# **Final End User Workshop: Applicability & Dissemination**
In January 2023, a final end user workshop took place, which was attended by the LOKI team and end users from DRK international (Berlin), THW Heidelberg, and Disaster management (fire brigade) Heidelberg (Figure 1). The workshop took place in a hybrid format to allow participants from far away to participate to cover a broad spectrum of end users.
<center><imgsrc="https://git.gfz-potsdam.de/loki/loki_wiki/-/raw/main/wiki/docs/stories/media/Enduserworkshop_1.png"alt="End user workshop"width=900"></center>
Participants of the workshop on-site and online
After the presentation of the results of the individual modules of the LOKI system, an extensive discussion took place with the end users. Topics such as usability, suggestions for improvement, general feedback, and the future were in the focus (Figure 2). The lively discussion led to the following results (in extracts):
**Applicability**<br>
* Use of damage calculation and visualisation for direct mission planning as well as scenarios planned
* THW plans to use the tool for planning overview and detailed flights, as it can be used universally, regardless of the type of damage/mission
* Concretisation of further cooperation
**Suggestions for improvement**<br>
* Extension of mission planning to commercial drones
* Availability and operability of the tools in the event of a mission (documentation and instructions) must be ensured
* Extension to critical infrastructure and the inclusion of neighbouring buildings as a consequence of damage
* Extension to other disaster events (e.g. bomb detection and flooding)
* Enable offline use of the tools
**Overall feedback**<br>
* Positive feedback, the application is already possible
* Long-term provision/hosting of the tools is important
* Interest in requests and exchanges with other countries
* Establishment of a trained community for micro-mapping is necessary
**Future**<br>
* Definition of central contact persons for future cooperation and use of the developed modules
* Short-term perspective:
* Test of damage calculation and feedback
* Integration of further UAVs into mission planning and test of the dashboard
* Implementation of specific tasks and use cases in joint theses and internships
* Long-term perspective:
* Possible integration of the LOKI system at the nationwide level of the THW
* Internationalisation of the modules
* Involvement of international end users and development of suitable feedback methods
<center><imgsrc="https://git.gfz-potsdam.de/loki/loki_wiki/-/raw/main/wiki/docs/stories/media/Enduserworkshop_2.png"alt="End user workshop"width="900"></center>
Collected ideas of the participants that served as a basis for the discussion
In general, the great interest of the end users was obvious. The workshop enabled a direct exchange between developers and end users from different domains. Specific further steps for cooperation could be identified.
**We would like to thank everyone for their active participation, which helped to make the workshop a successful way to end the Project!**
# **Annual LOKI project meeting 2023**
In the fourth annual LOKI project meeting (26 January 2023) project partners had a great exchange about the following main topics:
<ul><li>Evaluation of current development status of the individual modules and integrated system prototype</li><li>Discussion of open tasks for finalization of prototype integration, demonstration, and evaluation (milestone 4)</li><li>Further dissemination of project results and future perspectives for joint collaborations and projects</li><PreparationforBMBFstatusseminar</li><li>Agreement on major next steps in the overall collaboration among project partners</li></ul>
Discussion of these topics strengthened the focus for the last year of the project and the achieved outcomes will serve as the basis for the further development of the [LOKI framework](/loki_framework/loki_framework.html).
### **Module test with THW Heidelberg: Mission planning module and automatic damage classification module**
In the last project year, one major focus is on the demonstration and evaluation of the LOKI framework together with end users.
In this context, THW Heidelberg tested the [mission planning](/project_results/mission_planning.html) and [automatic damage classification](../project_results/automatic_damage_clf.html) modules, as part of the [LOKI framework](/loki_framework/loki_framework.html). Following a live demo of the two modules, we jointly discussed current functionalities and how the modules might be integrated in workflows of THW Heidelberg.
We also collected valuable feedback on how to further improve the modules so they meet requirements of THW in case of an earthquake event.
Furthermore, we presented the [modular structure](/loki_framework/loki_framework.html) of the LOKI framework, which allows using modules as stand-alone applications and combining them for a specific use case.
