Projects
Current projects
Harmony Explorer
The idea behind new Explorer Mission of the European Space Agency, Harmony, is to use two passive micro-satellites (Concordia and Discordia) flying in formations (cross and along-track) with a Sentinel-1D (S1D). This constellation, of two passive receivers and a conventional Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), will provide interferometric SAR capabilities. The scientific objectives of SAR observations of Harmony relate, primarily, to the characterisation of dynamic processes above and of ocean surfaces.
ITC is examining the feasibility of expanding Harmony’s capabilities to include TIR for water quality applications. So far, the ITC team has been able to infer the surface dynamics from the temperature gradient and has established the observational evidence of temperature effects on the wind field. The application of this finding comes in handy in a changing climate where the rising global temperature is leading to more extreme weather events.
The figure below shows SAR observation obtained from Sentinel-1 C band of the Agulhas current (right upper panel) collocated with the gradient of sea surface temperature derived from the Sentinel-3-SLTSR (upper right panel). The lower panels show the vorticity and divergence of sea surface current estimated from the wind field and the gradient of sea surface temperature.
Collocated S1-SAR (acquired at 17:00) and S3-SLTSR (acquired at 20:44) of the Agulhas, 23 July 2020.
ITC is examining the feasibility of expanding Harmony’s capabilities to include TIR for water quality applications. So far, the ITC team has been able to infer the surface dynamics from the temperature gradient and has established the observational evidence of temperature effects on the wind field. The application of this finding comes in handy in a changing climate where the rising global temperature is leading to more extreme weather events.
The figure below shows SAR observation obtained from Sentinel-1 C band of the Agulhas current (right upper panel) collocated with the gradient of sea surface temperature derived from the Sentinel-3-SLTSR (upper right panel). The lower panels show the vorticity and divergence of sea surface current estimated from the wind field and the gradient of sea surface temperature.
Collocated S1-SAR (acquired at 17:00) and S3-SLTSR (acquired at 20:44) of the Agulhas, 23 July 2020.
ITC-LIFE | Geospatial AI
Learning from old maps to create new ones
Description: Maps are quickly becoming outdated, about 10 % of the objects change annually. This project focuses on methods to automatically interpret newly acquired sensor data to detect and to update the changed objects in the digital map. The sensor data includes high-resolution 2D aerial image data and 3D laser scanner data. Our approach is to use the existing (old) digital maps to learn how various objects appear in these 2D and 3D datasets. The first step is to design a fusion step between nationwide map data and sensor data to be able to generate a massive training dataset. The second step is to set up a deep learning network for the classification of the sensor data into the learned map classes. The third step handles the incorporation of the detected changes in order to update the map.
Partners: Miramap Aerial Surveys, NEO BV, Het Waterschapshuis, Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta, Netherlands Red Cross 510 Global, SVB-BGT, RVO
Sponsor: NWO, Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES)
PhD: Jiao, Anjanappa
Partners: Miramap Aerial Surveys, NEO BV, Het Waterschapshuis, Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta, Netherlands Red Cross 510 Global, SVB-BGT, RVO
Sponsor: NWO, Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES)
PhD: Jiao, Anjanappa
ITC-TECH | Disaster Resilience | Geospatial AI
MIST
MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control
The airborne transmission of pathogens has a great impact on our health and economy. To address this, indoor environments need better air quality control to reduce infection rates. The MIST project brings together medical, physics, and engineering experts to study virus transmission, airborne droplet spread, and ventilation to develop mitigation technologies (based on ventilation and air cleaning) and assessment methodologies to test their efficiency. These outputs will be translated into practical recommendations to support overall indoor health, which in turn will improve our pandemic readiness.
Since the global impact of COVID-19, we have become acutely aware of the risks related to airborne diseases. Virologists, epidemiologists, fluid mechanics experts, and engineers are collaborating in the MIST (MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control) project to deepen our understanding and prevent the transmission of airborne viruses, infectious diseases and harmful agents, with a particular focus on addressing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The MIST brought together a diverse range of expertise, including fluid dynamics, physics, molecular biology, medicine, and engineering, and partnerships with 28 companies. The project aims to develop mitigation strategies for controlling airborne infections. To achieve this goal, the following steps will be taken:
i) Advancing fundamental knowledge on virus infectivity, the spread of airborne droplets, and the effectiveness of ventilation.
ii) Developing mitigation technologies and evaluating methodologies to determine their efficacy.
iii) Disseminating program outputs through publicly available recommendations and policy guidelines.
The outcomes of this research will be translated into practical recommendations for implementing measures in the most efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable manner across various environments, including homes, hospitals, schools, and public transportation.
The airborne transmission of pathogens has a great impact on our health and economy. To address this, indoor environments need better air quality control to reduce infection rates. The MIST project brings together medical, physics, and engineering experts to study virus transmission, airborne droplet spread, and ventilation to develop mitigation technologies (based on ventilation and air cleaning) and assessment methodologies to test their efficiency. These outputs will be translated into practical recommendations to support overall indoor health, which in turn will improve our pandemic readiness.
Since the global impact of COVID-19, we have become acutely aware of the risks related to airborne diseases. Virologists, epidemiologists, fluid mechanics experts, and engineers are collaborating in the MIST (MItigation STrategies for Airborne Infection Control) project to deepen our understanding and prevent the transmission of airborne viruses, infectious diseases and harmful agents, with a particular focus on addressing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The MIST brought together a diverse range of expertise, including fluid dynamics, physics, molecular biology, medicine, and engineering, and partnerships with 28 companies. The project aims to develop mitigation strategies for controlling airborne infections. To achieve this goal, the following steps will be taken:
i) Advancing fundamental knowledge on virus infectivity, the spread of airborne droplets, and the effectiveness of ventilation.
ii) Developing mitigation technologies and evaluating methodologies to determine their efficacy.
iii) Disseminating program outputs through publicly available recommendations and policy guidelines.
The outcomes of this research will be translated into practical recommendations for implementing measures in the most efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable manner across various environments, including homes, hospitals, schools, and public transportation.
Physics of Fluids | Health
ZORRO: Engineering for zero downtime in cyber-physical systems via intelligent diagnostics
About the project
ZORRO is a research project funded by NWO and carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium consisting of the University of Twente, Vrije Universiteit, Saxion, TNO-ESI and industrial partners ASML, Canon Production Printers, ITEC, Philips, and ThermoFisher Scientific.
Diagnostics is a key technique to reduce downtime in complex systems: by identifying the root causes of (potential or actual) system failures, appropriate corrective and preventive measures can be taken. Recent technological advances in sensor technology, data analytics and the Internet-of-things have put forward Intelligent Diagnostics, replacing the traditional human-based diagnosis: by equipping systems with appropriate sensors, AI algorithms can detect anomalies and relate these to potential root causes more precisely and faster.
Objectives
While Intelligent Diagnostics have shown successes on small components, ZORRO aims to scale up this technology to tackle the sheer complexity of cyber-physical systems (CPS). ZORRO’s focus is on four major challenges that hindered Intelligent Diagnostics for CPSs thus far:
Reliable and resource-efficient monitoring systems, demanding smart combinations of process sensors and diagnostic sensors; on edge and off-edge computing; and virtual sensing.Incorporating formalised knowledge in the diagnostic workflow. Current diagnostic technology requires numerous manual steps and relies heavily on tacit knowledge, which is time-consuming and error prone. Key challenge is enriching diagnostic systems with formalised knowledge.Accurate system-level diagnostic algorithms. Current diagnostic solutions work for components. To handle complex CPS, these algorithms must relate high-level performance characteristics to low level diagnostic information, understanding how failure mechanisms interact and propagate through the system.Tight integration in the system’s engineering life cycle. Few methods exist to co-develop diagnostic systems with the system they diagnose, making current solutions difficult to maintain and adapt to future needs.
ZORRO is a research project funded by NWO and carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium consisting of the University of Twente, Vrije Universiteit, Saxion, TNO-ESI and industrial partners ASML, Canon Production Printers, ITEC, Philips, and ThermoFisher Scientific.
Diagnostics is a key technique to reduce downtime in complex systems: by identifying the root causes of (potential or actual) system failures, appropriate corrective and preventive measures can be taken. Recent technological advances in sensor technology, data analytics and the Internet-of-things have put forward Intelligent Diagnostics, replacing the traditional human-based diagnosis: by equipping systems with appropriate sensors, AI algorithms can detect anomalies and relate these to potential root causes more precisely and faster.
