Keynote Lectures

Abstract
2,500 years ago Heraclitus said the phrase "Everything flows", in order to express that the natural environment is changing due to dynamic processes. However, in the 21st century the concept of environmental change has been associated exclusively with adverse effects and almost always with anthropogenic causes and the climate crisis. The consequences are now obvious and alarming. Some of these consequences are not affecting us directly while others are threatening our close environment. Most of the data required for environmental monitoring and decision-making are geographically based, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows their organization and analysis. Satellite technology, continuous recording and analysis systems, and GIS offer the ability to perform complex analyses with high speed and accuracy. The rapid development of these tools has made them accessible to all geoscientists. At the same time, the simplification of many of the possibilities they offer allows their use even by non-specialized researchers. Questions and scenarios in the form of 'what if' are answered quickly, documented, quantified and visualized. Hence, the consequences of specific actions become obvious, and it is possible to take measures and effective decisions at a national, European and global level.

Abstract
The coasts have always been attractive for human because of their valuable sources. The coastal environment is not comfortable at all times because of the occurrence of coastal hazards. Structural and social resilience against marine hazards and coastal disasters are major concerns for the safety and sustainability of coastal communities. Numerical modeling is one of the efficient tools for the assessment of disasters, understanding the risks and development of mitigation measures. Tsunamis and Tropical Cyclones are two important hazards, which may cause extensive loss of life and property. Numerical modeling of these type of events are one of the effective tools, which requires the proper data acquisition, data processing, modeling, visualization techniques and knowledge. The main past events of tsunamis and tropical cyclones are presented together with the lessons learned from these events. The different stages of numerical modeling from preprocessing of raw data to post processing and later stages up to using the simulation results in warning systems, increasing awareness, development of mitigation strategies, societal/structural preparedness and emergency plans for the coastal communities are presented with examples.

Abstract
In the last few years we have seen a revolution in maps, passing from 2 dimensional maps to 3D High Definition maps, available and used for diverse applications, from city design and mobility optimization, to environmental evaluation and citizen services. The majority of these HD maps are static maps, with a maintenance cycle of a few months, are more than sufficient for the vast majority of the applications. During the past 4 years, a new application and usage of 3D HD maps have appeared, for the domain of Fully Automated Driving. In the frame of the H2020 AVENUE project, we are deploying L4 Automated mini-buses in several European cities, studying the issues related to a future full scale, commercial deployment of Automated vehicles to public transportation. One of the identified needs and key issue for a viable commercial deployment is the availability of HD 3D maps of the area where the AVs are operating. Creating via scans the 3D HD maps and annotating them for use by AVs, is a costly and time consuming task: a city can easily have 4.000Kms of routes where AVs would be deployed. In addition, each AV manufacturer has its own model, standard and methodology for the city scan and addition of the required annotations. This, fragmentation of and multitude of standards creates a major obstacle and barrier for a commercially viable deployment of AV public transportation services. From one side it creates a customer locking situation to a specific AV manufacturer and from the other side, since the city is alive and changes daily, requires a very short maintenance cycle of less than 24 hours, increasing the costs and requiring complex logistics for the dissemination of the updates. This presentation will pose the problem, present the related issues and ask the audience to come up with viable solutions!!