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Paris, Washington D.C., Montreal, Yokohama, May 31, 2016 – According to Euroconsult’s latest report, Prospects for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, the size of the professional RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) manufacturing and services market is expected to grow significantly in the next ten years, from $1 billion in 2015 to $26 billion in 2025


Advanced economies to be largest drone markets; nearly 600,000 in service by end of the decade

Paris, Washington D.C., Montreal, Yokohama, May 31, 2016 – According to Euroconsult’s latest report, Prospects for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, the size of the professional RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) manufacturing and services market is expected to grow significantly in the next ten years, from $1 billion in 2015 to $26 billion in 2025

The civil and commercial RPAS market is at an early development stage compared to the military and leisure sectors. Recent improvements in the regulatory context in a number of countries and technological advances have led to an increase in the number of applications using RPAS for commercial purposes, with new applications set to develop in the coming years. Their combination has led a number of companies to enter the market in search of new opportunities in a sector with strong growth potential and a large addressable market.

Agriculture was estimated to be the largest user of RPAS in 2015, accounting for 39% of units used, ahead of video & cinema and engineering & transportation infrastructure. Leading regions for the use of UAVs include Asia Pacific, Europe and North America; the commercial RPAS market is still early in the development phase in other regional markets. Japan has the most mature RPAS market, having begun use in agriculture more than 20 years ago. Other leading commercial RPAS countries include Australia, Canada, France, the U.K. and the U.S.

The large number of players present and the market’s current limited size make for a challenging environment. Many stakeholders have to deal with small levels of activity, particularly on the service provision side. A large number of operators, data analysts and software companies are small (<$1 million in revenues) and not yet profitable. Manufacturing is dominated by companies producing micro drones, used for both leisure and commercial applications; DJI is the market leader.

“The current size of the market is pushing a growing number of companies to make themselves present at various levels of the value chain and provide services targeting multiple markets and applications to increase their audience,” said Dimitri Buchs, Senior Consultant at Euroconsult and editor of the report. “It has become increasingly common to see companies focusing on both manufacturing and provision of services. Given the current market environment, a number of consolidation processes and failures are expected in the coming years, with leading players expected to emerge at various levels of the value chain.”

Services should account for 88% of the market size in 2025, with manufacturing revenues reaching more than $3 billion. Advanced economies should be the largest RPAS markets, with North America and Europe combining for about two-thirds of the market value in 2025. The market will be driven by the larger number of RPAS in service, with more than 560,000 units added over the next ten years to the current total of 30,000 units; this growth will largely depend on changes in regulatory frameworks. Agriculture should be the largest user of RPAS in 2025 with almost 300,000 units in service. Several applications, including delivery services, could continue to see their development hampered by regulations; this should hold true particularly for applications requiring airspace in urban areas. Growth in days of use also should contribute to the market’s takeoff; RPAS are expected to be used for over 23 million days in 2025 up from 690,000 in 2015, representing an average of 40 days per RPAS (compared to 24 in 2015). The improved performance of RPAS (e.g., endurance related to the cost) should favor growth in use, helping RPAS become increasingly competitive versus other technologies.

  • 2015 global professional RPAS market value: $1 billion
  • $760 million for services (operation of RPAS & data analysis)
  • $260 million for manufacturing revenues
  • Advanced economies should be the largest RPAS markets, with North America and Europe combining for about two-thirds of the market value in 2025
  • Revenues from outsourced services to reach $9.5 billion in 2025

About the Report
Prospects for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems is a vertical market analysis of major drivers, key issues and demand take-up for RPAS used for commercial and civil purposes. The report focuses on five key vertical markets – agriculture & forestry, civil protection & disaster management, engineering & transportation infrastructure, oil & energy, and video & cinema. The report includes market forecasts through 2025 by vertical market and by region as well as a detailed analysis of the RPAS value chain.

26, May 2016, DOHA: The Arab Committee of UN experts on Geographical Information System (GIS) management yesterday concluded its second meeting held for two days at Hilton Doha.

It was organised by the Geographical Information System Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to seek approval for unified standards for geo-information and setting up a unified work plan to accomplish rule components for geographical data and unified conditions.

The members of the committee, who represent nine countries, discussed suggestions on renewal and development of geo-information. It discussed suggestions related to land cover, infrastructure, border, altitudes, geographical names, transport networks, flat graphics, statistical units and water layers.

The participating countries are seeking to come out, through the UN initiative, to establish a unified global entity for the management of geo-information and unifying such data from different areas.

This, according to the initiative, will help the UN and other countries identify areas in case of crises or natural disasters which require fast relief by making the data accessible for all and continuously updating it.

