Andreas Papalambrou

The scope of this work is to analyse the methodology used for the official designation of the first International Dark-Sky Park in Greece which was Aenos National Park, designated in May 2023. The methodology was based on the official International Dark-Sky Park requirements of the International Dark-Sky Association with many differentiations due to specific technical challenges and administrative circumstances in Greece. The process included both technical works, light measurements, lighting retrofit as well as administrative, social and publicity activities. From beginning to completion, the designation process lasted more than three years and required hundreds of manhours to be completed. The official designation of Aenos International Dark-Sky Park provides an important opportunity for the protection of the skies of Greece from light pollution both as a case study and inspiration as well as a solid example used to push for the dark sky protection agenda which is part of a sustainable

This work describes the preparatory steps for the planning of a light pollution protected area in the form of an International Dark-Sky Park in Aenos National Park at the island of Kefalonia that refer to lighting and light pollution. In more detail, we identified and measured luminance, illuminance and spectrum of public lighting at the island of Kefalonia in areas that are adjacent to the National Park and may influence its operation as a Dark Sky Park. This procedure also includes identifying the luminaire types and light sources, judging their suitability, identifying malpractices and proposing changes. In general, many malpractices were identified both in old lighting installations as well as recent LED retrofits or new installations with more common ones being rich sources in blue light and use of non-cut off luminaires. Light pollution measurements were performed that prove that Aenos National Park has dark enough skies to meet requirements.

The use of municipal football fields by a large number of citizens and amateur athletes on a daily basis during evenings is a popular activity. Usually, the aiming of the pitch lighting, without taking into account the dense urban environment in the surroundings, causes light pollution. Obtrusive lighting in most cases is the rule and not the exception. This situation could be justified in football fields of the professional football leagues so as to address the needs of television broadcasts of the matches for two days per month per field. However, in amateur activities due to the lack of rules and the initial incorrect lighting design, the problem of light pollution is deteriorated. The scope of this research is to identify the main issue and the repercussions of obtrusive lighting in the urban fabric, propose a quick method to quantify light pollution in sport fields using IDA-Criteria for Community-Friendly Outdoor Sports Lighting guidelines and to further set some parameters for a method using more calculating surfaces.

Light pollution is a type of pollution that climaxes in cities and occurs increasingly away from them, due to the increase of artificial lighting and inappropriate lighting design (selection of luminaires, aiming, illuminance/luminance levels, and spectral characteristics). Increasingly, light pollution also affects the countryside due to local lighting but also distant lighting propagating from urban areas. This has a significant impact on ecosystems and astronomical observing sites. This work analyzes the main facts about light pollution (causes, impact, and solutions) and studies the methods, parameters, and special requirements for planning of light pollution protected areas. This dark sky park planning methodology is implemented as a case study in mount Parnon which has been selected due to its significance as a Natura 2000 protected area and because it is Greece’s most popular astronomical observing site. Mount Parnon is located close to two major cities as well as significant highways, however the site itself remains dark due to its sparse population. Planning a dark sky park involves a complete study of facts regarding the specific site. Existing lighting installations are surveyed in detail by recording types of luminaires and lamps and recording their positions in a map. Lighting illuminance levels are measured by photometers and spectra are analyzed using a spectrometer. Sky brightness levels measurements are performed using specialized photometers and light pollution origins are traced using wide-field photography. Finally, a proposal is made for a dark sky park scheme suited to the specific case of the site.

The need for growth and the social impact of assistive technology for the visually impaired and blind people is driven bythe increasing ageing of the population and mainly of the blind population. Blind or visually impaired people cannotvisually

This work focuses on proposing the basic components of a resilience scheme that can be used for the protection of Health Services Critical Infrastructure (HSCI) and the protection of its key assets based on combined protection against cyber and physical attacks.

This work presents the concept and methodology as well as the architecture and physical implementation of an integrated node for smart-city applications. The presented integrated node lies on active RFID technology whereas the use case illustrated, with results from a small-scale verification of the presented node, refers to common-type waste-bins. The sensing units deployed for the use case are ultrasonic sensors that provide ranging information which is translated to fill-level estimations; however the use of a versatile active RFID tag within the node is able to afford multiple sensors for a variety of smart-city applications. The most important benefits of the presented node are power minimization, utilization of low-cost components and accurate fill-level estimation with a tiny data-load fingerprint, regarding the specific use case on waste-bins, whereas the node has to be deployed on public means of transportation or similar standard route vehicles within an urban or suburban context.

Dynacargo, a research project under implementation, aims to change supply chain management, as the hauled goods are at the center of attention instead of vehicles, as in traditional management approaches. At the same time Dynacargo manages both delivery and collection cycles. Dynacargo aims at developing a near real-time monitoring system that monitors and transmits waste bins' fill level, which is used to dynamically manage the waste collection process by introducing distance minimization, relying on efficient routing algorithms. This paper deals with research issues that have emerged along with developments regarding specific architectural modules. In general, Dynacargo places a set of durable, low cost sensors and RFID tags on waste bins. These tags store the fill-level estimated by the sensors, which is passed through diverse communication channels and ends to a central cargo information management system. Along with this real time data harvesting, data mining techniques are utilized on historical data collected prior to Dynagargo implementation, in order to predict future waste bins fill rates. Mobile and web applications are developed in order to harvest relevant data from citizens.