**We would like to thank THW Heidelberg for their interest and valuable feedback for further development of the modules!**
# **Module tests with end users: Micro mapping module and building completeness assessment module**
On October 11, 2022, members of the firefighters and THW Heidelberg as well as the German Red Cross international, joined our online workshop to test the Crowdmap App for earthquake damage classification. We introduced the overall LOKI project and clarified the functionalities of the [Crowdmap App](https://crowdmap.heigit.org/#/). Different tasks were used to test the different project types: the binary mapping aims at identifying if there is any damage at all by the use of overview flight imagery. The multi-class mapping differentiates between five damage grades for detailed building images. The participants tested the tools and finished the project tasks.
We included a questionnaire in order to evaluate the usability of the app as well as to have insights into the user requirements. We use the results for the continuous improvement of the tool. We got great feedback from the end-users and they are looking forward to apply the LOKI system themselves.
**We thank the end-users for the active participation and their helpful feedback.**
Further information about the Crowdmap App and how to set up own projects tasks can be found [here](https://git.gfz-potsdam.de/loki/micromapping_client_giscience).
***
# **3ECEES - Third European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology - 2022 in Bucharest**
We participated in the Third European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology [(3ECEES)](https://3ecees.ro/) in Bucharest.
The paper and the associated presentation deal with a multiscale approach for the definition of earthquake damage criteria at different levels as a basis for the further development of fragility curves. The proposed new multiscale approach establishes a correlation between observed damage patterns due to foreign earthquakes and the seismic response of the building using thresholds for material-specific and global characteristics. This approach takes into account various possible damage patterns on different scales more comprehensively than the
well-known approach of displacement criteria. Moreover, the approach is universal and adaptable for building classes as well as region-specific material and system characteristics. Several damage criteria with their defined limit values are assigned to the five proposed damage grades, whereby quantity and distribution of the exceeded criteria are relevant, since the first occurrence does not always lead
to damage. With the new approach, damages that are not evident in the pushover curve in terms of strength degradation can be detected and taken into account for the damage thresholds. The derived displacement values associated with the damage levels are the basis for developing fragility functions which are part of the initial damage forecast in the [LOKI framework](/loki_framework/loki_framework.html).
More details can be found in the related publications:
> Kohns, J.; Stempniewski, L.; Stark, A.(2022) [Earthquake damage criteria for non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete buildings as basis for fragility functions.](https://3ecees.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Proceedings_3ECEES_2022.pdf#page=1707) Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology - 3ECEES : September 5-September 9, 2022, Bucharest, Romania / editors: Cristian Arion, Alexandra Scupin, Alexandru Ţigănescu. - Bucureşti : Conspress, 2022 Conţine bibliografie, 1646–1653.
> Kohns, J.; Stempniewski, L.; Stark, A. (2022): [Fragility Functions for Reinforced Concrete Structures Based on Multiscale Approach for Earthquake Damage Criteria.](https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/8/1253) Buildings 2022, 12(8), Art.-Nr.: 1253. doi: 10.3390/buildings12081253.
***
# **LOKI framework test: Detection and detailed assessment of building damage on a test site in Mosbach (DE)**
One major focus of the third project year is to test the LOKI framework and all its modules in a realistic scenario. We therefore developed a scenario and workflow for a realistic use case and tested interfaces and functionalities of all LOKI modules for the detection and detailed assessment of building damage on a [training field in Mosbach](https://www.tcrh.de/tcrh-training-center-retten-und-helfen-mosbach/).
A detailed description of the use case can be found [on our use case page](/loki_framework/framework_use_cases.html).
