Results of a PSInSAR™ project carried out by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA) in Piemonte Region (Northern Italy) are presented and discussed. A methodology is proposed for the interpretation of the PSInSAR™ data at the regional scale, easy to use by the public administrations and by civil protection authorities. Potential and limitations of the PSInSAR™ technique for ground movement detection on a regional scale and monitoring are then estimated in relationship with different geological processes and various geological environments.

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The Devices for Assisted Living(DALi ) project is a research initiative sponsored by the European Commission under the FP7 programme aiming for the development of a robotic device to assist people with cognitive impairments in navigating complex environments. The project revisits the popular paradigm of the walker enriching it with sensing abilities (to perceive the environment), with cognitive abilities (to decide the best path across the space) and with mechanical, visual, acoustic and haptic guidance devices (to guide the person along the path). In this paper, we offer an overview of the developed system and describe in detail some of its most important technological aspects

Abstract-Crowded environments pose a challenge to the comfort and safety of those with impaired ability. To address this challenge we have developed an efficient algorithm that may be embedded in a portable device. The algorithm anticipates undesirable circumstances in real time, by verifying simulation traces of local crowd dynamics against temporal logical formulae. The model incorporates the objectives of the user, pre-existing knowledge of the environment and real time sensor data. The algorithm is thus able to suggest a course of action to achieve the user's changing goals, while minimising the probability of problems for the user and others in the environment.To demonstrate our algorithm we have implemented it in an autonomous computing device that we show is able to negotiate complex virtual environments. The performance of our implementation demonstrates that our technology can be successfully applied in a portable device or robot.

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The purpose of the so-called IFFI project (Inventario dei Fenomeni Franosi in Italia-Inventory of Landslides in Italy) and of many other related activities carried out by the Centro Regionale per le Ricerche Territoriali e Geologiche of ARPA Piemonte (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale-Regional Agency for Environmental Protection), is to map all the existing landslides in Piemonte (including both results of monitoring data and available historical data). ARPA carried out new systematic surveys using airphoto interpretation and created a specific alphanumeric geological information systems (GIS)-based database to store and process all the collected data. In order to obtain proper landslide-hazard zoning, it is necessary to provide a landslide inventory and to define the relationship between landslides and geological setting. A landslide inventory represents a fundamental base of knowledge, is a very basic tool for land planning, and strongly helps the local authorities in their decision making.

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