—Simultaneous mapping and localization or SLAM is a basic strategy used with robots and autonomous vehicles to identify unknown environments. It is of great attention in robotics due to its importance in the development of motion planning schemes in unknown and dynamic environments, which are close to the real cases of application of a robot. This is why, in parallel with research, they are also important in specialized training processes in robotics. However, access to robotic platforms and laboratories is often complex and costly, with high demands on time and resources, particularly for small research centers. A more efficient and affordable approach to working with autonomous algorithms and motion planning schemes is often the use of the ROS-Gazebo simulator, which allows high integration with customized non-commercial robots, and the possibility of an end-to-end design (E2ED) solution. This research addresses this approach as a training and research strategy with our ARMOS TurtleBot robotic platform, creating an environment for working with navigation algorithms, in localization, mapping, and path planning tasks. This paper shows the integration of ROS into the ARMOS TurtleBot project, and the design of several subsystems based on ROS to improve the interaction in the development of service robot tasks. The project’s source code is available to the research community.

This chapter discusses some key considerations about an ideal or desired future. It presents an overview of the core strategies that people can embark on today so that people can strengthen our capabilities against, and build community resilience in, future pandemics. Data and understanding what they mean are the foundations for sound decision making. The need for open data empowering open science has been raised by several authors. Both scientific research and the authorities' decision-making have been either aided or hindered by the availability of, or access to, data of appropriate quality and resolution. Data need to be organised and managed via harmonised terms and definitions, and spatial data infrastructures (SDI) both at the local and national level, in land and in water. The Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic has demonstrated that in a highly interconnected social, economic and natural environments, a highly contagious virus can become a global pandemic in no time.

The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) has been taking steps to explore how geospatial information has been used to support national response efforts, and the influence and impact of the geospatial data ecosystem in responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework at its core, the UN-GGIM has published findings on what components are required to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. It has become evident how urgent and critical it is to have a multifaceted system that mobilises resources and ensures that all agencies have access to geospatial information in order to best manage the pandemic. The chapter reports on how geospatial experts can provide the means to support governments to identify and empower those most vulnerable to the pandemic. The chapter also addresses the role that geospatial information and technology play in building community resilience and discusses the challenges faced to successfully plan and manage resilient communities.

This book, with worldwide contributions examining the COVID-19 pandemic, provides interdisciplinary analysis and multi-sector expertise on the use of geospatial information and location intelligence to support community resilience and the ...

The 2020 FIG Commission 7 Annual General Meeting (AGM) has wrapped up! Over the course of three days, which were based around the joint themes of 'Building community resilience through urban-rural land linkages' and `Strategies to deal with COVID-19', 200 registered participants attended 11 parallel sessions, with upwards of 50 expert presenters, across three major time zones. The initial positive feedback shows that the Commission is continuing to deliver on its 2018-2022 workplan despite the disruption during the COVID-19 period.

In the context of land tenure and SDGs, this chapter proposes strategies for practitioners to involve the private sector in land administration services while at the same time ensuring there is a contribution to the achievement of the SDGs.

2017 was a particularly important year for Colombia. Signing the peace agreement with the FARC generated fundamental changes in the social dynamics of the country. However, the first item on the agenda during Havana negotiations, related to land management reform, has not been implemented. Initially, this article explores the reasons why, until today, we have failed in the development of a modern registration and cadaster system for immovable property in Colombia, and the lessons we have learned during this process of trails and errors. In the second part of this article, I suggest some key points that the new Government should take into account to achieve this reform, which is fundamental for the sustainability of the peace agreements, poverty reduction and sustainable growth.

Esta guía presenta las experiencias de cuatro ciudades latinoamericanas frente a la promoción de la bicicleta: Bogotá (Colombia), Ciudad de México (México), Río de Janeiro (Brasil) y Rosario (Argentina), con el ánimo de describir su situación actual de movilidad e infraestructura, marco regulatorio, estrategias de promoción y participación ciudadana y los hitos más importantes en la gestión de cada una de las ciudades. Es importante resaltar que estos temas coinciden con las estrategias transversales incluidas en la estructura de los Planes Maestros de Bicicleta sugeridos en la primera guía de esta serie:"Cómo impulsar el ciclismo urbano: Recomendaciones para las instituciones de América Latina".