We developed a new tool for time-optimal UAV routing considering the entire physical properties of a UAV by means of a maximum allowed velocity and acceleration in any direction. Our tool is based on a combinatorial optimization procedure, which combines time-optimal trajectories between locations to entire tours starting and ending at specific locations. Since this method is based on millions of single trajectories connecting locations, which must be known to the optimization a-priori, state-of-the-art method for trajectory generation are not suitable anymore, because they would imply hours of computation time just for trajectory generation. Further, during our research, we found that commonly accepted assumptions for time-optimal trajectory generation are not generally correct and sometimes resulting in trajectories that are not trackable by multirotor UAVs. Hence, we developed a new time-optimal trajectory generation approach that overcomes this false assumption and additionally is capable of generating the trajectories within a nanosecond scale. This reduces the computation time compared to state-of-the-art approaches by a factor of approximately 1000 while still ensuring the traceability of these trajectories by modern multirotor UAVs. With this new kind of trajectory generation, we were able to decrease the total time consumption of a UAV mission without a maximum flight time restrictions up to 15% compared with the latest state-of-the-art methods and increased the quality of visiting prioritized waypoints for UAVs with limited flight time up to 20%. Hence, in a post earthquake scenario, our method has the potential to provide rescue teams with the information they need much faster. More details can be found in the related publication:
> Meyer, F., & Glock, K. (2021): [Trajectory-based Traveling Salesman Problem for Multirotor UAVs.](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9600053) 17th International Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS), 2021, pp. 335-342. doi: 10.1109/DCOSS52077.2021.00061.
> Meyer, F., & Glock, K. (2022): [Kinematic Orienteering Problem With Time-Optimal Trajectories for Multirotor UAVs.](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9844257) IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2022, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 11402-11409. doi: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3194688.
In the third annual LOKI project meeting (3rd and 4th February 2022) project partners had a great exchange about the following main topics:
<ul><li>Evaluation of current development status of the individual modules</li><li>Discussion of open issues along interfaces of the modules</li><li>Next steps for completion of module development</li><li> Completion of module development</li><li>Next steps for integration of individual modules to prototype (milestone 3)</li><li>Next steps for demonstration, deployment, piloting and evaluation of the prototype (milestone 4) </li><li>Agreement on major next steps in the overall collaboration among project partners</li></ul>
Discussion of these topics strengthened the focus for the last year of the project and the achieved outcomes will serve as the basis for the further development of the [LOKI framework](/loki_framework/loki_framework.html).
***
# **BMBF Annual Status Meeting 2022**
On 9th December, projects of the funding priority came together for the yearly BMBF Annual Status Meeting to present their progress in the previous year in the broad topic of "early detection of earthquake and their consequences". In follow-up discussions, the projects were also able to identify links between their research and potential for cross-project exchange.
It was very interesting to see what each of the projects has achieved so far, and we are already looking forward to see what is happening in the next project year. An overview of all projects of the funding priority is provided [here](https://www.projektfoerderung-geo-meeresforschung.de/geowissenschaften?action=ShowList).
***
# **Stakeholder workshops with Branddirektion Karlsruhe, Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Mannheim and Technisches Hilfswerk Heidelberg**
During 2021 several stakeholder workshops took place with the objective of exchanging different experiences and perspectives on earthquake response.
The workshops help to further develop our approach of how the LOKI framework can meet the requirements in case of a large-scale emergency, such as earthquakes.
*[Branddirektion Karlsruhe](https://www.karlsruhe.de/stadt-rathaus/verwaltung-stadtpolitik/aemter-dienststellen/detailseite/65-branddirektion) is engaged as control center which coordinates the different rescue teams on site for immediate rescue and could provide valuable insights into coordination procedures in case of large-scale emergencies.
*[THW Heidelberg](https://ov-heidelberg.thw.de/) is engaged both in immediate and longer-term response actions. Moreover, THW Heidelberg already makes use of UAV-supported emergency response (e.g. in terms of inspection of damaged buildings) which is already providing a good link to the LOKI framework.
*[ASB Mannheim](https://www.asb-rhein-neckar.de/) is engaged in immediate response activities (medical care, treatment of injured persons, supply of treatment units).
Moreover, ASB Mannheim was among the first relief organizations in germany with an own UAV team. In case of an earthquake the team is able to support on-site rescue teams with aerial observation (e.g. capture of aerial images of damaged buildings).
