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The global drone market is expected to grow from $639.9 million in 2014 to $725.5 million in 2015. This market is further expected to grow to $1.2 billion by 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% for the forecast period, 2015-2020.

Report to:
● Understand opportunities and innovation-driven drone market highlights, as well as the major regions involved in such developments.
● Analyze the various applications of drones and the market dynamics of each application.
● Examine key trends related to types, applications, sub-systems and regional factors that shape and influence the overall drone industry.
● Analyze growth strategies of key players in the drone market.

IAS104A-Web.pdf

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EARSC secretary general latest blogs

Visiting Eumetsat

On Tuesday, Monica and I paid a visit to Eumetsat at their invitation. It was a good opportunity to exchange on latest activities, to understand the Eumetsat plans and position regarding Sentinel data and to brief them on and discuss our plans for the Marketplace Alliance.

We learned that Eumetsat now has committed observation missions right through to 2040. This includes Jason which is now a confirmed mission to which Eumetsat contributes. Companies may have access to Eumetsat products through Eumetcast.

Eumetsat is looking at the evolution of many of its operations and plans a series of pathfinder projects. These are not yet public and will be decided by their council next June. They will include looking at data access technology, cloud services and exploitation platforms for higher level information services.

Eumetsat was very interested to learn about the EARSC initiative to create a Marketplace and expressed strong interest as a potential data supplier. The technical solution is also of interest relating to the pathfinder studies to be confirmed in June. We agreed to exchange further over the coming months and EARSC looks to include Eumetsat views in our study on the Marketplace as part of the stakeholder analysis.

As we prepare to support companies to exploit the anticipated opening of Copernicus and Sentinel data and information, Eumetsat has an important role to play as operators of 3 of the Sentinel missions. We anticipate developing closer links and to see how the meteorological data can become part of the Marketplace which we plan to see developed.

Polish Space Sector Forum

Last week, I was invited to present at the Polish Space Sector Forum in Warsaw. The invitation had been initiated by one of the EARSC members (Geosystems Poland) and I was very happy to accept and to present our ideas linked to the creation of the Marketplace Alliance. It was well attended with some 150 people present and most if not all the member companies of the Polish Space Industry Association exhibited.

I was struck by the dynamism of the sector and their ambition to play a role in the downstream business. This contrasted with the main presentations which were all about creating a “space programme” and developing a Polish satellite. If the efforts are successful, I hope that there is enough room to support downstream efforts as well and this is not crowded out by the space manufacturing interests.

Many of the companies spoke with me about the Marketplace Alliance and how it is clearly industry led. There is a strong feeling of companies facing competition from institutes and other public bodies and that the academic view is given too much weight. There was much appreciation of our message about clarifying the roles of the public and private sectors and that this could be conveyed to the Polish decision makers. I was happy to oblige during my presentation and welcomed the opportunity to hear first-hand from the decision makers regarding their ambitions for the space sector; just a plea to remember to take adequate care of the downstream services part!

The African private sector involved in remote sensing (RS) and geospatial technologies to address scientific, practical and policy aspects has immensely grown over the past 20 years. However, there is no comprehensive information to fully understand how companies operate and what challenges they face. It is therefore difficult to harness their expertise and to assess state and health of the sector.

Yet, in the context of the Europe (EU)-Africa cooperation in Space, the 4th Africa-EU Summit has approved the implementation of GMES & Africa in 2014. At the 6th EU-Africa Space Troika meeting the GMES & Africa Road Map was adopted and it was agreed to convene stakeholders for launching the implementation process in several crucial thematic areas under the Pan African Programme. In particular, the final communiqué calls upon the application of approaches developed in the European EO Programme, Copernicus (space infrastructure and information services), for the implementation of GMES & Africa, notably by adopting a free and open data policy, by focusing on operational services and by involving the private sector in the services development.

AARSE in cooperation with EARSC are embarking on an inventory of the African private EO and Geospatial industry. Our survey targets all companies registered in Africa which are engaged in business related to the supply of geospatial products and services concerning or using EO data. These may be satellite operators, EO service providers or internal service departments inside companies engaged in different business e.g., oil & gas, land use, environmental assessment, etc.

