Vision
The vision of SIENA is the establishment of a new competence center at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences for the spatial-temporal analysis of high-resolution multidimensional environmental data for fast and better decision support. The specialization of SIENA is the use of unmanned aerial systems for high-resolution environmental data acquisition in combination with intelligent algorithms that generate information from this data (“Smart Data”).
Objectives
- the strategic development and expansion of the comprehensive interdisciplinary know-how, which is being developed within the framework of the research focus ” Environmental Monitoring” in the courses “Geoinformation and Environment” and “Spatial Information Management“;
- further development of achievements of the COIN project “RPAMSS – Remotely Piloted Aircraft Multi Sensor System” and the resulting very successful follow-up applications, and
- maintenance and development of the existing multidisciplinary national and international partner network.
Projects

Drone-based Photogrammetric Cubature estimation of flood sediments Gailtal, Carinthia
Research cooperation with the Carinthian Provincial Government, Department 10 – Agriculture and Forestry, Rural Areas

FISHSTREAM – Drone-based Tools for Flow Velocity Measurement near Fish Passages
Project initiator and sponsor: Verbund Hydro Power GmbH.

Drone Zone Austria – Design of a Web Portal for Safe Drone Mission Planning in Austria
Funding by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG within the framework of the “Take Off” Program

Wörthersee in 3D
Optical data describing the entire ~50km long Wörthersee shore was digitally captured with high precision in centimetre resolution within the framework of an interdisciplinary research cooperation between the Carinthian Provincial Government (Department 8 Environment, Water and Nature Conservation), the industrial partners flussbau iC and ViewCopter as well as the scientific partner Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Geoinformation and Environment program.
Publications and contributions
Publications
Filippi, M.A., Güneralp, I., Castillo, C.R., Ma, A., Paulus, G., & Anders, K.H. (2022). Comparison of Endmember- and Object-based Classification of Very High-Spatial-Resolution Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Narrow-band Images for Mapping Riparian Forests and Other Land Covers. Land – Observation and Monitoring. Land 2022, 11, 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020246 Link
Contributions
Strelnikova, D., Perks M.T. (2022). Summary of activities of WG4: River monitoring. In Advances in Environmental Monitoring with UAS. Workshop conducted at the meeting of COST Harmonious, 30th March – 1st April 2022, Debrecen, Hungary. PDF
Publications
Erlacher, C., Anders, K.-H., Jankowski, P., Paulus, G., & Blaschke, T. (2021). A Framework for Cloud-Based Spatially-Explicit Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis in Spatial Multi-Criteria Models. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 10(4), 244. DOI: 10.3390/ijgi10040244 PDF
Publications
Pearce, S., Ljubičić, R., Peña-Haro, S., Perks, M., Tauro, F., Pizarro, A., Dal Sasso, S., Strelnikova, D., Grimaldi, S., Maddock, I., Paulus, G., Plavšić, J., Prodanović, D., & Manfreda, S. (2020). An Evaluation of Image Velocimetry Techniques under Low Flow Conditions and High Seeding Densities Using Unmanned Aerial Systems. Remote Sensing, 12(2), 232. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12020232 PDF
Schneider, T., Paulus, G., & Anders, K.-H. (2020). Towards Predicting Vine Yield: Conceptualization of 3D Grape Models and Derivation of reliable Physical and Morphological Parameters. GI_Forum, 1, 73-88. https://doi.org/10.1553/giscience2020_01_s73 PDF