<ul><li>Current role and challenges for deployment of UAVs in emergency response</li><li>Potential improvements of current situation though information provided by LOKI framework</li><li>Temporal constraints for information obtained from LOKI framework</li><li>Integration of LOKI framework into existing workflows of emergency response</li></ul>
__Outcomes of the workshops__ are included in the further development and iterative improvement of the LOKI framework. Moreover, stakeholders and LOKI partners agreed on a continuous exchange on the progress of the framework and to plan joint tests and evaluations of the LOKI framework, as soon as a first prototype will be available.
This form of collaboration will enable us to develop a framework that provides good support for rescue teams and enables fast and reliable airborne situation assessments following an earthquake.
__We would like to thank__ ASB Mannheim (Steffen Schmid and Herwin Hadameck), Branddirektion Karlsruhe (Frank Humpfer) and THW Heidelberg (Sven Latki and Malte Freund) for providing insights into their valuable work and their interest in collaboration with the LOKI project.
We are looking forward to continuous exchange on the progress of the framework and to plan joint tests and evaluations.
__Role of transdisciplinary research__: The scientific treatment of hazard response does not only require contributions from disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, but also the close collaboration and knowledge exchange with stakeholders. Such a transdisciplinary approach enables all partners to contribute their knowledge and perspectives and to increase the utilization of scientific research outcomes. We would like to thank the [TdLab Geography](https://www.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/institut/tdlab_en.html) in supporting us with including transdisciplinarity in the LOKI project.
***
# **3D data acquisition for developement and evaluation of automatic 3D damage classification**
In on-site experiments and through collaborations with external partners we acquired 3D datasets and reference data for the development and evaluation of our tools for Machine Learning-based 3D damage classification:
In this short video, one of the acquired sites (INF 288, Heidelberg) is shown. The video explains the basic concept of UAV-based classification of building damage in the LOKI project:
<iframewidth="900"height="450"src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_d8qYMEJUPg"title="YouTube video player"frameborder="0"allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"allowfullscreen></iframe>
All details on the datasets can be found [here](../project_results/automatic_damage_clf.html).
__Stay tuned - some of the datasets will be openly available soon!__
***
# **HELIOS++ - Novel open source software for virtual laser scanning**
[HELIOS++](https://www.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/gis/helios.html) is a general-purpose simulation software for virtual laser scanning data acquisition. Such data can be used to complement real data in many use cases. Some examples include the generation of training data for machine learning, especially deep learning, for the validation of algorithms working on point clouds, for acquisition parameter surveys or for experimentation with novel sensors.
In LOKI we apply virtual laser scanning in HELIOS++ for the development of methods for automatic, Machine Learning-based [3D damage classification](../project_results/automatic_damage_clf.html). The simulated point clouds provide fit-for-purpose input for training and validation of the developed methods.
The __modern implementation in C++__ as well as the possibility to use __Python bindings__ allows a much faster simulation of complex scenes and the __integration of HELIOS++ into existing workflows__ (e.g. of the LOKI framework).
Pre-compiled versions of HELIOS++ for Windows and Linux are available for download - alongside the open source code on [GitHub](https://github.com/3dgeo-heidelberg/helios). Moreover, users can get familiar with the software by taking a look into the extensive [wiki](https://github.com/3dgeo-heidelberg/helios/wiki/main-page). HELIOS++ is licensed under GPLv3 and LGPLv3.
__Find all details in the full paper:__
> Winiwarter, L., Esmorís Pena, A., Weiser, H., Anders, K., Martínez Sanchez, J., Searle, M., Höfle, B. (2022): [Virtual laser scanning with HELIOS++: A novel take on ray tracing-based simulation of topographic full-waveform 3D laser scanning.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425721004922) Remote Sensing of Environment. Vol. 269. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2021.112772.<br><br>
***
# **Novel open source method for lower uncertainty in 3D topographic change quantification**
We have developed a novel approach (correspondence-driven plane-based M3C2) to __lower the uncertainty__ in 3D topographic change quantification.
__Key features of the method:__
* Change is quantified between homologous planar surfaces of successive 3D point clouds.
