CITIZEN SCIENCE & AMATEUR RESEARCH
Archive for September, 2008
New Tools to Help Amateurs Visualize Data
Sep 4, 2008
Emerging from the IBM Watson Research Center is a wonderful new online tool for interactively visualizing data sets of nearly any sort. The service is called Many Eyes, and could provide quite useful for citizen scientists to work collaboratively across the world in analyzing data and gaining new insights into amateur research efforts.
The Many Eyes software is free with a registration, and contains tools to upload and organize your data into world maps, line and stack graphs, comparison charts, scatter plots, network maps, and other visualization options. We have not yet explored the interesting service, but DPRI will be in the the site in the near future to test the system and to see what sort of opportunities there might be for the amateur science community, including how we might be able to collaboratively work together through DPRI on future projects.
“Lines and Bubbles and Bars, Oh My! New Ways to Sift Data” :: The New York Times :: August 30, 2008 :: [ READ ]
Many Eyes [ VISIT ]
Learn more about the Many Eyes program [ READ ]
If you would be interested in working with DPRI in the near future on citizen science collaborations, potentially using the Many Eyes system, please contact us or leave a comment below. Or, better yet, send us your FREE registration and we’ll be in touch with you soon about what sort of opportunities we will have!
Amateurs Watch the Perseids on the Moon
Sep 2, 2008
In late July, we reminded you to “look up” in early August to enjoy the annual Perseid meteor shower (read). Hopefully, many of you had an enjoyable and awe-inspiring experience (this author went out and saw one flash in the corner of his eye, but had to get back into bed for an upcoming long day). This year, a few amateur astronomers took their ‘looking up” a step further beyond Earth’s upper atmosphere, and focused their telescopes onto the surface of the Moon. Amazing bright flashes of meteor explosions on the surface of the Moon were seen using typical backyard telescopes!
This specific form of moon-gazing is actually quite important right now, as NASA has a program established to monitor meteor activity on the surface of the Moon. This effort is to better understand the safety requirements for the next generation of astronauts who will hopefully set up camp for a while.
The Lunar Impact Monitoring program at the Marshall Space Flight Center trains its telescopes toward the Moon as frequently as possible, but Moon phases and atmospheric conditions will often limit their coverage. In fact, they were unable to monitor the Moon during the Perseids. So, developing a world-wide team of amateur astronomers will greatly enhance the programs ability to accurately predict and monitor meteor activity, which will lead to better considerations for activity recommendations for lunar landings and extended camps.
DPRI already features this important citizen science project in our collection of Amateur Science Opportunities, and we will plan to write a more thorough review of the program in the near future.
“Amateur Astronomers See Perseids Hit the Moon” :: Science@NASA News :: September 2, 2008 :: [ READ ]
Intel Proposes Citizen Science Mobile Computing Program
Sep 1, 2008
A research collaboration from Intel Research Berkeley is currently beta testing mounted air quality sensors on the Street Sweepers in San Francisco to map out pollution levels throughout the city.
After successful results from this test, the program could then spread to other cities where pollution is a serious problem. With detailed spacial urban maps of air quality variations, city officials might then be able to really get a handle on primary sources of pollution and determine solutions for improving the urban atmosphere.
The research team is also proposing a next-generation version of this project, which would provide higher-resolution data and would involve a massive citizen science effort… including anyone with a cell phone. With air monitoring devices built into personal mobile devices that also contain GPS tracking software, real-time, continuous air sampling data can be transmitted to scientist’s databases. Live current conditions could also be provided back to the user, so people with asthma or other sensitive respiratory systems could consider avoiding parts of the city that was experiencing a “bad pollution day.”
Future research programs into “urban informatics” will ultimately rely on citizen science participation, and it’s exciting that Intel will likely be on the forefront of these efforts. Check out the research proposal linked below, sign up for their mailing list, and keep a watch on future opportunities to turn your cell phone into an ultimate data collecting device!
“Common Sense Research Project” Proposal from Intel Research Berkeley :: [ VISIT ]
