Titulo Estágio
Blockchain-based Volunteered Geographic Information system
Áreas de especialidade
Sistemas de Informação
Local do Estágio
Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Polo II - Pinhal de Marrocos 3030-290 Coimbra
Enquadramento
In the last decade, the number of citizens participating and contributing to crowdsourcing initiatives in various areas has been increasing significantly. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) domain is no exception and several initiatives were started with citizens contributing voluntarily with geographical data, to a source named Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) [1]. On the one hand, these data are usually very rich by incorporating the local knowledge of the volunteer. On the other hand, it raises challenges such as the lack of trust associated with the absence of rigorous data specifications, the lack of expertise of most of the volunteers, and the possibility of volunteers making malicious contributions [2], among others.
Official mapping agencies might benefit from the richness of VGI data but the trust needs to be increased. One way of doing that is to make the contributions of volunteers more transparent by storing them in an auditable and immutable way and using these data to build a reputation system that classifies users according to the quality of their inputs. Thus, each contribution would be stamped with the quality rank of its contributor. In this scenario, immutability is key to ensuring that the contributed data is stored over time and not changed by any stakeholder at any moment. Given its characteristics, blockchain is a well-known technology capable of ensuring immutability and fostering trust [3] and has been already explored in the context of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) systems [4]. Moreover, reputation systems have already been explored in this context [5] and they can help associate each user with a certain reputation which can be translated into some level of trust.
Based on the above, this master thesis is intended to explore blockchain technology and reputation mechanisms in the context of GIS systems that include the contribution of volunteers, such as VGI initiatives.
References
[1] See, L., Mooney, P., Foody, G., Bastin, L., Comber, A., Estima, J., ... & Rutzinger, M. (2016). Crowdsourcing, citizen science or volunteered geographic information? The current state of crowdsourced geographic information. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 5(5), 55.
[2] Fonte, C. C., Antoniou, V., Bastin, L., Estima, J., Arsanjani, J. J., Bayas, J. C. L., ... & Vatseva, R. (2017). Assessing VGI data quality. Mapping and the citizen sensor, 137-163.
[3] Nofer, M., Gomber, P., Hinz, O., & Schiereck, D. (2017). Blockchain. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 59(3), 183-187.
[4] Kamali, M., Malek, M. R., Saeedi, S., & Liang, S. (2021). A Blockchain-Based Spatial Crowdsourcing System for Spatial Information Collection Using a Reward Distribution. Sensors, 21(15), 5146.
[5] Fogliaroni, P., D’Antonio, F., & Clementini, E. (2018). Data trustworthiness and user reputation as indicators of VGI quality. Geo-Spatial Information Science, 21(3), 213-233.
Objetivo
The main objectives of this thesis are as follows:
1) Evaluate the requirements of implementing a VGI system based on blockchain technology and including a reputation mechanism
2) Implement a simple VGI system including the requirements identified in the previous point, as a proof-of-concept
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 1
The main phases for the first semester are presented as follows (may overlap):
1) Research the state-of-the-art using a systematic literature review [1,2] on: VGI, Blockchain, and reputation systems
Start: September 2022
Duration: 2 months
2) Identify and evaluate the most relevant requirements for building a VGI system with a Blockchain-based reputation mechanism
Start: October 2022
Duration: 1 month
3) Identify and test suitable technologies to build the VGI system, especially Blockchain alternatives
Start: November 2022
Duration: 1 month
4) Draft the reputation system strategy
Start: November 2022
Duration: 1 month
5) Design of the VGI system taking into account the requirements specified in the previous steps
Start: November 2022
Duration: 2 months
Results of the 1st semester:
- Literature review on VGI, Blockchain, and reputation systems
- Architecture for the VGI system including the reputation mechanism strategy
- Intermediate report
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 2
The main phases for the second semester are presented as follows:
6) Develop and test a prototype to showcase the VGI system based on the blockchain technology
Start: January 2022
Duration: 4 months
7) Write the scientific paper and the master thesis
Start: May 2023
Duration: 2 months
Results of the 2nd semester:
- VGI system prototype
- Final report
- Scientific paper: A reputation system for VGI platforms using blockchain.
References:
[1] Webster, J., Watson, R.T.: (2002). Analyzing the Past To Prepare for the Future?: Writing a Review. MIS Quarterly. 26 (2), 12.
[2] Kitchenham, B., Charters, S.: (2007). Procedures for Performing Systematic Literature Reviews in Software Engineering. Keele Univ. Durham Univ. UK.
Condições
The student will be integrated into the Information Systems Group (ISG) of CISUC, Department of Informatics Engineering, University of Coimbra. A workplace and the required resources will be provided.
The supervisors of the thesis will be:
- Prof. Jacinto Estima
- Prof. Paulo Rupino da Cunha
Orientador
Jacinto Estima e Paulo Rupino
estima@dei.uc.pt 📩