* The method uses a larger neighborhood and a better plane fit for the quantification of uncertainty, compared to the standard M3C2 [(Lague et al. 2013)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924271613001184).
* Measured change is not affected by multiple surfaces in the local neighborhood and can be related directly to the moving rigid object.
* By tracking simple planar segments of rigid objects, the geometric complexity of the objects that need to be identified to compute change between two point clouds is greatly reduced compared to object tracking approaches.
In LOKI we investigate how this method can be applied as part of the module for [automatic 3D damage classification](../project_results/automatic_damage_clf.html) of buildings.
__Find all details in the full paper:__
> Zahs, V., Winiwarter, L., Anders, K., Williams, J.G., Rutzinger, M. & Höfle, B. (2022): [Correspondence-driven plane-based M3C2 for lower uncertainty in 3D topographic change quantification.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924271621003166) ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. 183, pp. 541-559. doi: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.11.018.
__Open source code and data:__
> Zahs, V., Winiwarter, L., Anders, K., Williams, J.G., Rutzinger, M. & Höfle, B. (2022): [Correspondence-driven plane-based M3C2 for lower uncertainty in 3D topographic change quantification](https://doi.org/10.11588/data/TGSVUI) . heiDATA. doi: 10.11588/data/TGSVUI.
***
# **BMBF Annual Status Meeting 2021**
In December 2021, projects of the funding priority "early detection of earthquake and their consequences" came together for the yearly BMBF Annual Status Meeting to present and exchange their project ideas in an online format. The event was a great opportunity to get to know all projects doing research on the same overall topic and to identify links among the projects. An overview of all funded projects is provided [here](https://www.projektfoerderung-geo-meeresforschung.de/geowissenschaften?action=ShowList).
***
# **Annual LOKI project meeting 2021**
In the second annual LOKI project meeting in February 2021, project partners focused on the following main topics:
* Change is quantified between homologous planar surfaces of successive 3D point clouds
* Discuss and evaluate the current development status of the modules of the LOKI framework
* Coordination at the interfaces of the project partners
* Create a common basis for the further development of the LOKI framework
* Agreement on important next steps for joint collaboration
***
# **Completeness Mapping**
The completeness mapping tool enables to assess the completeness of OSM building footprints. It is already tested and validated via a dataset provided by experts. It is included as a project into the [Map Swipe App](https://mapswipe.org/en/index.html).
Colleagues from [GIScience](https://www.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/gis/index.html) and [3DGeo](https://www.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/3dgeo/index.html) research groups and [HeiGIT](https://heigit.org/) tested the tool and evaluated the completeness during a mapping event in September 2020. The study sides were Medellin (Colombia), Siros (Greece), Tokyo (Japan) and Taipeh (Taiwan). Information about this event was also shared on the [GIScience News Blog](http://k1z.blog.uni-heidelberg.de/2020/09/16/osm-completeness-mapping-for-airborne-situation-assessment-following-an-earthquake/).
Areas which reveal an incomplete mapping of building footprints can be priorities in future mapping events.
<imgsrc="https://git.gfz-potsdam.de/loki/loki_wiki/-/raw/main/wiki/docs/stories/media/CompletenessMapping.jpg"alt="Completeness Tool example"title="this will be displayed as a tooltip"width="300">
The related publication is currently available as pre-print:
>T. Ullah, S. Lautenbach, B. Herfort, D. Schorlemmer (2023): Assessing Completeness of OpenStreetMap Building Footprints Using a Gamification Approach in MapSwipe. Preprints 2023, 2023010550 [doi: 10.20944/preprints202301.0550.v1](https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0550.v1)
***
# **LOKI Kick-off Meeting 2020**
In February 2020 the kick-off meeting for the LOKI project was hosted by the GIScience and 3DGeo research groups of Heidelberg University.
The meeting allowed the exchange of methods and expected results of the subprojects and project partners and the definition of their contribution to the overall project. Moreover, interfaces between work packages (data, software, methodology etc.) and project partners were jointly elaborated.