Objectives
While Intelligent Diagnostics have shown successes on small components, ZORRO aims to scale up this technology to tackle the sheer complexity of cyber-physical systems (CPS). ZORRO’s focus is on four major challenges that hindered Intelligent Diagnostics for CPSs thus far:
Reliable and resource-efficient monitoring systems, demanding smart combinations of process sensors and diagnostic sensors; on edge and off-edge computing; and virtual sensing.Incorporating formalised knowledge in the diagnostic workflow. Current diagnostic technology requires numerous manual steps and relies heavily on tacit knowledge, which is time-consuming and error prone. Key challenge is enriching diagnostic systems with formalised knowledge.Accurate system-level diagnostic algorithms. Current diagnostic solutions work for components. To handle complex CPS, these algorithms must relate high-level performance characteristics to low level diagnostic information, understanding how failure mechanisms interact and propagate through the system.Tight integration in the system’s engineering life cycle. Few methods exist to co-develop diagnostic systems with the system they diagnose, making current solutions difficult to maintain and adapt to future needs.
Formal Methods and Tools | Data Science | Resilience & Security | Safety & Security
Water hyacinths: Use them or lose them?
Improving human and ecosystem health by bringing the science to the people of Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe (WHYimprove)
Water hyacinth (WHY) is an invasive species in (sub-)tropical inland waterbodies that clogs waterways and intakes and affects aquatic life and human activities, and may facilitate the spread of diseases. On the other hand, WHY can be exploited for biofuel production and other sources of income. A sustainable solution to water hyacinth infestation “uses” WHY instead of only attempting to “lose” them. This project uses scientific studies of data collected on site, in the lab and from satellites, combined with stakeholder experiences to co-create such solutions for Lake Chivero, the main source of drinking water to Harare, capital of Zimbabwe.
Figure 1: Schematic of the holistic approach of the WHYimprove project (pictograms by flaticon.com)
To be both effective and sustainable, new strategies to manage WHY need to be developed with a holistic view that accounts for humans, society and the ecosystem; users and managers; scientists and stakeholders. Our approach is composed of four elements:
Fundamental scientific research into causes and effects of WHY and degraded water quality, in which we recognise WHY both as a symptom and as a biomarker of degraded water quality. The research rests on the two pillars of satellite data and local field workCollection of stakeholder perspectives – particularly those of local farmers, fishermen, and women, but also, e.g., water managers and healthcare professionals – and integration into the development process of WHY management strategiesEngaging stakeholders by co-creation efforts from the beginning throughout the project up to, and including its end and evaluation; and by participatory science projects that provide ownership of the WHY management challenge and potential solutionsKnowledge sharing by providing open-access data, tools (mobile phone apps and a dashboard), open-access journal articles, a low-level newsletter, and by educating women on water quality and hygiene
Workpackages
These elements are addressed in six work packages:
Our project will impact the health of the lake ecosystem and the well-being and living conditions for people relying on lakes and reservoirs. This will lead to increased resilience of the ecosystem and its resident communities. Specifically, we aim for three domains of impact:
More healthy and resilient lake ecosystems;improved well-being of people depending on lakes; andmore resilient lake communities.
By integrating scientific findings from satellite and empirical data from local communities with stakeholders’ perspectives and recommendations, we will contribute to more resilient lake socio-ecosystems. Linking the health of humans, animals, and their environment (like in the One Health approach) can be useful in mitigating and preventing water-related diseases. The mobile phone applications and the WHY management dashboard are schematically depicted in Fig. 2.4. Together with the WHY management strategies, the MSU undergraduate course, and citizen science projects developed within WP6, they form the main output of the project.
News and calendar
Communication
Contact
Water hyacinth (WHY) is an invasive species in (sub-)tropical inland waterbodies that clogs waterways and intakes and affects aquatic life and human activities, and may facilitate the spread of diseases. On the other hand, WHY can be exploited for biofuel production and other sources of income. A sustainable solution to water hyacinth infestation “uses” WHY instead of only attempting to “lose” them. This project uses scientific studies of data collected on site, in the lab and from satellites, combined with stakeholder experiences to co-create such solutions for Lake Chivero, the main source of drinking water to Harare, capital of Zimbabwe.
Figure 1: Schematic of the holistic approach of the WHYimprove project (pictograms by flaticon.com)
To be both effective and sustainable, new strategies to manage WHY need to be developed with a holistic view that accounts for humans, society and the ecosystem; users and managers; scientists and stakeholders. Our approach is composed of four elements:
Fundamental scientific research into causes and effects of WHY and degraded water quality, in which we recognise WHY both as a symptom and as a biomarker of degraded water quality. The research rests on the two pillars of satellite data and local field workCollection of stakeholder perspectives – particularly those of local farmers, fishermen, and women, but also, e.g., water managers and healthcare professionals – and integration into the development process of WHY management strategiesEngaging stakeholders by co-creation efforts from the beginning throughout the project up to, and including its end and evaluation; and by participatory science projects that provide ownership of the WHY management challenge and potential solutionsKnowledge sharing by providing open-access data, tools (mobile phone apps and a dashboard), open-access journal articles, a low-level newsletter, and by educating women on water quality and hygiene
Workpackages
These elements are addressed in six work packages:
Our project will impact the health of the lake ecosystem and the well-being and living conditions for people relying on lakes and reservoirs. This will lead to increased resilience of the ecosystem and its resident communities. Specifically, we aim for three domains of impact:
More healthy and resilient lake ecosystems;improved well-being of people depending on lakes; andmore resilient lake communities.
By integrating scientific findings from satellite and empirical data from local communities with stakeholders’ perspectives and recommendations, we will contribute to more resilient lake socio-ecosystems. Linking the health of humans, animals, and their environment (like in the One Health approach) can be useful in mitigating and preventing water-related diseases. The mobile phone applications and the WHY management dashboard are schematically depicted in Fig. 2.4. Together with the WHY management strategies, the MSU undergraduate course, and citizen science projects developed within WP6, they form the main output of the project.
News and calendar
Communication
Contact
ITC-GAIA | Health | Resource Security
COMBINED
How do changes in biodiversity and climate affect each other in Dutch landscapes? That question is at the heart of the COMBINED project. In addition, COMBINED will synthesise the effects of existing management measures and identify what barriers stand in the way of implementing successful measures. In this project, 24 Dutch societal organisations and knowledge institutes team up for six years. The project website will follow!
Partners: The COMBINED project 'Combatting biodiversity loss and improving climate change resilience through evidence-based, integrated, and adaptive landscape governance in the Netherlands' is led by Prof. Wieteke Willemen of University of Twente together with University of Utrecht, Wageningen University, HAS Green Academy, and partners from Leiden University, Hogeschool Van Hall Larenstein, Naturalis, InHolland, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, AERES, PBL, Natuurmonumenten, Staatsbosbeheer, Municipality of Groningen, Municipality of The Hague, Urgenda, LTO Nederland, BoerenNatuur, Landgoed Twickel, LandschappenNL, Province of Gelderland, Province of Utrecht, Bij12, FrieslandCampina.
Sponsor: NWO
Partners: The COMBINED project 'Combatting biodiversity loss and improving climate change resilience through evidence-based, integrated, and adaptive landscape governance in the Netherlands' is led by Prof. Wieteke Willemen of University of Twente together with University of Utrecht, Wageningen University, HAS Green Academy, and partners from Leiden University, Hogeschool Van Hall Larenstein, Naturalis, InHolland, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, AERES, PBL, Natuurmonumenten, Staatsbosbeheer, Municipality of Groningen, Municipality of The Hague, Urgenda, LTO Nederland, BoerenNatuur, Landgoed Twickel, LandschappenNL, Province of Gelderland, Province of Utrecht, Bij12, FrieslandCampina.