En los centros urbanos de América Latina y el Caribe, la bicicleta es percibida como un vehículo cuyo uso, ofrece una alternativa económica de movilidad, reduce la congestion vehicular y mitiga la emision de agentes contaminantes y gases efecto invernadero. Además tiene una fuerte connotación deportiva. Sin embargo, si bien se reconocen diversos beneficios para la salud asociados a su uso frecuente, el ciclista urbano es un actor de la movilidad con una elevada exposición, tanto a la contaminación de los modos motorizados como a la seguridad vial. Este documento, presenta un caso relativo a la exposición del ciclista urbano en Bogotá y algunas recomendaciones orientadas a los tomadores de decisión y gestores de proyectos de cicloinclusión a mejorar las condiciones de seguridad vial y proteger la salud cardiovascular y respiratoria de los ciclistas urbanos en ciudades de América Latina y el Caribe, con el fin de incrementar el buen uso de la bicicleta como vehículo de transporte cotidiano.

In this chapter, we present a practical implementation of a LUCC simulation based on transport scenarios. The model, called the Bogota Land Development model or BoLD, was built on Metronamica to address information gaps in decision-making. Using BoLD we modeled and compared two types of transport infrastructure: a highway-based transport network and a suburban rail system. These transport scenarios were combined with options to expand the city into green areas currently protected as nature reserves. Customized geospatial analyses were developed for calculating accessibility distance decay factors (ADDF) based on a methodology developed in this research called Over-Time Spatial Decay Calculation (OSDC). Results of the scenarios are presented graphically in what we call a Mobility Circle, a key contribution of this research. Validation of the results obtained suggests that both OSDC and the Mobility Circle appear to enhance the information available to decision-makers when evaluating urban scenarios driven by transport projects. In any case, those working in this field should approach LUCC based primarily on changes in transport systems with caution, as they provide a narrow view of future scenarios without clearly considering important aspects such as changes in land demand.

In order for planners and researchers to support the decision making process of spatial and land-use planning, it is necessary to understand the causes and consequences of land-use change process. Therefore, the effort of this research consists to study the causes, processes and impacts of land use and land cover change (LUCC) over the housing built area using the LUCC model developed for the city of Bogota. The model, called Bogota Land Development (BoLD) model uses cellular automata (CA) software Metronamica (Paez & Escobar, 2016). This paper aims to evaluate the spatial patterns in residential built area and then quantify changes in population density based on public transport and main roads line density, and green and public space coverage.

En América Latina las autoridades urbanas están prestando cada vez más interés en promover la bicicleta como medio de transporte cotidiano y enrescatar el valor que ha tenido por décadas como engranaje de la vida en comunidad. Sabemos que hacerlo permite afianzar estilos de vida bajos en carbono, disminuir la congestión vehicular, reducir tiempos de viaje, favorecer los encuentros ciudadanos, evitar el exceso humo y ruido, mejorar la salud de las personas, y promover la equidad. En este sentido, los gobiernos locales han respondido a la creciente popularidad de la bicicleta, creando infraestructura y realizando actividades de promoción. Sin embargo, en muchos casos las políticas y medidas entusiastas han resultado ser poco coordinadas porque no han sido sostenibles e integradas debido a la débil capacidad institucional y ausencia sostenida de fuentes de financiamiento en el mediano plazo.