The committee aims to develop technical work of geo-information focusing on four areas — studying the rules and regulations related to geo-information; identifying common reference for developing geo-information; considering the basic infrastructure of geo-information; and means of integrating geo-information and statistical data, said Saad bin Mohammad Al Hamlan, Director, Surveying Information System (SIS) at Tourism Authority of Saudi Arabia.

The committee, one of the five UN regional entities started work in 2014 in Riyadh, Al Hamlan added. The other four are the European, African, Asian, and two Americas committees.

The Arab committee which has four sub-committees will be hosted by Qatar next year said Al Emadi.The Peninsula

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(May 23rd, 2016) In April 2016 START Program Specialist, Senay Habtezion, attended the first Symposium of the AfriGEOSS Initiative where earth observation experts met to discuss data access and dissemination across the African continent. Senay wrote a brief update in START’s quarterly newsletter. More details and outcomes from the event are now available in this press release from the symposium organizers.

Geneva – More than two dozen African nations committed to mobilizing the Earth observation community to contribute to the implementation of the Africa Space Policy and Strategy, adopted by African Heads of State at the 26th African Union Summit held in January, 2016. That was one of the primary outcomes of the first Symposium of the AfriGEOSS Initiative, hosted by the Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe, which took place from 27 – 29 April in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

AfriGEOSS, an initiative of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), was formed in 2014 to coordinate access to and use of Earth observations – from satellites, airborne and ground- and marine-based systems – across the African continent. The 27 AfriGEOSS members are focusing their efforts on data access and dissemination, forest management, food security, urban planning and water resources management, as well as contributing to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in Africa.

The 1st AfriGEOSS Symposium, “Earth Observations for the Africa We Want”, concentrated on ensuring that AfriGEOSS activities respond to the broader African agendas and objectives, including the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. Minister Ambassador S.K. Moyo of Zimbabwe opened the proceedings stating that, “Earth Observation and Geo-Information Science provide ample tools to tackle issues to do with the prediction and response to natural disasters such as droughts and floods.” Moyo cited the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments which rate Africa as most vulnerable to changes in climate, adding that “Earth Observation is of critical value to the planet.”

Additional outcomes of the symposium include a commitment to establish national GEO mechanisms in the AfriGEOSS nations to leverage existing Earth observations investments, as well as improve the use of Earth observations for evidence-based policy formulation and decision-making. The participants also pledged to improve communication and outreach to the broader society about the value and benefits of Earth observations to the daily lives of people across the continent.

GEO Director Barbara J. Ryan stated she was “humbled by the level of work underway by the AfriGEOSS countries and partners,” and urged all of the national and regional institutions to contribute their data resources to GEO’s global data infrastructure “to broaden African access to, and dissemination of, critical Earth observation data.”

In closing remarks, Dr Philemon Mjwara, Director General of the South African Department of Science and Technology, noted, “As Africans we have demonstrated that passion, as shown in the last three days, even without financial resources, can make things happen,” and pledged that the AfriGEOSS leadership “shall go out and secure the financial resources so that the ideas coming out of the symposium are realised and AfriGEOSS is implemented.”

  • The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a voluntary partnership of governments and organizations that envisions “a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations”. GEO membership includes 102 Member governments and 95 Participating Organizations comprised of international bodies with a mandate in Earth observations. Together, the GEO community is creating a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that will link Earth observation resources world-wide across multiple Societal Benefit Areas – Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sustainability; Disaster Resilience; Energy and Mineral Resources Management; Food Security; Infrastructure & Transportation Management; Public Health Surveillance; Sustainable Urban Development; and Water Resources Management – and make those resources available for informed decision-making.

Download full press release here

Contact: Katy Anderson; +41 22 730 8429; kanderson@geosec.org
GEO Secretariat: 7 bis, avenue de la Paix • Case postale 2300 • CH-1211 Geneva 2 • Switzerland
Tel: + 41 (0) 22 730 85 05 • Fax: +41 (0)22 730 85 20 • secretariat@geosec.org

With the growing need for interdisciplinary approaches to address environmental and social issues, Earth observations are becoming an increasingly valuable resource. The versatility of Earth observations enables their application to a variety of decision-making situations. With this increased use, there has been emerging interest in quantifying the impacts from these applications. As a capacity-building program that utilizes NASA Earth observations, NASA’s DEVELOP National Program has begun to explore such assessments.

The DEVELOP Program is a dual capacity-building program in which teams of participants conduct rapid 10-week feasibility projects with partner organizations to assist in environmental and policy decision-making. Located within the Applied Sciences’ Capacity Building Program in NASA’s Earth Sciences Division, DEVELOP seeks to build capacity in its participants and partners to use NASA’s Earth observations for decision-making.