Strelnikova, D., Paulus, G., Käfer, S., Anders, K.-H., Mayr, P., Mader, H., Scherling, U., & Schneeberger, R. (2020). Drone-Based Optical Measurements of Heterogeneous Surface Velocity Fields around Fish Passages at Hydropower Dams. Remote Sensing, 12(3), 384. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030384 PDF
Strelnikova, D., Paulus, G., Käfer, S., Anders, K.-H., Mayr, P., Mader, H., Scherling, U., & Schneeberger, R. (2020). Drohnenbasierte optische Ermittlung von heterogenen Oberflächenströmungsmustern in der Nähe von Fischaufstiegshilfen. AGIT ‒ Journal für Angewandte Geoinformatik, 6-2020, 206-216 PDF
Contributions
Paulus, G., Strelnikova, D., Anders, K.-H., Schneider, T., Meier, D., Eisenbach, S., Lutz, T., Lippitsch, G., & Gäbler, K. (2020). Drone Risk Austria – Ein multidisziplinärer Ansatz zur Unterstützung der Risikobewertung von Drohnenmissionen in Österreich. In AGIT 2020: Virtuelle Konferenz, July, 6-10, 2020, Salzburg, Austria.
Paulus, G., Zebedin, P., Koren, G., Kainbacher, J., Scherling, U., & Anders, K.-H. (2020). Geoinformation und Kunst treffen sich in Klagenfurt im Fußballstadion im Wald. Presentation at AGIT 2020: Virtuelle Konferenz, July, 6-10, 2020, Salzburg, Austria.
Pearce, S., Ljubičić, R., Peña-Haro, S., Perks, M., Tauro, F., Pizarro, A., Fortunato Dal Sasso, S., Strelnikova, D., Grimaldi, S., Maddock, I., Paulus, G., Plavšić, J., Prodanović, D., Manfreda, S., Corbett, M., & Everard, N. (2020). An evaluation of image velocimetry techniques under low flow conditions and high seeding densities using Unmanned Aerial Systems. In EGU General Assembly 2020, Online. https://doi.org/ 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-324
Publications
Beene, D., Zhang, S., & Paulus, G. (2019). Workflow for hydrologic modelling with sUAS-acquired aerial imagery. Geocarto International, 20(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2019.1648562 Link
Erlacher, C., Desch, A., Anders, K.-H., Jankowski, P., & Paulus, G. (2019). Parallel and Distributed Computing for large raster-based Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis Problems: A Computational Performance Comparison. GI_Forum, 1, 69–86 PDF
Contributions
Paulus, G., Winkler, T., & Rohli B. (2019). Unmanned Aerial Systems for capturing dynamic weather data in the atmospheric boundary layer. In American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
Schrick-Matthews, A., Hochmair, H., Strelnikova, D., & Juhász, L. (2019). Comparing the Characteristics of Bicycle Trips between Endomondo, Google Maps, and MapQuest. In 98th TRB Annual Meeting. Contribution at the meeting of Transport Research Board, January, 13-17, 2019, Washington, DC, USA ResearchGate
COST Harmonious Workshop on Progress in the use of UAS Techniques for Environmental Monitoring (Prague, Czech Republic, 27.02-01.03.2019)
Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Erlacher, M., Mayr, P., & Schneeberger, R. (2019). Empirical Comparison of Shallow Water Bathymetry Data: UAS MultiView Stereo Photogrammetry versus Single Beam Echo Sounding. In Progress in the use of UAS Techniques for Environmental Monitoring. Workshop conducted at the meeting of COST Harmonious, February 27 – March 1, 2019, Prague, Czech Republic. PDF
Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Ortner, C., & Winkler, T. (2019). Concept, Design and Implementation of a Prototype of a Spatial Data Infrastructure for UAS-based Environmental Monitoring. In Standardization of procedures in using UAS for environmental monitoring. Contribution at the meeting of COST Action CA16219 HARMONIOUS – Harmonization of UAS techniques for agricultural and natural ecosystems monitoring, November, 6-7, 2019, Coimbra, Portugal.