Sponsor: NWO
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security | Urban Futures
Senior Expert at Livestock Agri-Food Systems
Description: Livestock productivity is critical for pastoralists in semi-arid Africa, who largely depend on milk and meat production for their livelihoods. Climate variability strongly influences this productivity; for example, African rangelands face frequent droughts that can lead to livestock loss through reduced availability of forage and water. At the same time, livestock affects climate through the emission of greenhouse gases, although large uncertainties exist in emission estimates over rangelands. Satellite remote sensing can help to reduce some of those uncertainties, and provide important information on rangeland conditions and management. This can help to design, promote, and monitor resilient livestock production systems. As part of the NL-CGIAR partnership, this Senior Expert assignment contributed to ILRI’s agenda on sustainable livestock production systems and drought risk management by exploring options for improved rangeland monitoring using earth observation satellites.
Partners: ILRI
Sponsor: NWO-WOTRO
Contact:
Partners: ILRI
Sponsor: NWO-WOTRO
Contact:
ITC-LIFE | Disaster Resilience | Resource Security
TDCCs Incrreasing literacy
Geospatial machine learning (ML) models are widely used in scientific and (semi)operational settings by geoscientists, ecologists, agronomists, engineers, spatial planners, public health specialists, etc. These models and the methods to develop them are continuously evolving and changing rapidly, making it difficult to keep up with them. While some researchers and practitioners are proficient in the development, application and (re)use of ML models, others are lacking the basic knowledge required to harvest the benefits of geospatial ML models. Additionally, ML modelling remains an art and modelers do not always document their creative process. To address these problems, we propose creating a geospatial ML course that increases geospatial ML literacy as well as the (re)usability of geospatial ML models. The geospatial ML course would not only provide researchers with foundational knowledge and skills, but also with the opportunity to stay updated with the latest advancements. Although generic ML courses exist, using ML with geospatial data is different from other domains, as
the spatial aspect introduces domain specific challenges (e.g., ways to deal with spatial autocorrelation). Moreover, the variability, volume and dimensionality of geospatial data often brings data integration and processing challenges. Next to this, modelers often look for geographical and physical consistency whereas this is not automatically guaranteed by ML algorithms. Additional challenges include the selection of methods to properly evaluate geospatial ML models, the delineation of their domain of applicability so that they (re)used in a responsible manner and the identification of suitable ways to combine geospatial ML and legacy (mechanistic, mathematical, process-based) models. In short, the proposed course will provide valuable insights into the development and application of ML concepts, while addressing the unique requirements of geospatial data. Finally, we highlight three hallmarks of the proposed course: 1/ we will develop it using opensource tools and solutions. This will help to scale up our work, allowing (sub)disciplines to reuse, expand and modify our materials; 2/ we will explore and test ways to ensure model FAIRness and reproducibility by adopting and adapting open-source (MLOps) tools and solutions. This will lead to more transparent and (re)usable models that can better support policy/decision making, and 3/ we will involve the research community from the beginning of lesson and educational material development, to adapt the material to their use cases, and to continually gather their feedback.
the spatial aspect introduces domain specific challenges (e.g., ways to deal with spatial autocorrelation). Moreover, the variability, volume and dimensionality of geospatial data often brings data integration and processing challenges. Next to this, modelers often look for geographical and physical consistency whereas this is not automatically guaranteed by ML algorithms. Additional challenges include the selection of methods to properly evaluate geospatial ML models, the delineation of their domain of applicability so that they (re)used in a responsible manner and the identification of suitable ways to combine geospatial ML and legacy (mechanistic, mathematical, process-based) models. In short, the proposed course will provide valuable insights into the development and application of ML concepts, while addressing the unique requirements of geospatial data. Finally, we highlight three hallmarks of the proposed course: 1/ we will develop it using opensource tools and solutions. This will help to scale up our work, allowing (sub)disciplines to reuse, expand and modify our materials; 2/ we will explore and test ways to ensure model FAIRness and reproducibility by adopting and adapting open-source (MLOps) tools and solutions. This will lead to more transparent and (re)usable models that can better support policy/decision making, and 3/ we will involve the research community from the beginning of lesson and educational material development, to adapt the material to their use cases, and to continually gather their feedback.
ITC-TECH | Geospatial AI
Finished projects
SmartAvocado
Sustainability without borders - connect distant production and consumption with SmartAvocado
REAL-TIME TRACKING OF FOOD FLOWS USING THE INTERNET OF THINGS TECHNOLOGIES AND GEOSPATIAL DATA
Our project
Food today is often produced thousands of kilometres away from where it is consumed, making it challenging to track the farm of origin and routes. Current norms in science use country origins and national aggregates, oversimplifying the environmental impacts that can vary 50-fold across farms.
The Smart Avocado project is experimenting with a monitoring system to track avocados, an imported, water-hungry product, using the latest Internet-of-Things technologies. The Smart Avocados are GPS-equipped avocado replicas deployed in real avocado production sites in South Africa. By transmitting their exact geolocation, the trackers allow tracing the journey of the fruit, from the production site to the packhouse, from country roads to the cargo ship, and finally to the local reseller in the Netherlands. This creates a high-resolution map of food flow, enabling our understanding of the environmental impact of the avocado trade.
The Smart Avocado project aims to pave the way for improved monitoring methods of food flows. Through enabling the monitoring of the origin and the trajectory, we can ultimately improve our understanding of the environmental impact of imported food (such as water use and CO2 emissions). Our vision is to encourage sustainable consumer behaviours and business models to govern sustainable food trade.
Presentation video
You found a Smart avocado?
Involving stakeholders
The journey of the avocado impacts a wide range of stakeholders, from producers and exporters working toward greater sustainability to consumers, governmental organisations, NGOs, and consumer associations advocating for increased transparency and fair prices. To foster collaboration and shared understanding, the Smart Avocado Team hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting on January 15th, 2025. The event brought together over 30 participants from South Africa and Europe who have stakes in the avocado food flows, to inform them about the project, gather insights for future collaboration, and address their needs and feedback.
Watch the recording of the meeting here
Our partners
Smart Avocado is an NWO-funded project. We are partnering for this research with the University of Limpopo and the local community and supply chain actor, Westfalia Fruit.
REAL-TIME TRACKING OF FOOD FLOWS USING THE INTERNET OF THINGS TECHNOLOGIES AND GEOSPATIAL DATA
Our project
Food today is often produced thousands of kilometres away from where it is consumed, making it challenging to track the farm of origin and routes. Current norms in science use country origins and national aggregates, oversimplifying the environmental impacts that can vary 50-fold across farms.
The Smart Avocado project is experimenting with a monitoring system to track avocados, an imported, water-hungry product, using the latest Internet-of-Things technologies. The Smart Avocados are GPS-equipped avocado replicas deployed in real avocado production sites in South Africa. By transmitting their exact geolocation, the trackers allow tracing the journey of the fruit, from the production site to the packhouse, from country roads to the cargo ship, and finally to the local reseller in the Netherlands. This creates a high-resolution map of food flow, enabling our understanding of the environmental impact of the avocado trade.
The Smart Avocado project aims to pave the way for improved monitoring methods of food flows. Through enabling the monitoring of the origin and the trajectory, we can ultimately improve our understanding of the environmental impact of imported food (such as water use and CO2 emissions). Our vision is to encourage sustainable consumer behaviours and business models to govern sustainable food trade.
Presentation video
You found a Smart avocado?
Involving stakeholders
The journey of the avocado impacts a wide range of stakeholders, from producers and exporters working toward greater sustainability to consumers, governmental organisations, NGOs, and consumer associations advocating for increased transparency and fair prices. To foster collaboration and shared understanding, the Smart Avocado Team hosted a stakeholder engagement meeting on January 15th, 2025. The event brought together over 30 participants from South Africa and Europe who have stakes in the avocado food flows, to inform them about the project, gather insights for future collaboration, and address their needs and feedback.
Watch the recording of the meeting here
Our partners
Smart Avocado is an NWO-funded project. We are partnering for this research with the University of Limpopo and the local community and supply chain actor, Westfalia Fruit.
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security
MASSIVE
Description: Glaciers are under pressure in the current climate warming trend. The aerial extent and the mass balance, a measure of mass loss or mass gain of a glacier are representative of the “health state” of a glacier. They are recognized as Essential Climate Variables by the World Meteorological Organization. Due to the sheer number of glaciers of roughly 200.000 worldwide and their inaccessibility, satellite data has been proven as a valuable source to map glaciers around the globe.
In MASSIVE, the project team aims to improve glacier mapping and surface glacier mass balance estimation techniques with the help of machine learning, especially deep learning. We will develop the methodology for glaciers in Norway, Svalbard, the European Alps and the Himalayas and then expand it to regions with different glacier characteristics.
