Laboratory of GIS and Geospatial Service for engineering Applications
01UDKVA, 01UDKMX, 01UDKNF
A.A. 2024/25
Course Language
Inglese
Degree programme(s)
Master of science-level of the Bologna process in Civil Engineering - Torino Master of science-level of the Bologna process in Ingegneria Civile - Torino Master of science-level of the Bologna process in Ingegneria Per L'Ambiente E Il Territorio - Torino
Each civil engineering activity requires, first, to know the environmental condition, starting from the geospatial data, digital mapping and open data. Civil engineers work with a voluminous amount of data from a variety of sources. Geographic information system (GIS) technology provides the tools for creating, managing, analyzing, and visualizing the data associated with developing and managing infrastructures. GIS allows civil engineers skilled in this topic to manage and share data and turn it into easily understood reports and visualizations that can be analyzed and communicated to others. This data can be related to both a project and its broader geographic context. It also helps organizations and governments work together to develop strategies for sustainable development. Thus, GIS is playing an increasingly important role in civil engineering companies and decision making processes, supporting all phases of the infrastructure life cycle.
The course starts showing how to design a correct and useful GIS model and how to organize the geospatial data (data format, web service, data collection). Then it is developed around three main pillars: geomatics, hydrology and transport. More specifically, geomatics is adopted to learning the geospatial data, data modelling, GIS model and spatial analyst. These knowledges are then applied in two important domains of civil engineering: hydrology and transport. In the first case, GIS will be used to assess hydrological variables, such as precipitation and discharge, quantify water resources and produce risk maps. In the latter case, GIS will be adopted to make a transport network analysis, to show how to track vehicles through GPS to infer traffic flow measures and to study the issue of accessibility.
The course is based on the concept of ?learning by doing?, meaning that all theoretical parts will be supported by a practical activity in the informatics laboratory, in particular about half of the course will be focused on practical applications of GIS for problem solving in civil engineering.
Each civil engineering activity requires a spatial background made of geospatial data and expressed through digital mapping. Geographic information system (GIS) technology provides the tools for creating, managing, analyzing, and visualizing the data associated with developing and managing infrastructures. GIS allows civil engineers skilled in this topic to manage and share data and turn them into easily understood reports and visualizations that can be analyzed and communicated to others. These data can be related to both a project and its broader geographic context and they can also support organizations and governments to develop strategies for sustainable development. Thus, GIS is playing an increasingly important role in civil engineering project development and decision making processes, supporting all phases of the infrastructure life cycle.
The course starts showing how to design a correct and useful GIS model and how to organize the geospatial data (data format, web service, data collection). Then it is developed around three main pillars: geomatics, hydrology and transport. More specifically, geomatics is adopted to learning the geospatial data, data modelling, GIS model and spatial analyst. These knowledges are then applied to assess hydrological variables, such as precipitation and discharge, quantify water resources and produce risk maps, as well as to investigate routes and connections by transport network analysis to evaluate the vulnerability and accessibility of the area.
The course is based on the concept of ?learning by doing?, meaning that all theoretical parts will be complemented by practical activities developed by student under the teacher's supervision; in particular about half of the course will be focused on practical applications of GIS for problem solving in civil engineering.
Knowledge of GIS and geospatial data, data modelling, statistical analysis and spatial analysis. Moreover, application of Geomatics techniques for mapping. In particular, the students will learn to master geospatial information for hydrological applications. They will aquire the skills for producing and manipulating maps of variables, such as precipitation and temperature, soil properties, geophisical variables and land use. Students will learn to manage distributed variables for hydrological modelling, to produce basic risk maps and to assess water resources according to regionalized methods. For the transport part, students will learn how to represent and analyse road networks, to match them with GPS traces which are nowadays widely available by the diffusion of nomadic devices and to produce spatial accessibility maps by public transport.
Student will acquire knowledge of GIS and geospatial data, data modelling, statistical analysis and spatial analysis, plus application of Geomatics techniques for mapping. In particular, the students will learn to master geospatial information for hydrological applications becoming skilled in producing and manipulating maps of variables, such as precipitation and temperature, soil properties and land use. Students will learn to estimate precipitation input and to delineate catchments for hydrological modelling, to produce basic risk maps and to use regional methods for water resources assessment. For the transport part, students will learn how to define a study area and related key elements (zones, nodes, centroids). Then students will learn to represent and analyze road networks in order to quantify the effect of damage scenario.
