Remotely geolocating static events observed by citizens using data collected by mobile devices

Abstract

The increasing use of smartphones has led to a surge in crowdsourcing initiatives, where citizens easily collect and upload information using advanced sensors, leveraging the collective efforts of the crowd. However, these devices face accuracy issues that must be addressed before they can be used effectively in certain applications. While most research has focused on GNSS-based positioning errors, compass-based orientation errors have received far less attention. This paper presents a novel method for determining the geolocation of static events by combining contributions from multiple volunteers located around a target event. Instead of straight lines, the method applies funnel-shaped regions to represent the azimuths toward the target location and encompasses various phases to address errors stemming from measured azimuths. These compass-based orientation errors have attracted less attention compared to GNSS-based positioning errors. The approach mitigates the uncertainty in azimuth measurements, producing a set of regions that contain the target location with different levels of confidence. Its reliability was tested in three case studies with known target locations, using metrics such as area and compactness. The results were promising, indicating that the developed approach is particularly useful in applications that do not require a high degree of accuracy (common in many crowdsourcing projects), such as the geolocation of forest fire ignitions − once in the vicinity they can be easily spotted. Implementing this approach within a system that collates citizens’ contributions can furnish invaluable information to authorities, empowering prompt action during emergency scenarios.