Engabreen, a glacier branch of Svartisen situated in the Nordland county, Northern Norway. Illustration: MASSIVE (Data processing) / Photo: T. Schellenberger
Partners: University of Oslo, Norway; Institute for Earth Observation, EURAC, Italy; The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Norway; Statkraft, Norway.
In MASSIVE, the project team aims to improve glacier mapping and surface glacier mass balance estimation techniques with the help of machine learning, especially deep learning. We will develop the methodology for glaciers in Norway, Svalbard, the European Alps and the Himalayas and then expand it to regions with different glacier characteristics.
Engabreen, a glacier branch of Svartisen situated in the Nordland county, Northern Norway. Illustration: MASSIVE (Data processing) / Photo: T. Schellenberger
Partners: University of Oslo, Norway; Institute for Earth Observation, EURAC, Italy; The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Norway; Statkraft, Norway.
ITC-TECH
Healthy Waters Integrated
Vulnerable groups at the margins of societies in Europe, such as Roma people, often live in informal settlements, where they are excluded from access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and waste management. Understanding the extent of related high health risk and providing assistance through targeted interventions are complicated by the invisibility of this group and the inaccessibility of reliable, up-to-date information.
We aim to improve the acquisition of information on water insecurity and related health risks among Roma communities and develop an innovative assessment system that integrates social, medical, geoinformation, and earth observation science methods.
Publications
Anthonj, C., Dadrass Javan, F., Ihnacik, L., Blišťaň, P., Papajova, I., 2024. Strengthening water and health security in Europe’s marginalized communities through integrated social, geographical, medical and technological approaches (HealthyWatersIntegrated). Newsletter Working Group Medical Geography 2(2024), 8-10.
Anthonj, C., Setty, K.S., Ezbakhe, F., Manga, M., Hoeser, C., 2020. A systematic review of water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental health among Roma communities in Europe: Situation analysis, cultural context, and obstacles to improvement. Int J Hyg Env Health 226 (113506). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113506
Anthonj, C., Stanglow, S., Flacke, J., Dadrass Javan, F., Ihnacik, L. Strengthening water and health security in Europe’s marginalized communities, presented at 20th International Medical Geography Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, US, 15-19 July 2024.
Team members
Farzaneh Dadrass Javan (University of Twente, The Netherlands)Lukáš Ihnacik (Slovak Academy of Sciences and University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Slovakia)Peter Blišťaň (Technical University of Kosice, Slovakia)Ingrid Papajova (Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice, Slovakia)
We aim to improve the acquisition of information on water insecurity and related health risks among Roma communities and develop an innovative assessment system that integrates social, medical, geoinformation, and earth observation science methods.
Publications
Anthonj, C., Dadrass Javan, F., Ihnacik, L., Blišťaň, P., Papajova, I., 2024. Strengthening water and health security in Europe’s marginalized communities through integrated social, geographical, medical and technological approaches (HealthyWatersIntegrated). Newsletter Working Group Medical Geography 2(2024), 8-10.
Anthonj, C., Setty, K.S., Ezbakhe, F., Manga, M., Hoeser, C., 2020. A systematic review of water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental health among Roma communities in Europe: Situation analysis, cultural context, and obstacles to improvement. Int J Hyg Env Health 226 (113506). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113506
Anthonj, C., Stanglow, S., Flacke, J., Dadrass Javan, F., Ihnacik, L. Strengthening water and health security in Europe’s marginalized communities, presented at 20th International Medical Geography Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, US, 15-19 July 2024.
Team members
Farzaneh Dadrass Javan (University of Twente, The Netherlands)Lukáš Ihnacik (Slovak Academy of Sciences and University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Slovakia)Peter Blišťaň (Technical University of Kosice, Slovakia)Ingrid Papajova (Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice, Slovakia)
ITC-PLAN | Urban Futures
MINERVA
MINERVA: Dutch network on Microwaves for a New Era of Remote sensing of Vegetation for Agricultural monitoring
Funded by NWO PIPP (Partnerships for Space Instruments & Applications Preparatory Programme) (May 2020 – April 2024)
Project Objectives
Establish and maintain a long-term collaborative network of knowledge institutes and commercial entities involved in the use of microwave remote sensing of vegetation for agriculture and food security. Inventory new opportunities for vegetation monitoring from candidate missions (e.g. CIMR, ROSE-L, Harmony, HydroTerra), and provide a roadmap towards their exploitation in key applications related to agriculture and food security.
Research Contents
Monitoring and modeling of vegetation in the natural environment needs to consider several challenges in estimating the scattering and emission properties of the vegetated land surfaces. When only a bare soil surface is considered, the dominant factors that determine the scattering and emission signatures are soil surface roughness and the dynamic soil moisture and soil temperature profiles. For a vegetated land surface, the vegetation itself also causes scattering and emission signatures, in addition to its attenuation of the signatures from the underlying soil surface. The presence of the vegetation complicates both components by the interactions of the signals in the vegetation-soil system but also provides the needed signature for monitoring vegetation. The key challenge for remote sensing of vegetation is to be able to describe and separate the contributions of the different components in the observed total signature of the vegetated lands.
In the MINERVA project, we intend to systematically study and contribute to understanding the precise scattering-emission mechanism of vegetated lands. We will focus on following three activities:
Assembling in-situ observation of scattering-emission of vegetated surfaces to develop a multi-frequency simulator for synthesizing data from future microwave missions. Integrated modeling of MW scattering-emission and optical-thermal (MV-OPT-TIR) signatures. The optimally combined optical and microwave data is expected to be used to retrieve bio-geophysical variables and information at the scales required by users.Application of the MW-OPT-TIR model for understanding the functioning of agroecosystems.
Figure 1 STEMMUS-SCOPE model (for understanding soil-water-plant-energy interactions) will be coupled to air-to-soil transition model, discrete scattering model (TorVergata), as well as the advanced integral equation model (AIEM/I2EM). The development of such multi-frequency (MV-OPT-TIR) forward observation simulator will contribute to the development of Community Land Active Passive Microwave Radiative Transfer Modelling Platform (CLAP)
Partners
Funded by NWO PIPP (Partnerships for Space Instruments & Applications Preparatory Programme) (May 2020 – April 2024)
Project Objectives
Establish and maintain a long-term collaborative network of knowledge institutes and commercial entities involved in the use of microwave remote sensing of vegetation for agriculture and food security. Inventory new opportunities for vegetation monitoring from candidate missions (e.g. CIMR, ROSE-L, Harmony, HydroTerra), and provide a roadmap towards their exploitation in key applications related to agriculture and food security.
Research Contents
Monitoring and modeling of vegetation in the natural environment needs to consider several challenges in estimating the scattering and emission properties of the vegetated land surfaces. When only a bare soil surface is considered, the dominant factors that determine the scattering and emission signatures are soil surface roughness and the dynamic soil moisture and soil temperature profiles. For a vegetated land surface, the vegetation itself also causes scattering and emission signatures, in addition to its attenuation of the signatures from the underlying soil surface. The presence of the vegetation complicates both components by the interactions of the signals in the vegetation-soil system but also provides the needed signature for monitoring vegetation. The key challenge for remote sensing of vegetation is to be able to describe and separate the contributions of the different components in the observed total signature of the vegetated lands.
In the MINERVA project, we intend to systematically study and contribute to understanding the precise scattering-emission mechanism of vegetated lands. We will focus on following three activities:
Assembling in-situ observation of scattering-emission of vegetated surfaces to develop a multi-frequency simulator for synthesizing data from future microwave missions. Integrated modeling of MW scattering-emission and optical-thermal (MV-OPT-TIR) signatures. The optimally combined optical and microwave data is expected to be used to retrieve bio-geophysical variables and information at the scales required by users.Application of the MW-OPT-TIR model for understanding the functioning of agroecosystems.