In addition to the basic mathematical knowledge, we require the basics of geomatics, such as geodesy (surfaces and reference systems), cartography and some basic concept about digital data. The course also requires a basic knowledge of hydrology (soil water balance, flow duration curves, rainfall-runoff principles, IUH method). and of traffic flow theory (fundamental diagram of traffic flow). The course attendance requires fluent spoken and written English, in that all lectures, exercises and exams will be in English and the communication among students and with the lecturers is fundamental.
In addition to the basic mathematical knowledge, we require the basics of geomatics, such as geodesy (surfaces and reference systems), cartography and some basic concept about digital data. The course also requires a basic knowledge of hydrology (soil water balance, flow duration curves, rainfall-runoff transformation) and of transportation (fundamental diagram of traffic flow). The course attendance requires fluent spoken and written English, in that all lectures, exercises and exams will be in English and the communication among students and with the lecturers is fundamental.
The course is mainly composed by three pillars: geomatics, hydrology and transport. In particular, Geomatics will offer the theoretical knowledge about GIS design, data modelling, GIS data collection, geospatial data analysis and data processing. These competences will be applied in different practical cases, considering some problems in Hydrology and Transport domains.
GEOMATICS:
- Reference system : briefly recall and how the Reference system are used in GIS
- Data format and Open service (WMS, WFS, WCS)
- GIS DATA MODEL and DB model (model builder)
- Spatial analyst
- Geometric and Topological analysis
- DTM and DSM analysis
- ODK system for data collection
- Relation and join
- Use of ODK solution for data collection
- Use of symbology and statistical tool in GIS
- Network analyst
- Geocoding
- Raster and vector analysis
- Layout
- 3D GIS MODEL and City modelling
HYDROLOGY
CASE 1: Spatial analyses on precipitation data
Import time series of precipitation data from raingauges; perform a spatial interpolation with different methods (Thiessen, inverse distance, kriging); produce maps of interpolated values; perform comparisons and extractions.
CASE 2: Catchment, geomorphological characteristics and stream network
Import the digital elevation model (DEM) of an area; identify data issues (gaps, discontinuities, ?) and arrange them; define the drainage network and identify a catchment of interest; import data about land use and soil characteristics; define the classes of land use and soil type for SCS-CN (Curve Number) method and compute the average CN.CASE 3: River cross-sections and discharge assessment
Select a relevant river cross section and extract the profile (for hydraulic applications) use a regional method to assess the flow duration curve in the section; compute a peak discharge using precipitation data and CN values; with a given flow rating curve, derive the flow depth and map the risk of inundation in the surrounding of the chosen cross section.
TRANSPORT
CASE 1: Road network representation
Import a road network into GIS from sources such as Openstreetmap (which is obviously different from simply displaying an OSM layer in GIS). Identify data quality issues (connectivity, one-way links...) and potential workaround to fix them. Perform some analyses on such network based on the given network attributes.
CASE 2: GPS applications in transport planning
Matching some GPS traces from vehicles with the road network built in workshop 1. Derive paths and traffic flow measures to show how congestion differently affects different road users.
CASE 3: Spatial analysis of public transport services
Import and visualize GTFS data describing the offer of public transport in a city. Perform an accessibility analysis to and through public transport to support transport policy decision makers on the development of public transport systems.
The course is mainly composed by three pillars: geomatics, hydrology and transport. In particular, Geomatics will offer the theoretical knowledge about GIS design, data modelling, GIS data collection, geospatial data analysis and data processing. These competences will be applied in different practical cases, considering some problems in Hydrology and Transport domains.
GEOMATICS (30 h)
Recall of the pre-requisites of the course, with a brief introduction on Reference systems, Data types and format, Open services and their use in GIS platform. GIS data model and Data Base model (model builder). Spatial, Geometrical and Topological analysis with the software analyst tools. Raster and Vector manipulation and analysis. Digital Terrain Models and Digital Surface Models analysis. Relation and join. Use of ODK solution for data collection, Network analyst. Copernicus services. Geocoding. Layout preparation. 3D GIS model and City modelling.