Strelnikova, D., Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Käfer, S., Mayr, P., Schneeberger, R., & Mader, H. (2019). Towards a standard approach to UAS based data collection for optical monitoring of heterogeneous flow. In Standardization of procedures in using UAS for environmental monitoring. Contribution at the meeting of COST Action CA16219 HARMONIOUS – Harmonization of UAS techniques for agricultural and natural ecosystems monitoring, November, 6-7, 2019, Coimbra, Portugal
Strelnikova, D., Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Mayr, P., Käfer, S., Mader, H., & Schneeberger, R. (2019). FishStream: Determining the Surface Velocity Fields near Fish Passages at Hydropower Dams. In Progress in the use of UAS Techniques for Environmental Monitoring. Presentation conducted at the meeting of COST Harmonious, February 27 – March 1, 2019, Prague, Czech Republic. PDF
Publications
Loerch, A. C., Paulus, G., & Lippitt, C. D. (2018). Volumetric Change Detection with using Structure from Motion – The Impact of Repeat Station Imaging. GI_Forum, 1, 135–151. https://doi.org/10.1553/giscience2018_01_s135
Strelnikova, D., Schneider, T., & Leitner, M. (2018). Utilizing Spatial Video to Analyse Roadside Advertisements in Villach, Austria. GI_Forum, 1, 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1553/giscience2018_01_s34 PDF
Contributions
Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Mak, S., Rieger, A., Lumasegger, M., & Eisl, M. (2018). An Unmanned Aerial Multi Sensor System for high resolution spatio-temporal Monitoring of River Environments: Poster. In OPTIMISE (Innovative Optical Tools for Proximal Sensing of Ecophysiological Processes) Final Conference. Contribution at the meeting of National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Februar, 21-23, 2018, Sofia, Bulgaria
Paulus, G., Preduschnig, T., Anders, K.-H., Strelnikova, D., Erlacher, M., & Wagner, K. (2018). Drone Zone Austria – Towards a Spatial Data Infrastructure for integrated risk based RPAS mission planning and UTM. In RPAS CivOps 2018, January, 16-17, 2018, Paris, France. PDF
Paulus, G., Strelnikova, D., Anders, K.-H., Preduschnig, T., & Wagner, K. (2018). The Need of a High Resolution European Spatial Data Infrastructure for Unmanned Aerial System Mission Planning & Risk Assessment. In 21st AGILE International Conference on Geographic Information Science. Contribution at the meeting of AGILE, Juni 13-15, 2018, Lund, Sweden
Publications
Erlacher, C., Jankowski, P., Blaschke, T., Paulus, G., & Anders, K.-H. (2017). A GPU-based Parallelization Approach to conduct Spatially-Explicit Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis in the Application Domain of Landscape Assessment. GI_Forum, 1, 44–58 PDF
Paulus, G., Preduschnig, T., Anders, K.-H., Gäbler, K., Glatzl, F., Lippitsch, G., & Wagner, K. A. (2017). Drone Zone Austria ‒ Design of a Web Portal for Safe Drone Mission Planning in Austria. AGIT ‒ Journal für Angewandte Geoinformatik, 3-2017. Herbert Wichmann Verlag, VDE VERLAG GMBH – Berlin – Offenbach PDF
Paulus, G., Ramsbacher, K., Anders, K.-H., Mayr, P., & Schneeberger, R. (2017). Design, Implementation and Assessment of a Drone-based Infrastructure Inspection Process. In W. Lienhart (Ed.), Ingenieurvermessung 17: Beiträge zum 18. Internationalen Ingenieurvermessungskurs Graz, 2017 (pp. 35–46). Berlin: Wichmann
Strelnikova, D., & Anders, K.-H. (2017). Spatio-Temporal Interpolation of UAV Sensor Data. GI_Forum, 1, 141–156. PDF
Contributions
Filippi, A. M., Güneralp, I., Paulus, G., Castillo, C. R., Ma, A., Anders, K.-H., & Erlacher, M. (2017). Pixel- and object-based classification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)-based narrow-band images for riparian vegetation mapping. In AAG Annual Meeting Proceedings. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, April 5-9, 2017, Boston, USA