Economic growth experienced in Colombia since 2001 has impacted on heavier traffic levels in the capital city of Bogota which in turn have worsened air pollution indicators and environmental public health conditions. Different political options competing at municipal elections have included their respective proposals for public transport in their programs. Impact expected from each of these scenarios makes it necessary to implement models allowing their assessment. Given this need, we present the Bogota Land Development Model (BoLD), a practical implementation of a Land-use Cover Change (LUCC) simulation based on two different public transport scenarios; a highway-based network and a suburban rail system. Transport scenarios are combined with options to expand the city into natural reserves. Customized geospatial analyses were developed for calculating accessibility distance decay factors based on overtime-spatial decay determination (OSDD) method. Results of the scenarios are presented both in maps and in "mobility circles". Validation of the results suggests that OSDD and the mobility circles appear to contribute to better information to decision-making when evaluating urban scenarios driven by transport projects.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is commonly used to prioritize investments. For transport projects, estimation of benefits and costs are normally based on a four-step transport model, originally designed for motorized transport. Trip assignment to the network (the fourth step) uses equilibrium principles based on capacity constraints, an approach inappropriate to represent behaviors of cyclists. To date there have been no statistically proven models published for assignment of cycling trips from an mode split matrix. This paper presents a methodology that combines geographic information systems (GIS) and discrete choice modeling to assign cycling trips to a transport network. The methodology requires a modal split origin-destination matrix (step three of the traditional model) as input. As a result, it estimates cycling volumes for each link of the network on a set of pre-identified routes. Parameters to characterize network links were developed based on a statistical model using results from a large-scale geographic survey of cycling routes in a case study in Bogota - Colombia. The methodology produced a certainty of% (R2 48 =0,6) when compared with field validation data. In the contrast, equilibrium algorithms based on shortest cost path used in the same case study only predicted 4% of cycling volumes when compared with the control data. Testing of the methodology in segments of the network with low cycling volumes and in other cities are opportunities for future research.

SUMMARY An important aspect of aircraft engineering and maintenance involves the detection and measurement of damage on aircraft surfaces. A damage that exceeds a prescribed threshold must be first detected, and then repaired. Currently this involves visual inspection and direct measuring on aircrafts by engineering staff. Today this is a time consuming process that might be improved by three dimensional laser scanning (TDLS). This technology (also called Light detection and raging or LIDAR) is being broadly explored as an alternative for high precision surveying of objects and structures. This research utilized a damaged section wing that had been removed from an aircraft for repair to test the capabilities of TDLS in detecting and measuring damages. Data was gathered from a series of distances and angles on a previously identified dent. The data was processed in order to generate a series of models of the wing surface in order to minimize the impact of errors in range measurement while still accurately detecting and measuring the damage location itself. It was found that TDLS could identify damages on a wind. However, we could not prove that the application is more reliable than human visual inspections. Future research is proposed for identifying and measure errors associated using TDLS on an aircraft surface.

An empirical relationship of Total Suspended Sediments (TSS) concentrations and reflectance values obtained with Drones’ aerial photos and processed using remote sensing tools was set up as the main objective of this research. A local mathematic algorithm for the micro-watershed of the Teusacá River at La Calera, Colombia, was developed based on the computing of four component of bands from consumed-grade cameras obtaining from each their corresponding reflectance values from procedures for correcting digital camera imagery and using statistical analysis for study the fit and RMSE of 25 regressions. The assessment was characterized by the comparison of reflectance values and 34 in-situ data measurements concentrations between 1.6 and 33 mg L−1 taken from the superficial layer of the river in two campaigns. A large data set of empirical and referenced algorithm from literature were used to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the relationship. For estimation of TSS, a higher accuracy was achieved using the Tassan’s algorithm with the BAND X/ BANDX ratio. The correlation coefficient with R2 = X demonstrate the feasibility of use remote sensed data with consumed-grade cameras as an effective tool for a frequent monitoring and controlling of water quality parameters such as Total Suspended Solids of watersheds, these being the most vulnerable and less compliance with environmental regulations.

Abstract. To analyze the current situation of Colombian regulation, it is necessary to compare some specific aspects with the legislation used in other countries where the UAVs topic dates to many years ago. This study is focused on evaluating all the possibilities to make the Colombian regulation effective without closing opportunities of research and development growth, but still guarantee the privacy and intimacy rights of the population. Results from our study are currently being used in the development of the Colombian regulation and they are proven useful to instigate informative debates and identify areas where specific needs are to be address in Colombia.