Figure 1 STEMMUS-SCOPE model (for understanding soil-water-plant-energy interactions) will be coupled to air-to-soil transition model, discrete scattering model (TorVergata), as well as the advanced integral equation model (AIEM/I2EM). The development of such multi-frequency (MV-OPT-TIR) forward observation simulator will contribute to the development of Community Land Active Passive Microwave Radiative Transfer Modelling Platform (CLAP)
Partners
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security
IntelliGeo
Our project seeks to revolutionize the way we create geographical models and maps. By integrating advanced AI language models with open-source geographical platforms, we will craft a solution where AI and human experts can collaboratively design intricate models. Imagine a tool that assists in developing models that detect flood-prone areas, estimate crop yields, or predict environmental shifts. This research is about realizing such intelligent modelling. In doing so, we are advancing geographical modelling and, simultaneously, championing a European approach to AI that emphasizes human expertise and collaboration. This is the future of geographical modelling, where humans and AI co-create.
ITC-TECH | Geospatial AI
TDCC NES, ENABLING BEST PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE SOFTWARE IN THE NATURAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES
The main goal of the ODeDaI project is to transition the Data Foundry platform to a sustainable open-source development platform and to allow for more customization in how institutions can collect design data. Other universities and institutions should be able to run Data Foundry per institution or as a joint infrastructure, while benefiting from structural compatibility, continuous development and shared practices.
ITC-TECH | Geospatial AI
Bridging the gap between Artificial Intelligence and society
Description: The future of our planet is one of great urgency but also great opportunity. Drones now provide imagery offering unprecedented detail and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can translate such images into information at remarkable accuracy. AI is expected to support the monitoring and representation of several Sustainable Development Goal indicators, especially in low-income countries. Yet society is wary of adopting these technologies, since complex and uninterpretable results can affect the accountability of decision- and policy-makers wishing to benefit from AI. The objective of this project is to leverage societal requirements to tailor artificial intelligence algorithms to societal needs by focusing on responsible and viable AI for geospatial applications. Responsible AI, here considered as fair and explicable AI, must lead to trustworthy geo-intelligence by identifying bias and facilitating transparency by design. Only then can their predictions be used reliably in development applications.
ITC-TECH | Geospatial AI
Space4Restoration
About Space4Restoration
Region: Multiple case study sites worldwide (now Netherlands and Lebanon more to come)
Description: The worldwide restoration of degraded ecosystems is crucial to halt biodiversity loss and to mitigate the effect of global climate change. The effective restoration of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems was included as one of the global targets for 2030 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, is a key component of the new EU’s Nature Restoration Law, and is the core of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration that started in 2021.
Restoration initiatives across the globe are aiming to improve the state of nature, and simultaneously provide nature’s crucial benefits to people. Credible and meaningful monitoring and evaluation of these efforts is needed to learn from past and ongoing initiatives, and to make wiser decisions for new restoration actions. The Space4Restoration project aims to design, test and finetune scalable online earth observation-based methods to monitor and evaluate restoration actions across biomes. In this project, we build on the work pioneered by ITC and in very close collaboration with organisations working on international restoration standards, and practitioners for test sites and user perspectives.
As underlying method, Space4Restoration uses counterfactual analyses (“What would have happened if the intervention hadn’t taken place?”) to assess the effectiveness of restoration interventions. We base these analyses on datasets provided by restoration practitioners, complemented by free and open satellite earth observation datasets (e.g., Sentinel-1 and 2, Landsat), and other spatial data such as weather, soil, topography maps. Space4Restoration embraces Open Science and all developed software tools will be shared under a permissive license through the project’s code sharing GitHub page (see https://github.com/Space4Restoration)
Partners: Lebanon Restoration Initiative, Natuurmonumenten
Sponsor: ITC Ingenuity
Region: Multiple case study sites worldwide (now Netherlands and Lebanon more to come)
Description: The worldwide restoration of degraded ecosystems is crucial to halt biodiversity loss and to mitigate the effect of global climate change. The effective restoration of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems was included as one of the global targets for 2030 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, is a key component of the new EU’s Nature Restoration Law, and is the core of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration that started in 2021.
Restoration initiatives across the globe are aiming to improve the state of nature, and simultaneously provide nature’s crucial benefits to people. Credible and meaningful monitoring and evaluation of these efforts is needed to learn from past and ongoing initiatives, and to make wiser decisions for new restoration actions. The Space4Restoration project aims to design, test and finetune scalable online earth observation-based methods to monitor and evaluate restoration actions across biomes. In this project, we build on the work pioneered by ITC and in very close collaboration with organisations working on international restoration standards, and practitioners for test sites and user perspectives.
As underlying method, Space4Restoration uses counterfactual analyses (“What would have happened if the intervention hadn’t taken place?”) to assess the effectiveness of restoration interventions. We base these analyses on datasets provided by restoration practitioners, complemented by free and open satellite earth observation datasets (e.g., Sentinel-1 and 2, Landsat), and other spatial data such as weather, soil, topography maps. Space4Restoration embraces Open Science and all developed software tools will be shared under a permissive license through the project’s code sharing GitHub page (see https://github.com/Space4Restoration)
Partners: Lebanon Restoration Initiative, Natuurmonumenten
Sponsor: ITC Ingenuity
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security
Water4Change
Description: The Water4Change research programme addresses the complex challenges to urban water systems faced by fast-growing cities in India. India is a country which is rapidly growing into urban agglomerations showing infrastructure deficits and adaptation gaps in relation to current and future climatic, societal and economic change. The programme embraces water as a basic necessity for life that is both an agent and catalyst of positive transformative changes that are needed to pro-actively deal with and respond to these challenges. To facilitate long-term sustainability and resilience of urban water systems, the programme will co-create and mainstream an integrative, fit-for-purpose and adaptive water sensitive design framework in close collaboration with stakeholders in three Indian cities. The framework will be developed by synergistically connecting four realms – governance, built and natural environment, technology and infrastructure design and societal behaviours – for the delivery of transformative change.
Partners: Dutch Partners: Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University (DRIFT), University of Twente, IHE Delft Institute for Water Technology, Deltares, IRC Wash. Indian Partners: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITG), Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), CEPT University Ahmedabad, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) Calicut
Sponsor: NWO & DST
Partners: Dutch Partners: Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University (DRIFT), University of Twente, IHE Delft Institute for Water Technology, Deltares, IRC Wash. Indian Partners: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITG), Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), CEPT University Ahmedabad, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) Calicut
Sponsor: NWO & DST
ITC-TECH | Disaster Resilience | Geospatial AI | Resource Security
EcoExtreML
EcoExtreML: Accelerating Process Understanding for Ecosystem Functioning under Extreme Climates with Physics-Aware Machine Learning
Droughts and heatwaves impact ecosystem water, energy and carbon fluxes, and jeopardize terrestrial ecosystem carbon sequestration. Remote sensing of fluorescence and plant-hydraulics-based vegetation models are state-of-the-art approaches to monitor and predict drought responses of ecosystem functioning. However, the disciplinary disconnect between the two approaches has hazed the full potential of synergizing them. This project will couple the vegetation photosynthesis model (SCOPE) with the soil moisture model (STEMMUS, considering dynamic root growth), synergized with Earth-Observation data, to understand how water-carbon dynamics of ecosystem vary with variable environmental and climate stress.
The bottleneck in applying STEMMUS-SCOPE globally is its expensive computational cost. As the first step, the coupled STEMMUS-SCOPE model will be exposed to Basic-Model-Interface, serving as the first level acceleration. Second, a physics-aware machine learning emulator, based on a limited number of STEMMUS-SCOPE runs, will be developed. Furthermore, to address the ‘data-gap’ issue of satellite reflectance products (i.e., revisit-time (5–27days) and cloudy condition), OpenDA will be deployed to assimilate multiscale/multi-sensor data to generate spatiotemporally continuous information on ecosystem functioning. This project will develop an open digital twin of soil-plant system (see Figure 1) and provide a variety of new opportunities for Earth-Observation for retrieving higher-level products like root-zone-soil-moisture and belowground-carbon-allocation, besides land-atmosphere gas exchanges.
Figure 1 Three main components of a soil-plant digital twin.
Droughts and heatwaves impact ecosystem water, energy and carbon fluxes, and jeopardize terrestrial ecosystem carbon sequestration. Remote sensing of fluorescence and plant-hydraulics-based vegetation models are state-of-the-art approaches to monitor and predict drought responses of ecosystem functioning. However, the disciplinary disconnect between the two approaches has hazed the full potential of synergizing them. This project will couple the vegetation photosynthesis model (SCOPE) with the soil moisture model (STEMMUS, considering dynamic root growth), synergized with Earth-Observation data, to understand how water-carbon dynamics of ecosystem vary with variable environmental and climate stress.