HYDROLOGY (15 h)
Spatial analyses of precipitation and temperature data, spatial interpolation, mapping and data extractions, temporal variability. Digital elevation models, drainage network and catchment identification, catchment characteristics and stream network, data issues. Land use and cover, soil and geomorphological characteristics. Runoff formation through the SCS-CN (Curve Number) method, peak flow estimation, definition of risk maps for flooding.
TRANSPORT (15 h)
Definition of study area, zoning procedure and selection of relevant points (nodes and centroids). Import a road network into GIS from open databases available online to identify data quality issues (connectivity, one-way links...) and perform some analyses based on the given network attributes. Vulnerability of a road network: definitions and methods for vulnerability analysis based on data availability. Perform the damage scenario analysis: damage identification, revision of the network to simulate the disruption and damage effects quantification.
The course is organized in lectures and exercise-classes. Lectures are devoted to the presentation of the course topics, in their theoretical aspects and applicative examples, and they will be held mainly by the lecturer who will illustrate the concepts at the blackboard. Exercise-classes will be held at the informatics LAIB, where students will form small workgroups of 2-3 people to develop assignments and numerical exercises at the computer, with the assistance of the instructor. Groups will be asked to prepare a written report for each assignment, summarizing the development and results obtained.
The course is organized in lectures and exercise-classes. Lectures are devoted to the presentation of the course topics, in their theoretical aspects and applicative examples, and they will be held mainly by the lectures. Exercise-classes will focus on the applicative part of the course, in which students form small workgroups of 2-3 people to develop assignments and numerical exercises at the computer, with the assistance of the instructor.
At each workgroup will be assigned a specific GIS project, devoted to solve a multidisciplinary problem focused on transport and hydrology. This project will be considered for the final score.
At each group will be asked:
1) Summary of results obtained during the exercise-classes.
2) Final report, describing the development and results obtained about the multidisciplinary project.
3) Short periodic presentations about the progress of course project.
Educational material will be distributed during the course
All material that is necessary for the course will be presented and discussed in class.
Reference books are:
- GIS fundamentals 2017 Stephen Wise, CRS press, 2? edition
- GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems
- Electronic course reader distributed by the instructor through the course webpage, for the transportation engineering parts.
Additional readings can be found in international reference textbooks.
Some specific chapters will be provided to the students on the course web page. A useful online reference is: echo2.epfl.ch/VICAIRE/
Educational material will be distributed during the course.
All material that is necessary for the course will be presented and discussed in class.
Reference books are:
- GIS fundamentals 2017 Stephen Wise, CRS press, 2? edition
- GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems
Electronic course reader distributed by the instructor through the course webpage, for the transportation engineering parts.
Additional readings can be found in international reference textbooks.
Some specific chapters will be provided to the students on the course web page.
Slides; Esercitazioni di laboratorio;
Lecture slides; Lab exercises;
Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;
Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group project;
...
The exam aims to test the individual achievement of the basic objective of the teaching, the ability to develop a process in which knowledge of design and project proposal are connected in each phase.
The autonomy and maturity of each student are verified by finding a correct solutions to some problems explained during lectures or tutorials. Working on small team, specific problems (about transport or hydrology issues) will be solved using dedicated GIS models. Each project will be described in a report that will be graded, forming a part of the final score (50%).
If the project?s score is positive (>= 18), the student will be admitted to the (mandatory) oral exam which will be graded separately (50% final score). It starts from the activities carried out during the laboratories and external survey, that occurred individually processed by the comment of the results. Usually the oral exam requires about 30 minutes and it is generally based on 3 questions.
Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.
Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group project;
The exam aims to test the individual achievement of the basic objective of the teaching, the ability to develop a process in which knowledge of design and project proposal are connected in each phase. The autonomy and maturity of each student are verified by finding a correct solutions to some problems explained during lectures or tutorials.
Working on workgroups, multidisciplinary project will be solved using dedicated GIS tools. Each project will be described and summarized in a final report that will be uploaded in the "portale della didattica" one week before the exam.
This report will be graded, forming a part of the final score (30%).
Each workgroup will also discuss the project making a final presentation. This presentation will be part of the final score ( additional 20%).
If the project?s score is positive (report >=18), the student will be admitted to the (mandatory) oral exam which will be graded separately (additional 50%). Usually the oral exam requires about 30 minutes and it is generally based on 3 questions.
Final presentation and oral exam will be done directly in the classroom.
In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.