GCRI · Advanced Industry and Robotics

Spatial intelligenceObservations, models and their uncertainty in one view

Methods and uncertainty

The methods Advanced Industry and Robotics relies on: their equations and assumptions, the data they need, how they are validated and the limits of what they can show.

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01Register

Methods and uncertainty on the record.

Advanced Industry and Robotics
  1. 01FieldsIndustry and robotics, Work and skills, Trade, resources and supply chains
  2. 02STEM methods8 canonical methods applied
  3. 03Topics9 subject pages
  4. 04Counterparts2 platforms in shared fields
  5. 05PublisherThe Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
02Methods

The methods in use.

  1. Robotics and automationRobot cell risk assessment · Vision-guided handling · Collaborative workstation designApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  2. Materials science and chemistryMaterial qualification · Design for recycling · Powder quality for additive manufacturingApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  3. Process and industrial safety engineeringHazard and operability studies · Layer of protection analysis · Management of changeApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  4. Systems engineeringIntegrated safety and security requirements · Factory and site acceptance testingApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  5. Optimization and operations researchProduction scheduling · Energy-aware operations · Buffer and spare sizingApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  6. Sensors, IoT and observation networksCondition monitoring · In-line quality inspection · Securing connected sensorsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  7. Energy generation, storage and grid technologyProcess heat options · Waste heat recovery · Supply security for energy-intensive plantsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  8. Water and environmental engineeringEmission control selection · Industrial wastewater treatment · Community exposure monitoringApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
03Canvas

Draft to published version.

Canvas · draft to published versionDesign, not a record
Methods and uncertainty: systematic evidence synthesisA question is framed with its owner and a protocol registered; records are searched, screened and checked for eligibility by two reviewers; data are extracted, synthesised and graded for certainty before a brief is written. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.

04Method register

Each method, its role in this field and how it is checked.

05Geography

Infrastructure exposure in Germany.

Night lights, true-colour imagery and population density over Germany, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

Infrastructure exposure, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Infrastructure exposure, framed on Germany. Layers as NASA publishes them, each with its own date.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA HLS S30Sources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (12 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Enhanced vegetation index, rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra EVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

06Uncertainty

Where uncertainty in industrial analysis comes from, and how it is shown.

SourceWhy it matters hereHow it is reported
Accident frequenciesRare at site level, recurrent across industryIndustry-wide data with stated scope
Barrier performanceDegrades with maintenance and changeLeading indicators
Automation reliabilitySoftware faults are systematicFleet-level analysis
07Uncertainty

How uncertainty is reported.

  1. 01

    State assumptions

    Each analysis lists its assumptions and the data it depends on.

  2. 02

    Quantify where possible

    Ranges and confidence are reported alongside central estimates.

  3. 03

    Validate and compare

    Models are checked against observations and, where possible, against other models.

  4. 04

    Publish limits

    What an analysis cannot show is stated beside what it can.

08Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

Are the methods open?
Method descriptions are public on the STEM Commons. Code and data follow their own licences and access terms, listed in the source register.
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