The bottleneck in applying STEMMUS-SCOPE globally is its expensive computational cost. As the first step, the coupled STEMMUS-SCOPE model will be exposed to Basic-Model-Interface, serving as the first level acceleration. Second, a physics-aware machine learning emulator, based on a limited number of STEMMUS-SCOPE runs, will be developed. Furthermore, to address the ‘data-gap’ issue of satellite reflectance products (i.e., revisit-time (5–27days) and cloudy condition), OpenDA will be deployed to assimilate multiscale/multi-sensor data to generate spatiotemporally continuous information on ecosystem functioning. This project will develop an open digital twin of soil-plant system (see Figure 1) and provide a variety of new opportunities for Earth-Observation for retrieving higher-level products like root-zone-soil-moisture and belowground-carbon-allocation, besides land-atmosphere gas exchanges.
Figure 1 Three main components of a soil-plant digital twin.
ITC-LIFE
Disastrous Information: Embedding "Do No Harm" principles
Description: Most humanitarian scholars ask what geospatial intelligence, from satellite and drone imagery combined with artificial intelligence, can do for humanitarian action. Instead, we asked what these technologies do to the core principles—humanity, impartiality, and independence—of the “Do No Harm” humanitarian imperative. Upholding humanity and impartiality suggests that not only affected humans and groups/demographics must be protected, but also the privacy and dignity of their “data doubles.” Upholding independence suggests that humanitarian organizations need the capacity to audit donors’, industry’s and digital humanitarians’ geospatial data, tools and algorithms for privacy violations.
Empirically, we focused on Malawi. There UNICEF Malawi has an infrastructure comprising rich geospatial data sets, the first dedicated humanitarian drone corridor worldwide, a strong network with Malawi government, donors, and drone industry, as well as the first African Data & Drone Academy (ADDA) for master’s students from Malawi and neighbouring countries. 510, an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross Red Crescent, also has active projects in the area. Conceptually, we draw upon scholarship on Fair, Accountable and Transparent (FAT) socio-technical systems, cultural and organizational theory and privacy by design. We determine technological and regulatory designs for Malawi and an appropriate design for co-creating audit capacity within ADDA’s Master program.
Partners: PGM-ITC, Unicef and 510, an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross Red Crescent
Final workshop
The final project meeting was held at the University of Twente on Friday, November 29, 2024, together with the inaugural address of Prof. Marc van den Homberg. After an opening by Prof. Jaap Zevenbergen, there was a keynote presentation from Michael Scheibenreif from UNICEF and the African Drone Data Academy, followed by presentations of the project outputs from Brian Masinde and Rogers Alunge Alunge Nnangsope on addressing privacy, bias, and fairness challenges arising from geodata and AI. This was followed by an interactive session where participants learnd about and discussed topics such as value sensitive design for drone use, identifying biases in geo-intelligence workflows, and humanitarian geodata triage in practice.
Presentations:
Jaap Zevenbergen – Disastrous Information: Embedding do no harm principles into innovative geo-intelligence workflows [opening presentation]
Michael Scheibenreif – African Drone & Data Academy (ADDA) for Sustainable Development
Brian Masinde – Accountable Geo-intelligence
Rogers Alunge Alunge Nnangsope – Data Responsibility – Legal and Ethical Considerations in Drone Data Collection and Processing for Disaster Resilience
Project output:
Journal articles and reports
Alunge NNangsope, R. A. (2024). Assessing data protection perspectives among the residents of Rumphi and Karonga in Northern Malawi regarding the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for humanitarian intervention. In A. Seeam, V. Ramsurrun, S. Juddoo, & A. Phokeer (Eds.), Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas (Vol. 541, pp. 313-336). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51849-2_21
Gevaert, C. M., Juskauskas , T., Alunge NNangsope, R. A., Zevenbergen, J. A., & Scheibenreif, M. (2023). Drones for Humanitarian Action: Use Cases and Data Responsibility: A Guide on Drone Use Cases, what is needed for Drone Operations, and Data Responsibility Considerations. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10682492
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2023). Group-privacy threats for geodata in the humanitarian context. ISPRS international journal of geo-information, 12(10), Article 393. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi12100393
van den Homberg, M., Gevaert, C. M., & Georgiadou, Y. (2020). The changing face of accountability in humanitarianism: using artificial intelligence for anticipatory action. Politics and Governance, 8(4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i4.3158
Other publications
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2024). Accountable Geo-intelligence. Poster session presented at 5th Digital Society Conference 2024, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Masinde, B., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., van den Homberg, M. J. C., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2024). Algorithmic Fairness in Geo-intelligence Workflows through Causality. Poster session presented at 3rd European Workshop on Algorithmic Fairness, EWAF 2024, Mainz, Germany.
Masinde, B. K., Nagenborg, M. H., Gevaert, C. M., Meissner, F., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2023). Threat modelling for geo-spatial data in the humanitarian context. Abstract from Digital Geography Research Group Annual Conference 2023, London, United Kingdom.
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., van den Homberg, M., Nagenborg, M. H., Gortzak, I., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2021). What and whom are we missing? Dissecting a flood vulnerability geo-intelligence workflow for hidden biases. Abstract from 6th World Conference on Humanitarian Studies, Paris, France.
Meissner, F., Nagenborg, M., Masinde, B. K. & Alunge, R., ADDA and UNICEF (2025). Do no harm: Ethics for Drone Data Projects. Course Booklet. ITC, Enschede, Netherlands. doi:10.5281/ZENODO.15051569
Empirically, we focused on Malawi. There UNICEF Malawi has an infrastructure comprising rich geospatial data sets, the first dedicated humanitarian drone corridor worldwide, a strong network with Malawi government, donors, and drone industry, as well as the first African Data & Drone Academy (ADDA) for master’s students from Malawi and neighbouring countries. 510, an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross Red Crescent, also has active projects in the area. Conceptually, we draw upon scholarship on Fair, Accountable and Transparent (FAT) socio-technical systems, cultural and organizational theory and privacy by design. We determine technological and regulatory designs for Malawi and an appropriate design for co-creating audit capacity within ADDA’s Master program.
Partners: PGM-ITC, Unicef and 510, an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross Red Crescent
Final workshop
The final project meeting was held at the University of Twente on Friday, November 29, 2024, together with the inaugural address of Prof. Marc van den Homberg. After an opening by Prof. Jaap Zevenbergen, there was a keynote presentation from Michael Scheibenreif from UNICEF and the African Drone Data Academy, followed by presentations of the project outputs from Brian Masinde and Rogers Alunge Alunge Nnangsope on addressing privacy, bias, and fairness challenges arising from geodata and AI. This was followed by an interactive session where participants learnd about and discussed topics such as value sensitive design for drone use, identifying biases in geo-intelligence workflows, and humanitarian geodata triage in practice.
Presentations:
Jaap Zevenbergen – Disastrous Information: Embedding do no harm principles into innovative geo-intelligence workflows [opening presentation]
Michael Scheibenreif – African Drone & Data Academy (ADDA) for Sustainable Development
Brian Masinde – Accountable Geo-intelligence
Rogers Alunge Alunge Nnangsope – Data Responsibility – Legal and Ethical Considerations in Drone Data Collection and Processing for Disaster Resilience
Project output:
Journal articles and reports
Alunge NNangsope, R. A. (2024). Assessing data protection perspectives among the residents of Rumphi and Karonga in Northern Malawi regarding the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for humanitarian intervention. In A. Seeam, V. Ramsurrun, S. Juddoo, & A. Phokeer (Eds.), Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas (Vol. 541, pp. 313-336). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51849-2_21
Gevaert, C. M., Juskauskas , T., Alunge NNangsope, R. A., Zevenbergen, J. A., & Scheibenreif, M. (2023). Drones for Humanitarian Action: Use Cases and Data Responsibility: A Guide on Drone Use Cases, what is needed for Drone Operations, and Data Responsibility Considerations. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10682492
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2023). Group-privacy threats for geodata in the humanitarian context. ISPRS international journal of geo-information, 12(10), Article 393. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi12100393
van den Homberg, M., Gevaert, C. M., & Georgiadou, Y. (2020). The changing face of accountability in humanitarianism: using artificial intelligence for anticipatory action. Politics and Governance, 8(4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i4.3158
Other publications
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2024). Accountable Geo-intelligence. Poster session presented at 5th Digital Society Conference 2024, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Masinde, B., Gevaert, C. M., Nagenborg, M. H., van den Homberg, M. J. C., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2024). Algorithmic Fairness in Geo-intelligence Workflows through Causality. Poster session presented at 3rd European Workshop on Algorithmic Fairness, EWAF 2024, Mainz, Germany.