DEVELOP projects apply NASA Earth observations to a broad range of problems in diverse focus areas, including water resources, agriculture, disaster management, and ecological forecasting. As each project is designed to assist a particular partner organization in its decision-making process, projects vary in scope, design, and satellite data utilized.

As a result, there is no “fixed” set of indicators that encompasses all relevant impacts of all projects. Rather, a flexible toolkit of shared indicators and individualized approaches is needed to capture the diverse outcomes of these projects, while still allowing for comparability of the projects. This has been done through the creation of pre-and post-project partner assessments that capture partner needs, capabilities, and expectations. This provides both baseline data and an overview of project impacts on partners. Selected projects are then individually assessed in greater detail through partner follow-ups and research into the quantification of project impacts utilizing interdisciplinary approaches to fit each project.

In addition, to build broader public awareness of the applications of NASA Earth observing data, DEVELOP has partnered with Earthzine to host Virtual Poster Sessions (VPS) since 2011. Each VPS includes short videos created by each DEVELOP project that summarizes the community concerns, methodology, NASA data used, and highlights how the partner organization will apply the project results in its decision-making.

DEVELOP Partners

DEVELOP partners with a variety of organizations including government (local, state, and federal), nonprofits, academic, and international organizations. Besides addressing a variety of decisions, partners face challenges of using Earth observations for decision-making due to varying levels of remote sensing experience.

Through its projects, DEVELOP seeks to build capacity in its partners by highlighting what NASA space-borne and airborne remote sensing data exist, providing information on how to access the data, expanding their knowledge of how NASA Earth observations can be used in decision-making and demonstrating applications of its use. To help ascertain how well this is being accomplished, partners are given assessments before and after the project to assess needs, capabilities, and expectations.

Pre- and Post-Assessments in the Project Timeline

The pre- and post-assessments have been incorporated into the DEVELOP project timeline. Once a partnership is initiated, a project proposal is developed between the DEVELOP team that will be conducting the project and the partner to ensure that the project will address a particular need of that partner.

The proposal is then approved by the DEVELOP National Program Office and NASA Applied Sciences Program management, and the pre-assessment is given to the partner to gather additional information about the partner’s needs and capabilities that can be used to further tailor the project. The assessment also provides baseline data on the partner’s capacity that can be compared to the post-assessment, after the project is completed.

The team then conducts the project with continued engagement of the partner through regular communication (e.g., teleconferences, emails), and depending on the project, other activities such as fieldwork, to provide regular updates on the project and allow for partner feedback on ensuring the project meets the partner’s needs. For example, DEVELOP team in Mobile, Alabama, recently partnered with the Padre Island National Seashore of the National Park Service (NPS) to investigate the potential effects of increasing mesquite trees on estuary health.

Throughout the project, the DEVELOP team and the NPS partner communicated weekly during which the team discussed project progression and the partner provided his subject expertise and feedback. At the end of the project, the end products and tutorials are given to the partner for implementation and use. The partner is then given the post-assessment to evaluate their current capacity, project experience, and utilization of the end products. From the post-assessments, partners are selected to follow up with for more in-depth discussions of the impacts resulting from their use of the end products.

Selected Partner Follow-Ups

Each project is designed to focus on a partner’s particular decision-making needs and therefore has a specific application it is addressing. This creates a wide variety of impacts to quantify and makes comparing impacts across projects challenging. To address this, DEVELOP uses the pre- and post-assessments for all partners, and then follows up with individual partners to discuss one-on-one how they are using project tools in their decision-making. For example, the DEVELOP team at NASA’s Stennis Space Center partnered with local groups in southeastern Louisiana that were working to address the issues of storm surge on coastal parishes by planting trees, as greater vegetation lessens the storm surge effects. The team developed site suitability maps for planting trees, which helped the partners focus their resources during the decision process to determine where to plant about 700 baldcypress and 100 live oaks in 2013-2014.

Next Steps

DEVELOP is working to improve its systematic assessment of impacts for following up with partners, as well as increasing the overall response rates of partners. Future statistical analyses also will serve to improve the robustness of results to date.

DEVELOP is continuing to systematize its impact assessments through a Project Strengths Index, a rubric modeled after NASA’s Applied Readiness Levels (ARLs) for measuring a project’s strengths and progress. An additional challenge lies in determining the appropriate schedule for allowing partners the time to implement the end products, while maintaining the partner relationship in order to actualize impact from product implementation.