Paulus, G., Preduschnig, T., Anders, K.-H., Gäbler, K., Glatzl, F., Lippitsch, G., & Wagner, K. (2017). Drone Zone Austria ‒ Design of a Web Portal for Safe Drone Mission Planning in Austria. In Proceedings of RPAS CivOps 2017. RPAS CivOps 2017. Contribution at the meeting of European Civil RPAS Policy, Regulatory & Innovation Forum, Juni, 13-14, 2017, Brussels, Belgium
Publications
Crook, S. E. S., & Paulus, G. (2016). An Agent-Based Model for Exploring Wolf Recolonization in Austria. GI_Forum, 2, 3–19.
Klingseisen, B., Metternicht, G., Paulus, G., & Wilson, D. (2016). Geomorphometric Landscape Analysis of Agricultural Areas and Rangelands of Western Australia. In J. A. Zinck, G. I. Metternicht, G. Bocco, & H. F. Del Valle (Eds.), Geopedology: An integration of geomorphology and pedology for soil and landscape studies / Joseph Alfred Zinck, Graciela Metternicht, Gerardo Bocco, Héctor Francisco Del Valle, editors (pp. 361–376). Cham: Springer.
Contributions
Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Regenfelder, M., Kosar, B., Rieger, A., Michor, K., Werth, W., Sterner, H., Hohenwarter, G., Gaggl, R., Stanek, H., Wagner, K., Eisl, M., Filippi, A. M., Güneralp, I., & Skupin, A. (2016). Einsatz von unbemannten Flugdrohnen zur Erfassung von Umweltinformationen: Invited Talk. In Geokolloquium TU Graz, März 2016.
Paulus, G., Ramsbacher, K., Anders, K.-H., Mayr, P., & Schneeberger, R. (2016). Development of an Unmanned Aerial System based Infrastructure Inspection Process. In AAG Annual Meeting Proceedings. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, März 29 – April 2, 2016, San Francisco, USA
Publications
Joyner, T. A., Friedland, C. J., Rohli, R. V., Treviño, A. M., Massarra, C., & Paulus, G. (2015). Cross-correlation modeling of European windstorms: A cokriging approach for optimizing surface wind estimates. Spatial Statistics, 13, 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spasta.2015.05.003
Paulus, G., Anders, K.-H., Regenfelder, M., Kosar, B., Rieger, A., Michor, K., Werth, W., Ungermanns, C., Sterner, H., Hohenwarter, G., Stefan, C., Gaggl, R., Stanek, H., & Wagner, K. (2015). RPAMSS – Entwicklung, Anwendung und quantitative Validierung eines unbemannten fliegenden Multisensorsystems zur hochauflösenden Erfassung von Umweltdaten. AGIT ‒ Journal für Angewandte Geoinformatik, 1-2015, 98–101.
Contributions
Paulus, G. (2015). Opportunities and Challenges of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for Geospatial Sciences: [Invited Keynote Lecture]. In GISCA Conference 2015, May, 16, 2015, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
News
Team

Contact:
Team leader:
Prof. Mag. Dr. Gernot Paulus, MSc. MAS
Carinthia University of Applied Sciences – Campus Villach
Europastrasse 4, 9524 Villach
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2240
paulus(at)cuas.at
WEBSITE:
http://www.fh-kaernten.at/forschung
Team members



Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinrich Anders
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2212
k.anders(at)fh-kaernten.at
Dariia Strelnikova, BA, MSc.
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2225
d.strelnikova(at)fh-kaernten.at
Melanie Erlacher (née Regenfelder), MSc.
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2225
m.erlacher(at)fh-kaernten.at


Ing. Ulf Scherling
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2223
u.scherling(at)fh-kaernten.at
Mohammad Mustafa Sa’doun, MSc.
T: +43 5 / 90500 – 2245
m.sadoun(at)fh-kaernten.at
Former team members



Christoph Erlacher, MSc.
Thomas Schneider, MSc.
Bernhard Kosar, MSc.