Masinde, B. K., Nagenborg, M. H., Gevaert, C. M., Meissner, F., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2023). Threat modelling for geo-spatial data in the humanitarian context. Abstract from Digital Geography Research Group Annual Conference 2023, London, United Kingdom.
Masinde, B. K., Gevaert, C. M., van den Homberg, M., Nagenborg, M. H., Gortzak, I., & Zevenbergen, J. A. (2021). What and whom are we missing? Dissecting a flood vulnerability geo-intelligence workflow for hidden biases. Abstract from 6th World Conference on Humanitarian Studies, Paris, France.
Meissner, F., Nagenborg, M., Masinde, B. K. & Alunge, R., ADDA and UNICEF (2025). Do no harm: Ethics for Drone Data Projects. Course Booklet. ITC, Enschede, Netherlands. doi:10.5281/ZENODO.15051569
ITC-PLAN
TISCALI
Technology Innovation for Sewer Condition Assessment
A large challenge in the urbanising world of the 21st century is the proper maintenance and rehabilitation of the buried sewer system. Intelligent use of multi-disciplinary, multi-level data that will be collected within this project from the integrated use of different inspection techniques, each focusing on their own specific scale, may be part of the solution. Integration of these datasets into a “smart” subsurface information system (SIS) will provide sewer asset managers with an invaluable instrument for sustainable and targeted management of their sewage system. Via the SIS, the approach integrates thermal infrared and ground penetrating radar remote sensing as well as robotic observational techniques for an objective assessment of the sewer condition at multiple stages, thereby contributing to bringing sewer asset anagement to the next generation.
A large challenge in the urbanising world of the 21st century is the proper maintenance and rehabilitation of the buried sewer system. Intelligent use of multi-disciplinary, multi-level data that will be collected within this project from the integrated use of different inspection techniques, each focusing on their own specific scale, may be part of the solution. Integration of these datasets into a “smart” subsurface information system (SIS) will provide sewer asset managers with an invaluable instrument for sustainable and targeted management of their sewage system. Via the SIS, the approach integrates thermal infrared and ground penetrating radar remote sensing as well as robotic observational techniques for an objective assessment of the sewer condition at multiple stages, thereby contributing to bringing sewer asset anagement to the next generation.
ITC-GAIA | Resource Security
Towards a green and more liveable Paramaribo
Region: Suriname
Description: Urban green spaces play an important role in the quality of life in cities. Parks, lanes, gardens, green belts provide various benefits to our well-being. This includes cooling the direct environment, preventing erosion, promoting rainwater infiltration, aesthetics, and opportunities for recreation. With increased urbanization worldwide, the challenges for urban planning and keeping the city liveable are increasing. Climate change threatens to exacerbate this, for example with expected increases in temperature. The benefits of green spaces are not the same everywhere. So far, research has mainly been done in temperate regions such as in Europe and the US. What are the advantages of urban green spaces the tropics where vegetation and lifestyle are clearly different? And how can information and understanding help to motivate people to promote and protect greenery in the city? Tropenbos Suriname and the University of Twente have been working together since 2018 in a twinning context; we learn from each other. In Paramaribo, the capital of tropical Suriname, we aim better understand this role through remote sensing, spatial modelling and we are testing the use of small weather sensors to measure the cooling effect of vegetation. Beside this, we developed free teaching materials, are freely sharing all our data for use by others, and are organizing activities for residents (for more information click here). Citizens play a big role in this. Dozens of people, schools and societal organizations monitor the functions and use of green spaces on a monthly basis in order to gain knowledge of the changes and to share this knowledge with others in order to take smarter action.
Do you want to know more?
Read this article about our citizen science and innovation in IP magazine. (In Dutch)Listen to citizen researchers and Davita Obergh of Tropenbos Suriname how monitoring works (In Dutch)Or watch this short animation about green spaces in the city and why this research is important (Switch on the English subtitles)
Partners: Tropenbos Suriname
Sponsors: UTSN Twinning, NWO, ITC Geo-Citizen Science Seed Grant
Description: Urban green spaces play an important role in the quality of life in cities. Parks, lanes, gardens, green belts provide various benefits to our well-being. This includes cooling the direct environment, preventing erosion, promoting rainwater infiltration, aesthetics, and opportunities for recreation. With increased urbanization worldwide, the challenges for urban planning and keeping the city liveable are increasing. Climate change threatens to exacerbate this, for example with expected increases in temperature. The benefits of green spaces are not the same everywhere. So far, research has mainly been done in temperate regions such as in Europe and the US. What are the advantages of urban green spaces the tropics where vegetation and lifestyle are clearly different? And how can information and understanding help to motivate people to promote and protect greenery in the city? Tropenbos Suriname and the University of Twente have been working together since 2018 in a twinning context; we learn from each other. In Paramaribo, the capital of tropical Suriname, we aim better understand this role through remote sensing, spatial modelling and we are testing the use of small weather sensors to measure the cooling effect of vegetation. Beside this, we developed free teaching materials, are freely sharing all our data for use by others, and are organizing activities for residents (for more information click here). Citizens play a big role in this. Dozens of people, schools and societal organizations monitor the functions and use of green spaces on a monthly basis in order to gain knowledge of the changes and to share this knowledge with others in order to take smarter action.
Do you want to know more?
Read this article about our citizen science and innovation in IP magazine. (In Dutch)Listen to citizen researchers and Davita Obergh of Tropenbos Suriname how monitoring works (In Dutch)Or watch this short animation about green spaces in the city and why this research is important (Switch on the English subtitles)
Partners: Tropenbos Suriname
Sponsors: UTSN Twinning, NWO, ITC Geo-Citizen Science Seed Grant
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security | Urban Futures
INECIS
Studies that specifically address the contribution of urban kampungs to the city economy are scarce, or it is yet unclear how can, and should strategies, formulated at the local government level, integrate and collaborate with co- existing informal economies.
Pictures by Mafalda Madureira
INECIS aims to contribute to the scarce body of knowledge on the inputs of urban kampungs to the city economy in the Indonesian context. Currently, it is yet unclear how strategies, formulated at the local government level, can and should integrate and collaborate with co-existing informal economies in Indonesia. Therefore, INECIS will 1) analyse the relationship between the informal economies of the kampungs and the formal creative industries strategies promoted by the local government, and 2) explore and assess how such factors impact the spatial and socio-economic development of the urban kampungs.
The project consortium
The INECIS project -“Informal Economies and Creative Industry Strategies” consortium encompasses partners from Indonesia (the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and the National Center for Indonesia Leadership (INISIATIF)), and the Netherlands (University of Twente | Faculty ITC).
Plan of action
The project involves the following steps:
To explore the consideration and inclusion of informal economic activities in urban kampungs in Bandung’s formal economic strategies, both in terms of regulations as well as in interventions.To understand and visualise how the urban kampungs relate, at a spatial and a socio- economic level, with the rest of the city. This includes the investigation and assessment of potential changes, if any, that have occurred in such relationship since the promotion of the creative industries strategies.To search/create, assess, and if appropriate to promote, the participation and inclusion of the local communities and their economic activities in the process of change led by the implementation of the creative industries strategies.
Outcome
INECIS’ main aim is to rethink the current relationship between government-led strategies and the changes to socio-economic characteristics, land, and tenure security in urban kampungs in Bandung. The project plans to involve diverse actors during the study process, such as the informal businesses and their associations, the diverse kampungs’ communities, NGOs, policy makers and academia. The final insights, results, and material from the project will contribute to the discussion on how local government strategies on creative economies can integrate and collaborate with co-existing informal industries.