Considerations and Limitations

While DEVELOP has begun to see successes in this process, there are several limitations to consider. As “capacity building” is a broad concept, how this term is operationalized affects how and what impacts are assessed. Often the end products that DEVELOP projects produce are meant to be one tool in a decision-maker’s toolbox of resources to address a particular decision. As a result, distinguishing the level of effect of each of the many facets used in a decision is a complicated endeavor. Adding the timeframe needed to see the outcome of decisions makes this process even more complex. In addition, the reliance of self-reporting as the primary method of data collection needs to be considered. Furthermore, a low partner response rate has limited the response pool available for analysis. Low response rates are being improved by setting clearer expectations at the beginning of partnerships. In addition, the “newness” of the assessments means only a limited pool of partners has completed all steps.

Conclusions

Overall, the standardized pre- and post-assessments allow for a measurement of capacity built in partners through the course of the project, as well as comparison between partners. Challenges remain in assessing the impacts of implemented project end products, which are varied and require a longer timeline for evaluation. Combining these assessments with individualized follow-up interviews allows for better understanding of impacts on individual partners. Although more work needs to be done to improve this process, DEVELOP continues to seek and pursue efforts to measure the impact of using NASA Earth observations as a resource for decision-making by its partners.

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SUMMARY REPORT. Source

Transverse elements

Reliable and flexible access to data was identified throughout the workshop as essential condition to build activities and business based on Copernicus (and other) data.

It was also mentioned that a major obstacle to the development of the downstream sector was the difficulty to access other, non- Copernicus data managed by public authorities (e.g. in situ data) in order to combine them with space-based data to offer products with added-value for the user. The view expressed was that the public sector has a role to play in removing this obstacle.

Predictability was identified as a major business enabler and, while markets will remain unpredictable to a certain degree, participants called upon the public sector to be very transparent on its plans and intentions in order to provide visibility to the private sector and enable private investments.

Shortage of skills was identified in several exchanges as a challenge to be addressed. Both private and public sectors have a role to play to address education and training of current and future developers and users.

Participants from industry of all sizes called upon the public sector to increasingly become a customer of EO services where the maturity of the industrial offer warrants this approach. Procurement approaches based on Service Level Agreements and incorporating anchor tenancy principles were proposed and discussed.

In the following, the main outcome of the individual breakout sessions is summarised:

Defining clear roles for the public and private sectors in the Copernicus value-chain

Creating the right business environment to enable growth – Key challenge: maximise socio-economic benefit through a greater and more fruitful involvement of the private sector.

The European Space Strategy should include a clear element related to an industrial policy that fosters market driven innovation and is based on trust in the free market economy.

In order to unleash the market forces, participants agreed on the need for a stable and clearly defined border between Copernicus services on one hand and downstream services provided by the private sector on a commercial basis on the other hand. This would become a key enabler for industry investment.

To achieve this, participants called for a clear, transparent and publicly visible Product Catalogue for the Copernicus Services that renders this border visible to all. It was also stated that a clear and transparent mechanism should be established to manage the evolution of the Copernicus services and to ensure that future evolutions do not replace products that are or could be delivered by the private sector. The mechanism would need to involve close dialogue between the European Commission, the requester of the new product/service and the private sector.

More generally, it was said that the public sector should be very transparent on its intentions (for instance on the commitment over time to deliver data) in order to give visibility to the private sector.

In the domain of publicly provided services, participants from industry stressed the need for EO-specific and innovative procurement processes; the public sector should focus on procuring services to be provided against service level agreements. Anchor tenancy- based agreements should be considered and the EU should lead in this respect.

Strong signals from industry were heard, calling on the public sector to spin-off the provision of mature elements of the Copernicus Services into the private sector in the medium term. Industry participants stressed that such an approach would improve their ability to compete on international markets.

Support to Start-ups and Incubators

Growing the private sector share of the EO market through support to entrepreneurial initiatives – Key challenge: identify, link up and create impact using the best existing support mechanisms in Europe.

Participants agreed that access to finance is a key element; it is stressed that supporting networks that can provide help and advice at the right junctions are just as important. It is indeed essential that start-ups can benefit from other forms of support (e.g. legal support, business development).

Support should be adapted to the maturity of the start-up. Support to new ideas could be developed via prizes (such as the Copernicus Masters) or AppCamps. Support to more advanced start-ups could be done through coaching and incubation.

Start-ups are seen as a prime opportunity to extend links to non-space sectors. Participants suggested that they should be particularly supported doing so.

Discussions identified a strong link to market oriented approaches that stimulate the development of start-ups. It was pointed out that larger companies in Europe could play a more proactive role as well.

Facilitating access to data and (EO) expertise was identified as a key enabler. This was linked to standards and interoperability.

Interoperability, notably between EO and non-EO data

Where are the issues and what mitigation opportunities exist or and in the making? Key challenge: rapidly enable the exploitation
of data from different sources without stifling innovation through rigid standards.

