Do-It-Together, International Community Around Openly Published Environmental Sensing

Abstract

Collecting in-situ environmental data from sensors installed in remote locations is a ubiquitous practice throughout earth sciences. Technical hurdles and financial considerations pose various barriers to entry and expansion of such sensor networks. With the ever-decreasing cost of off-the-shelf electronic components and increasing support and growth of communities like Arduino, Do-It-Yourself open-source alternatives are being developed by groups of researchers and organizations around the world. However, these efforts appear to be siloed, where breakthroughs in one community typically fail to directly advance relevant efforts in other communities. We believe a Do-It-Together approach as opposed to Do-It-Yourself would yield significant impacts across the broader needs of our communities.

OPEnS International (Openly Published Environmental Sensing) is a growing and diverse community of environmental scientists, engineers, programmers, anthropologists, and artists seeking to build infrastructure that supports cross-pollinization and dissemination of designs, best-practices, technologies, and ideas.

Chet Udell, Director of the OPEnS Lab (www.open-sensing.org) at Oregon State University will moderate a panel of 4 leaders in the field of open-source environmental sensing. Udell will provide a brief overview of OPEnS International, how to become involved, and currently existing infrastructure to support communities with environmental sensing needs, including SensorWiki.org. Panelists will present a brief overview of their background, experience, challenges, and objectives followed by an open discussion between town hall participants and the panelists. This conversation will be focused around assessing and identifying the needs, concerns, and challenges within the broader contexts of open environmental sensing and to propose solutions, infrastructure and initiatives to address those items. Whether you want to ask the community for a solution to challenges you have faced in the field, have a wealth of knowledge to share, or simply curious about the diverse makeup of people like yourself, there will likely be valuable take-aways for everyone at this event.