Pictures by Mafalda Madureira
INECIS aims to contribute to the scarce body of knowledge on the inputs of urban kampungs to the city economy in the Indonesian context. Currently, it is yet unclear how strategies, formulated at the local government level, can and should integrate and collaborate with co-existing informal economies in Indonesia. Therefore, INECIS will 1) analyse the relationship between the informal economies of the kampungs and the formal creative industries strategies promoted by the local government, and 2) explore and assess how such factors impact the spatial and socio-economic development of the urban kampungs.
The project consortium
The INECIS project -“Informal Economies and Creative Industry Strategies” consortium encompasses partners from Indonesia (the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and the National Center for Indonesia Leadership (INISIATIF)), and the Netherlands (University of Twente | Faculty ITC).
Plan of action
The project involves the following steps:
To explore the consideration and inclusion of informal economic activities in urban kampungs in Bandung’s formal economic strategies, both in terms of regulations as well as in interventions.To understand and visualise how the urban kampungs relate, at a spatial and a socio- economic level, with the rest of the city. This includes the investigation and assessment of potential changes, if any, that have occurred in such relationship since the promotion of the creative industries strategies.To search/create, assess, and if appropriate to promote, the participation and inclusion of the local communities and their economic activities in the process of change led by the implementation of the creative industries strategies.
Outcome
INECIS’ main aim is to rethink the current relationship between government-led strategies and the changes to socio-economic characteristics, land, and tenure security in urban kampungs in Bandung. The project plans to involve diverse actors during the study process, such as the informal businesses and their associations, the diverse kampungs’ communities, NGOs, policy makers and academia. The final insights, results, and material from the project will contribute to the discussion on how local government strategies on creative economies can integrate and collaborate with co-existing informal industries.
ITC-PLAN | Urban Futures
DYNASLUM
Data-driven modelling and decision support for slums
Today, over half of the world's population lives in urban areas, and by the middle of this century, 7 out of 10 people will live in a city. This increased urbanisation has also led to more and more people residing in deprived areas, generally known as slums. The proliferation of slums is a worldwide challenge since people face inadequate shelter, poor sanitation, insecure tenure, insufficient access to health care and in general poor quality of life.
The DYNASLUM project builds high-resolution agent-based models that help describe the growth dynamics of slums in Bangalore, India. Such models create digital representations of slum dynamics that policy- and decision-makers and researchers can use to explore how different policies would influence the growth, emergence or disappearance of slums.
The project is also developing a decision support tool that potentially can assist experts in evaluating or designing policies to improve conditions within slums. This involves developing new computational methods for processing and analysing satellite images, complex-system modelling and new data visualisation techniques for simulation steering.
Through extending an existing decision support prototype and applying it to a new domain of slum policy, the project aims to generalise the current software into a reusable software framework for decision support and disseminate it to other users.
ITC is a collaboration partner in a consortium that is led by the Computational Science Lab of the University of Amsterdam.
Today, over half of the world's population lives in urban areas, and by the middle of this century, 7 out of 10 people will live in a city. This increased urbanisation has also led to more and more people residing in deprived areas, generally known as slums. The proliferation of slums is a worldwide challenge since people face inadequate shelter, poor sanitation, insecure tenure, insufficient access to health care and in general poor quality of life.
The DYNASLUM project builds high-resolution agent-based models that help describe the growth dynamics of slums in Bangalore, India. Such models create digital representations of slum dynamics that policy- and decision-makers and researchers can use to explore how different policies would influence the growth, emergence or disappearance of slums.
The project is also developing a decision support tool that potentially can assist experts in evaluating or designing policies to improve conditions within slums. This involves developing new computational methods for processing and analysing satellite images, complex-system modelling and new data visualisation techniques for simulation steering.
Through extending an existing decision support prototype and applying it to a new domain of slum policy, the project aims to generalise the current software into a reusable software framework for decision support and disseminate it to other users.
ITC is a collaboration partner in a consortium that is led by the Computational Science Lab of the University of Amsterdam.
ITC-PLAN | Urban Futures
FLORES
Exploring fluorescence and pigment reflectance as methods to estimate photosynthesis with remote sensors
This project assesses the added value of two new indicators of photosynthesis observed from space: solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI). Chlorophyll fluorescence, which has been used to estimate photosynthetic activity in plants for decades, has recently for the first time been observed by satellites originally designed for mapping atmospheric chemistry. PRI can provide complementary information on the light-use efficiency of the plant. The interpretation of SIF and PRI as measured from space is complicated by the effects of limited spectral sampling, scaling from leaf to satellite pixel, atmospheric effects and viewing and illumination geometry. We investigate this problem with our model SCOPE (Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and the Energy balance). We first incorporate the optical effects of changes in the xanthophylls, the pigments that control light use efficiency and affect both SIF and PRI, in SCOPE. Our approach is validated by reproducing SIF and PRI for existing data sets: multi-directional canopy-level field and airborne observations. We perform sensitivity analyses in order to quantify the effects of observation and illumination geometry and weather-induced leaf-level variations in SIF and PRI. Finally, we will simulate PRI and fluorescence as observed by existing satellite sensors (GOSAT, MERIS and MODIS) in order to study the relationships between SIF, PRI and gross carbon fluxes for different biomes. Our results will improve global estimates of carbon fluxes by direct measurements of photosynthetic activity from space.
This project assesses the added value of two new indicators of photosynthesis observed from space: solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI). Chlorophyll fluorescence, which has been used to estimate photosynthetic activity in plants for decades, has recently for the first time been observed by satellites originally designed for mapping atmospheric chemistry. PRI can provide complementary information on the light-use efficiency of the plant. The interpretation of SIF and PRI as measured from space is complicated by the effects of limited spectral sampling, scaling from leaf to satellite pixel, atmospheric effects and viewing and illumination geometry. We investigate this problem with our model SCOPE (Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and the Energy balance). We first incorporate the optical effects of changes in the xanthophylls, the pigments that control light use efficiency and affect both SIF and PRI, in SCOPE. Our approach is validated by reproducing SIF and PRI for existing data sets: multi-directional canopy-level field and airborne observations. We perform sensitivity analyses in order to quantify the effects of observation and illumination geometry and weather-induced leaf-level variations in SIF and PRI. Finally, we will simulate PRI and fluorescence as observed by existing satellite sensors (GOSAT, MERIS and MODIS) in order to study the relationships between SIF, PRI and gross carbon fluxes for different biomes. Our results will improve global estimates of carbon fluxes by direct measurements of photosynthetic activity from space.
ITC-LIFE | Resource Security
SEMA
The SEMA project is based on what is called a human sensor web: a combination of social media, mobile networks and spatial applications that will give ordinary citizens the opportunity to report on the quality and functioning of public services. In the SEMA project the application focused on public water services and health care and allows ordinary citizens to directly influence public service delivery.
The human sensor web is a communication network of spatial and other web-based applications, google maps, new media and normal people with their mobile phones (the “human sensors”). The applications provide access to public service locations, such as water boards and healthcare. If the level of service is below standard, ordinary citizens can issue a complaint using their mobile phone. The caller goes through a digital menu, after which the application displays the complaint as an icon on the map, at the place where the public service is located. It is now visible to everyone when a supplier is in default. The icon remains visible until the problem has been solved.
The project focused on a number of research themes
A number of hackathons were organized to let people work out workable solutions to a number of challenges they had to face. Outcomes were shared and formalized during workshops. Part of the project work concentrated on 4 research themes to integrate knowledge from different disciplines relating to water and sanitation and public health, and then specifically on the interaction between technical disciplines and applications. The project is one of the activities of ITC that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals
The human sensor web is a communication network of spatial and other web-based applications, google maps, new media and normal people with their mobile phones (the “human sensors”). The applications provide access to public service locations, such as water boards and healthcare. If the level of service is below standard, ordinary citizens can issue a complaint using their mobile phone. The caller goes through a digital menu, after which the application displays the complaint as an icon on the map, at the place where the public service is located. It is now visible to everyone when a supplier is in default. The icon remains visible until the problem has been solved.
The project focused on a number of research themes
A number of hackathons were organized to let people work out workable solutions to a number of challenges they had to face. Outcomes were shared and formalized during workshops. Part of the project work concentrated on 4 research themes to integrate knowledge from different disciplines relating to water and sanitation and public health, and then specifically on the interaction between technical disciplines and applications. The project is one of the activities of ITC that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals
ITC-PLAN | Urban Futures