All participants agreed that interoperability is a key element to enable exploiting the potential of EO and non-EO data for economic, scientific and public use.

The Commission should play a supportive role and should go for a “so approach” with the objective that achieve an agreement between all relevant stakeholders on the use common set of standards that allow the interoperability of heterogeneous data from different sources.

It was highlighted that interoperability between EO and non-EO data requires looking beyond the question of formats and consider technical and legal aspects related to the information content. Regulatory issues related to data policy, privacy, provenance and trust were singled out as particularly important. Also: trust in Copernicus data and services could be improved through adherence to standards, certification and end-to-end transparent procedures.

The standards development process within the Open Geospatial Consortia (OGC) was highlighted as an example to move standardisation efficiently forward. A priority was put on the identification of European requirements without losing sight on the international level.

There was broad consensus that user-friendly access to data, independently from their source, is the key for the exploitation of their value. In this context the provision of related services that render EO and non-EO data easily available and usable to non- specialist users (e.g. SMEs and NGOs) was identified as an opportunity.

A sense of urgency clearly emerged during the discussions.

Internationalisation of mid- and downstream companies

Opportunities, recipes and priorities. Key-challenge: increase the probability of success of European companies in the export markets through Copernicus.

Participants from industry stress that selling services in export markets is significantly facilitated if similar services are already provided in Europe (or elsewhere) on an autonomous basis. Anchor tenancy based contracts with institutions such as the EU were seen as particularly valuable and the possibility of certifying services can be a facilitator.

It was stressed that the export user community may need to be heard when defining service volumes and observation scenarios. This should include the use of data relay approaches such as EDRS.

Data access is an important enabler, also beyond Europe. Continuity of data access services must be ensured in a sustainable fashion.

The importance of embedding Copernicus in the local environment of foreign countries is stressed as well as the key role of local partners. Africa and Latin America were singled out as particularly promising areas to expand into.

A coherent policy ranging from R&D to international cooperation is seen as a key factor for success. Participants particularly stressed the importance of rising awareness and building capacity at target export locations.

On the industrial side, cooperation between European and global industry is seen as an opportunity to increase probability of success.

Matching industry needs with Big Data / IT industry capabilities

A gap analysis looking at the most appropriate role for the Public sector between provision of Copernicus Data and Services and added-value service providers. Key-challenge: address the gap between EO user needs and current data access offerings through industrial services.

The EO added value service providers pointed to the lack of an efficient backbone for data access that they can build their business on. Operational services are needed, meaning that data must be available reliably and timely.
Data processing capabilities and user support services are essential elements of a service offering and should ideally be offered close to the data.

In response to this concern, the IT industry stresses that there is currently a lack of visibility on emerging business in this domain. This in turn leads to a lack of predictability of potential return on investment and thus prevents investments.

There is broad consensus that a public intervention is required to address this situation that is seen as a market failure.

Parties agree that in the long run the necessary services should become self-sustaining on the basis of growing business using EO/ Copernicus data. At that stage the need for public intervention would disappear.

Participants concede that technologies and solutions to address the needs exist. There is a consensus that more communication amongst Space and IT sectors is required. A strong and mutual call is issued for both parties to leave their comfort zone and engage in cooperation.

Many solutions can co-exist to offer choices to potential users. This competitive environment is generally seen as of benefit to innovation and business development.

It is reminded that customers need to be given the opportunity to build trust in order to feel comfortable doing business in a cloud environment. Issues such as IPR, security and (private) data protection in general must be addressed to achieve this.

Public procurement processes may need to be adapted to take full advantage of cloud offerings in a dynamic and competitive environment.

Supporting end users and boosting demand for EO enabled services

Key-challenge: increase the EO market share by bringing EO information into mainstream consumer applications as an added value element.

The discussions converged on the need to actively reach out to potential new user communities by ‘speaking their language’. The EO community is seen as too closed and should open up to other sectors in a more proactive fashion.
The EO community should get organised to engage power users as Copernicus “evangelists”.

Participants agree that the continuity of the Copernicus programme and hence the sustainability of related services is an extremely valuable argument that should be more actively used/broadcast.

There is consensus on the need for a state of the art data access and processing offering that allows crossing sectorial boundaries.

Discussions pointed to the need to build a link between end-users and the process of defining service volumes and observation scenarios.

Participants pointed to the capabilities of Copernicus derived services that appear to be exceeding the current regulatory requirements e.g. in the environmental domain. An opportunity was identified to improve the quality of life, safety and security of European Citizen by adapting regulation to exploit the full potential of Copernicus. This would then also stimulate the market for related services.

