Street-level imagery consists of collections of photographs taken from the perspective of moving pedestrians or vehicles. These collections are often stitched together digitally and georeferenced to create interactive and immersive landscapes that are virtually navigable by users. Such landscapes, sometimes called 360-degree panoramas, or bubbles, are uploaded onto web platforms, and linked with geographical databases, which allows users to search and explore the imagery in various ways. IT companies such as Google have created street-level imagery platforms that rely primarily on paid drivers, although they have begun to rely on contributor submissions to complement and expand their coverage. Recently services such as Mapillary and OpenStreetCam have advanced a model that relies primarily on volunteer contributors, leveraging community interest from projects such as OpenStreetMap. While street-level imagery has become a widespread tool with multiple commercial and non-commercial applications, it is also entangled various legal and public opinion controversies, due to its capabilities for private data collection and surveillance.
Citizen Science is defined as the participation of non-professional volunteers in scientific projects (Dickson et al, 2010) and has experienced rapid growth over the past decade. The projects that are emerging in this area range from contributory projects, co-created projects, collegiate projects, which are initiated and run by a group of people with shared interest, without any involvement of professional scientists.
In many citizen science projects, GIS&T is enabling the collection, analysis, and visualisation of spatial data to affect decision-making. Some examples may include:
Such projects have the opportunity to empower or disempower members of the public, depending upon access to and understanding of technology. Citizen Science projects using GIS&T may help communities influence decision makers and support the gathering of large-scale scientific evidence on a range of issues. This may also renew people’s interests in the sciences and foster continued and lifelong learning.
URISA’s GISCorps is a case study in community engagement by members of the GIS&T community, whether for purposes of community service or service learning. Since 2004, GISCorps volunteers have contributed their GIS&T expertise to organizations and communities in need all over the world. In doing so, volunteers make a positive difference to the broader community while gaining experience, developing skills, and expanding professional networks.
The ubiquity of mobile devices is increasingly integrated into our daily routines. Each successive iteration of these devices introduces novel functionalities, enhancing their accessibility and affordability, while also expanding the availability of new applications. Mobile phone technology has undergone significant advancements, resulting in more sophisticated devices and operating systems. Consequently, a diverse array of mobile applications tailored for smartphone operating systems, provided by various mobile vendors, has emerged. A mobile application is defined as a software application developed specifically for use on small, wireless computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets, rather than desktop or laptop computers. Educators and researchers should acquaint themselves with fundamental terminologies pertinent to mobile applications, as they underpin comprehension in this field. These terminologies include location-based services, indoor positioning systems, call detail records, push notifications, mobile device sensors, in-app data capture, mobile data analytics, crowdsourcing data collection, and mobile navigation systems. Although technological progress has been made regarding mobile devices equipped with computing power, leading to a shift from desktop computers, many limitations and challenges remain, specifically in the concern of data governance and privacy issues.