Ionut Iosifescu
Senior Researcher
Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation
ETH Zurich
Switzerland

Biography
Ionut Iosifescu is a senior researcher at the Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation of ETH Zurich. He graduated with a Diploma in Geodesy at the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest in 2003, a M.Sc. in Computer Science at ETH Zurich in 2009, and completed his Ph.D. at ETH Zurich in 2011. He is specialized in Service-driven Cartography, Web Cartography and online GIS with a focus on interoperability and open standards.

Abstract
Integrated Documentation, Management and Visualization of Sensor Data in the Open Support Platform for Environmental Research (OSPER)

Map-based visualization of sensor data is of outmost importance for achieving user-friendly data sharing. In this context, one of the main innovations of the Open Support Platform for Environmental Research (OSPER) is an integrated approach for the documentation, management and visualization of sensor data.
OSPER is a sharing platform for worldwide environmental research experiments, which is designed, implemented and supported by Swiss research institutes, at the initiative of the Competence Centre Environment and Sustainability of the ETH Domain (CCES). In addition to a data documentation system and a management system for sensor data, an important component of OSPER is a service-driven, Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS). This Web-GIS, namely the GeoVITe GIS Platform for Environmental Research, is the main cartographic visualization system for an integrated presentation and visual geosharing of sensor data. Among its innovative features we mention full interoperability between sensor data and geodata, temporal map navigation using a hypercube-based approach, customizable symbolization for gridded data and dynamically generated 3D visualizations.
There are many advantages of using a Web-based GIS for the sharing of georeferenced sensor data. The geographical organization of available data results in added benefits for the platform users. Visual data mining and straightforward integration of sensor data with topographic and geologic data are among them. Moreover, from a research perspective, geographically identifying areas of research interest fosters improved cooperation and exchange between researchers.