Rising awareness to the potential of EO applications is seen as a powerful tool. Efforts at national or regional level are seen as most effective. There was a strong call on all parties involved to invest in communication e.g. to publicise success.

There is a strong call for dedicated support mechanisms. Public procurements should focus on services and exploit opportunities to use anchor tenancy approaches. Innovative public procurement could in particular be a powerful instrument to stimulate the development of new markets.

The Copernicus World Alliance initiative was identified as a very good example how Europe can build on its strengths.

Industry calls for a competitive environment for the provision of services and reminds of the need to maintain a level playing field vis-à-vis public entities that are present in the market.

Developing specific financing instruments not only for supporting start-ups but also for supporting SME expansion might be relevant. While helping start-ups is important, stimulating SME growth is also crucial and can be a strong vector for growth.

April 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
April 14, 2016 April 15, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
April 15, 2016 April 17, 2016 Wuhan China
April 17, 2016 April 21, 2016 Baltimore USA
April 17, 2016 April 22, 2016 Vienna Austria
April 18, 2016 April 19, 2016 London United Kingdom
April 18, 2016 Paris France
April 18, 2016 Tallinn Estonia
April 19, 2016 April 20, 2016 Ljubljana Slovenia
April 19, 2016 EURISY Survey for public authorities – User Forum Warsaw Poland
April 19, 2016 Webinar
April 20, 2016 April 22, 2016 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
April 20, 2016 April 22, 2016 Novosibirsk Russia
April 24, 2016 April 28, 2016 Venice Italy
April 25, 2016 April 26, 2016 Space Business 2016 London United Kingdom
April 26, 2016 April 27, 2016 Rome Italy
April 26, 2016 April 27, 2016 Brussels Belgium
April 26, 2016 April 29, 2016 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
April 26, 2016 April 28, 2016 Paris France
April 26, 2016 April 27, 2016 Rome Italy
April 26, 2016 April 27, 2016 Laussane Switzerland
April 28, 2016 April 29, 2016 Brussels Belgium
April 29, 2016 London United Kingdom
May 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
May 2, 2016 May 4, 2016 Geneva Switzerland
May 2, 2016 May 4, 2016 Geneva Switzerland
May 3, 2016 Brussels Belgium
May 4, 2016 Cardiff United Kingdom
May 6, 2016 May 7, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
May 9, 2016 May 13
, 2016
Prague Czech Rep.
May 9, 2016 May 10, 2016 Montreal Canada
May 10, 2016 May 11, 2016 Luxembourg Luxembourg
May 10, 2016 May 13, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
May 10, 2016 May 12, 2016 Brussels Belgium
May 11, 2016 May 13, 2016 Université de Grenoble Alpes Saint Martin d’Hères France
May 11, 2016 Harwell United Kingdom
May 12, 2016 May 13, 2016 Rotterdam Netherlands
May 15, 2016 May 18, 2016 Orlando USA
May 16, 2016 May 17, 2016 Beijing China
May 16, 2016 May 20, 2016 Istanbul Turkey
May 17, 2016 Cairo, Egypt
May 18, 2016 May 22, 2016 San Juan, Puerto Rico
May 18, 2016 May 20, 2016 Lisbon Portugal
May 19, 2016 May 21, 2016 Berlin Germany
May 19, 2016 May 20, 2016 Reading United Kingdom
May 20, 2016 Anglet France
May 20, 2016 Edinburgh United Kingdom
May 23, 2016 May 26, 2016 Rotterdam Netherlands
May 24, 2016 May 25, 2016 Abu Dhabi, UAE
May 24, 2016 May 25, 2016 Rotterdam Netherlands
May 24, 2016 May 25, 2016 London United Kingdom
May 24, 2016 May 26, 2016 Rotterdam Netherlands
May 24, 2016 May 26, 2016 Pasadena USA
May 24, 2016 May 25, 2016 Middle East Weather Technology Summit Abu Dhabi – UAE
May 25, 2016 May 27, 2016 Aix en Provence France
May 26, 2016 June 5, 2016 The Hague Netherlands
May 26, 2016 Rotterdam Netherlands
May 26, 2016 Enschede Netherlands
May 27, 2016 May 29, 2016 Athens Greece
May 30, 2016 June 3, 2016 Valletta Malta
May 30, 2016 June 3, 2016 The Hague Netherlands
May 31, 2016 June 2, 2016 Berlin Germany
June 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
June 1, 2016 June 3, 2016 Odense Denmark
June 1, 2016 June 4, 2016 Berlin Germany
June 6, 2016 June 7, 2016 Arlon Belgium
June 6, 2016 June 10, 2016 Koblenz Germany
June 6, 2016 June 8, 2016 Los Angeles USA
June 6, 2016 June 7, 2016 Geneva Switzerland
June 6, 2016 June 9, 2016 Amsterdam Netherlands
