2016 (4 years)
• Why?
– GPS enabled, internet connected mobile devices now
ubiquitous
– Lots of potential, eg, can citizen sourced environmental
data be useful for decision making?

3. Citizen Observatory Web
• Generic crowdsourcing infrastructure
– A toolkit which can be downloaded and used
in multiple scenarios
• Data which supports policy
• Address data quality issues
• Open standards

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

7. COBWEB is not a collection of Apps…
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

8. Co-design

9. COBWEB Framework

10. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)
TRL Definition
1 basic principles observed
2 technology concept formulated
3 experimental proof of concept
4 technology validated in lab
5 technology validated in relevant environment (industrially
relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
6 technology demonstrated in relevant environment (industrially
relevant environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
7 system prototype demonstration in operational environment
8 system complete and qualified
9 actual system proven in operational environment (competitive
manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies; or in
space)

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

12. View COBWEB Portal

13. COBWEB Framework

14. The COBWEB version of GeoNetwork
• Open source implementation of the OGC
Catalogue Services for the Web
• Input and storage schemas:
– ISO19139, ISO199115-1
• Alternative output schemas available:
– Dublin core
– SensorML
– DCAT
– PPSR_CORE
• Supports registration of ‘surveys’ or ‘citizen
science projects’
• ACTION: CH to put group in touch with GeoCat

15. Customise your own app for your survey

16. Customise your own app for your survey

17. Customise your own app for your survey

18. Citizen captures data on their phone

19. COBWEB Framework

20. Classifying quality: Seven pillars
Pillar Example Test Notes
Pillar 1 – Location Based
services
Assessment of spatial
accuracy – estimate from a
mobile device and number
of satellites
Tests often carried out on
the mobile device
Pillar 2 – Cleaning Removal of junk data via
an attribute text check
Very lightweight, can flag
or remove malicious entries
Pillar 3 – Automatic
validation
Analysis whether an image
is blurry
Higher level testing, often
used to assess ranges
Pillar 4 – Comparison with
authoritative data
Use of a set of boundary
polygons to check whether
an observation is in or out
Wide variety of tests that
involve comparison with
what it known
Pillar 5 – Model based
validation
Running a flood model Can be complex, and may
also include question based
modeling
Pillar 6 – Big/Linked data Querying Twitter via a
hashtag for similar
phenomena
Tapping into large
databases such as sensor
records and social media
Pillar 7 – Semantic
harmonisation
Rationalisation of entries
via an ontology
Attempts to recognise
multiple entries of the
same observation

21. Quality process web editor

22. COBWEB Framework

23. Conflation
• Combination of spatial data from multiple
sources to produce a combined view that
contains the most valuable data from the inputs
• Used in Quality Assurance
• Used for data enrichment, eg, from sensors
• OGC Web Processing Service interface used

24. SWE4CS
Publishing
Data

25. SWE4CS – Why bother?
• If a significant amount of Cit Sci data can be
published to this standard
• It becomes more useful; its immediately
understood by people who understand the
standard
• The same tooling can be used and reused
• Integration costs decrease

26. Sustainability
• Intending to open source as many of the
COBWEB components as possible
• OSGeo one option and looking at the incubation
process
• SME’s leading this aspect of COBWEB

27. Synchronising #1 – ‘Hackathon’ @ ECSA Berlin May
• COBWEB offers to fund
• Line up a variety of Cit Sci project developers
who have access to data
• Provide materials and assistance to show how
transformation to SWE4CS can be done
• Use to show how easy it is and the benefits that
come with interopeability

28. Synchronising #2 – OGC-ICA-AGILE workshop June
• Association GI Laboratories Europe (AGILE) pre-
conference workshop 14th June
• The Role of Geospatial Standards for Sustainable
Development
• Emphasis on the use of these standards for
leveraging volunteered geographic information
and enabling community observatories
• Debate: 'Are OGC and related standards fit for
purpose in a fast changing technological society?‘
• Identify major research questions for maximising
the value of open geospatial interoperability
standards in support of the Sustainable
Development Goals

29. Synchronising #3 – Activity at Dublin TC in June
• OGC Technical Committee meeting 20-24 June
• Paid for by COBWEB
• Will have an OGC Best Practice paper ready for
publication:
– SWE4CS
– Metadata profile for Citizen Science
• How can we make best use of this week?