June 7, 2016 ESA industry information day Frascati Italy
June 7, 2016 June 9, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
June 7, 2016 Central London United Kingdom
June 7, 2016 June 9, 2016 Copenhagen Denmark
June 8, 2016 June 9, 2016 Los Angeles USA
June 8, 2016 June 10, 2016 SPLIT Remote Sensing Summer School 2016 Athenas Greece
June 13, 2016 June 17, 2016 BCN Drone Center, Barcelona Spain
June 14, 2016 June 16, 2016 Athens Greece
June 20, 2016 June 24, 2016 Bonn Germany
June 21, 2016 EARSC Cocktail : Product and European EO service of the Year Awards Brussels Belgium
June 21, 2016 June 24, 2016 Valladolid Spain
June 22, 2016 June 23, 2016 Sofia Bulgaria
June 22, 2016 June 24, 2016 Hamburg Germany
June 22, 2016 Brussels Belgium
June 22, 2016 June 23, 2016 Brussels Belgium
June 24, 2016 June 25, 2016 Middle East Weather Technology Summit Abu Dhabi – UAE
June 28
, 2016
July 7, 2016 Albena Bulgaria
June 28, 2016 Brussels Belgium
July 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 4, 2016 July 8, 2016 Free Open Source Software for Satellite Image Processing MARNE LA VALLEE France
July 4, 2016 July 9, 2016 Leipzig Germany
July 4, 2016 July 9, 2016 Budapest Hungary
July 6, 2016 July 7, 2016 Salzburg Austria
July 7, 2016 July 8, 2016 Beijing China
July 9, 2016 Hamburg Germany
July 10, 2016 July 15, 2016 Beijing China
July 11, 2016 July 17, 2016 Farnborough United Kingdom
July 11, 2016 July 15, 2016 San Diego, California USA
July 11, 2016 July 15, 2016 Workshop on Innovations in Disaster Risk Reduction Budapest Hungary
July 12, 2016 July 19, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
July 14, 2016 July 15, 2016 Prague Czech Rep.
July 18, 2016 July 29, 2016 Ispra Italy
July 18, 2016 July 20, 2016 Tianjin China
July 19, 2016 July 22, 2016 Kaliningrad Russia
July 30, 2016 August 7, 2016 Istanbul Turkey
August 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
August 1, 2016 August 3, 2016 New Orleans USA
August 1, 2016 August 12, 2016 Frascati Italy
August 2, 2016 August 4, 2016 Ekurhuleni South Africa
August 24, 2016 August 26, 2016 Bonn Germany
August 24, 2016 August 26, 2016 Bonn Germany
August 26, 2016 August 28, 2016 Beijing China
August 28, 2016 September 1, 2016 Davos Switzerland
August 29, 2016 August 31, 2016 Munster Germany
September 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
September 1, 2016 September 2, 2016 Singapore
September 6, 2016 September 8, 2016 Frascati Italy
September 6, 2016 September 9, 2016 Brest France
September 11, 2016 September 13, 2016 Denver USA
September 12, 2016 September 16, 2016 Frascati Italy
September 12, 2016 September 16, 2016 Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week Paris France
September 14, 2016 September 15, 2016 London United Kingdom
September 15, 2016 September 16, 2016 Krakow Poland
September 18, 2016 September 25, 2016 Qingdao China
September 20, 2016 September 22, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
September 21, 2016 September 22, 2016 New York City USA
September 26, 2016 September 29, 2016 Edinburgh United Kingdom
September 26, 2016 September 30, 2016 2016 EUMETSAT Meteorogical Conference
October 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 Hamburg Germany
October 12, 2016 October 14, 2016 Noordwijk Netherlands
October 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 Elsinore Denmark
October 18, 2016 October 20, 2016 Tunis, Tunisia
October 19, 2016 October 20, 2016 ExCel, London United Kingdom
October 24, 2016 October 28, 2016 Kampala, Uganda
October 24, 2016 October 27, 2016 London United Kingdom
October 31, 2016 November 2, 2016 Las Vegas USA
November 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
November 2, 2016 November 3, 2016 Telford United Kingdom
November 9, 2016 November 10, 2016 St Petersburg Russia
November 12, 2016 Malta Malta
November 18, 2016 November 19, 2016 Shenzhen China
November 28, 2016 November 30, 2017 "Centre de Congrès Pierre Baudis", Toulouse France
December 2016
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
December 22, 2016 December 23, 2016 Dubai, UAE
July 2017
Start Date End Date Name Locality Country
July 2, 2017 July 7, 2017 Washington USA

In a newly published article by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC), the researchers examine the concept of satellite remote sensing Essential Biodiversity Variables with their challenges and future directions.

To successfully prevent future biodiversity loss, swift progress on the way specialists track and report biodiversity changes is needed. Effective and continuous environmental monitoring is key to collect the knowledge and make decisions for prevention and mitigation actions.

The amount and type of Earth observation data collected by satellites is expected to steadily increase in the future. The concept that satellite-based variables are key components to a unified and global biodiversity monitoring strategy has gained traction in recent months.

The Group on Earth Observation – Biodiversity Observation Network was guided by the process of identifying Essential Climate Variables (ECV) and development of the Essential Biodiversity Variable (EBV) framework for biodiversity variables observable from space.

The list of EBVs (satellite remote sensing EBVs – SRS-EBV) that can be routinely monitored from space should be agreed by ecologists and space agencies.

Technological and algorithmic developments are rapidly expanding the set of opportunities for satellite remote sensing in monitoring biodiversity, and so the list of SRS-EBVs is likely to evolve over time. This means that a clear and common platform for data providers, ecologists and remote sensing experts to interact and share ideas needs to be identified to support long-term coordinated actions.

Read more…

Source JRC and Copernicus.eu

Higher precision and faster data delivery will help produce higher yields

Airbus Defense and Space and the J.R. Simplot Company have signed a multi-year agreement that will enable Simplot to have access to very high resolution imagery products from the Pléiades satellites (50cm resolution) over locations in the United States as well as Mexico for precision agriculture. The data will be processed near real-time in the cloud, and used to automatically generate reports that will be delivered directly to Simplot.

This will allow Simplot to have intensive monitoring and reporting over specific areas that cover their customer geography and give Simplot the capability to deliver analytical reports for growers in the agriculture industry. These reports will help growers focus on producing higher yields for crops such as almonds, potatoes, corn, wheat and soybeans. Additionally, growers will be able to determine several factors for producing higher yield crops such as seed density, fertilizer rates, water ratio, pesticide use and disease control, to name a few.

“This is an exciting era in the field of Precision Agriculture. The relationship with Airbus Defense and Space will enable us to provide our farm customers with improved insight focused on delivering value, efficiency and sustainable productivity of each and every acre” said Allan Fetters, director of technology at J.R. Simplot Company. “The use of data-driven agronomy will allow farmers to do their part in feeding the growing world population with a safe, healthy and abundant food supply.”

“We’re excited to work closely with the J.R. Simplot Company to be their go-to source for all their imagery needs” said Greg Buckman, Head of Airbus Defense and Space’s Intelligence Business activities in North America. “Automating this process in the cloud validates the growing market for customized solutions. By providing this automation we are saving them internal time and costs while delivering meaningful and actionable intelligence to the benefit of their customers.”

Airbus Defense and Space relies upon the twin satellites Pléiades 1A and 1B that operate as a constellation in the same orbit, phased 180 degrees apart and deliver very high-resolution optical data products in record time, offering a daily revisit capability to any point on the globe.

Contact:
Fabienne GRAZZINI + 33 5 62 19 41 19
fabienne.grazzini@astrium.eads.net

geospatial article

The request for across-the-board increases in fiscal year 2017 also seeks to improve water monitoring and terrain mapping, downsize infrastructure, and grow operations in support of scientific work.

In its latest budget proposal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aims for a significant boost to the nation’s satellite Earth-observing capabilities, better protections for communities against the risks of earthquakes and geomagnetic storms, and major improvements to monitoring water use during droughts. These represent a few highlights of a proposed fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget of $1.169 billion that would grow about 10% over the FY 2016 enacted level if Congress approves the agency’s request.

To enhance Earth observation from space, USGS would increase funding for the Landsat 9 Earth-observing satellite to $19.7 million, an increase of $15.4 million, which would help move up the spacecraft’s launch date to 2021 from 2023. A follow-on mission to Landsat 8, Landsat 9 will provide a direct but improved replacement for the still-orbiting Landsat 7 satellite, according to USGS.

“We are in lock step in planning with NASA and the Landsat science team to accelerate the launch date and design of the instruments and delivery of those for launch in 2021,” said Virginia Burkett, USGS associate director for climate and land use change, at an 11 February briefing about the agency’s FY 2017 funding proposal, which was released on 9 February.

Other budgeting related to Earth-viewing satellites includes $2.2 million in new funding to acquire data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites and $2.99 million in new funds to develop computing and online storage resources to produce and disseminate Landsat-based information products.

Source