We would like to capture as many African companies as possible and look forward to the kind participation of your company in our survey. So far we have enlisted several companies registered in Africa and we are certain there are many more not known to us. We leave no stone unturned however, until those whom we are not aware off, come forward to participate in this continental effort.

We have already sent invitations to more than 150 companies registered in Africa to participate in our survey. We call upon all African private EO and Geospatial companies not contacted so far, to immediately send us the name of their organization, contact person and email if interested to participate.

Tsehaie Woldai: (Tsehaie.woldai@africanremotesensing.org)
Elisabeth Zeil-Fahlbusch: (elisabeth.zeil-fahlbusch@africanremotesensing.org)

Juan Garcés de Marcilla, Director of Copernicus Services, ECMWF, explains the purpose of the EU’s earth observation programme and the economic and moral imperative to act on the insight it provides.

Climate change and severe weather events are challenging the assumptions that underpin Europe’s economic and social policies. They take no account of borders and have a global economic impact, affecting health, where we choose to live, how we work and how we spend our leisure time.

Faced with this knowledge, it is incumbent on policymakers, industry and the scientific community to mitigate damaging emissions, but also to equip society to adapt to changes that are already inevitable. This is where Copernicus comes in.

A global problem requires a global perspective

The European Union’s Copernicus earth observation programme comprises an array of satellites and thousands of sensors on land, in our oceans and in the air. Built on cooperation between agencies across the globe it provides free and open access to environmental data via six services – land, marine, emergency, security, atmosphere and climate.

One major component is the European Union’s network of Sentinel satellites. Sentinel-3A, launched in early February, was the third of six families of dedicated missions set to make up the core of this monitoring system.

And for the innovative companies looking to provide insight into our immediate priorities and climate future this new perspective is a game changing opportunity. The European Commission expects its Open Data Strategy to deliver a €40 billion annual boost to the EU’s economy, while studies suggest that, by 2020, big data analytics could boost European economic growth by 1.9%, a GDP increase of €206bn.

The companies working with the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) – which operates the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) on behalf of the European Commission – are developing products with applications across the energy, water, agriculture, financial and urban planning sectors; turning perspective into insight and data in to information.

These companies have a lot to draw upon from the ECMWF-run services alone: the monitoring data from CAMS includes daily forecasts of air quality and greenhouse gases; C3S holds information on around 20 climate variables such as surface temperatures and in the near future customisable climate projections for sectors.

An economic and moral imperative

However insight alone is meaningless without action. Better information must help to prepare for, respond and adapt to the effects of the change, to minimise further harm.

If the evidence shows that repositioning wind turbines may lead to higher yield there is a financial imperative to act. If pollution is too high and is effecting health and life expectancy the considerations are not merely financial but moral.

Where once Nicolaus Copernicus suggested humans look outwards from the Earth, the Copernicus earth observation programme now turns the human gaze back onto our own planet. The choice is between an unsustainable future and a revolution in green growth and resilience. It is incumbent on us not just to observe but to act.

For more information http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu http://copernicus.eu

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(AMBER-LEIGH WOOLF, March 17 2016) A plan for an advanced earth observation centre in Southland is understood to have made the shortlist for the Government’s regional research institutes initiative.

The plan, submitted by Venture Southland, is understood to be on the ministry’s initial shortlist selected from 24 applicants. The proposal, called the ‘Earth Add Vantage Centre for Advanced Earth Observation’, could become part of the government’s initiative to support the establishment of up to three privately-led regional research institutes outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The research institute would take data and make it commercially valuable. It is understood the Awarua Satellite Ground Station would be central to the project.

Southland Regional Development Strategy governance group chair Tom Campbell said the institute would interpret data from Southland’s tracking stations for the benefit of New Zealand, Campbell.

The data could be used in a range of ways from assisting with agriculture to helping track forest fires “and where they’re breaking out”.

“It allows us to look at New Zealand and particularly Southland and being able to interpret things about Southland like crop growth. That will become the information that’s commercially valuable.”

If established the institute’s research could be used nationwide, Campbell said.

“What we’re looking at is using that data to support New Zealand. It’s a broader part of the economy. It’s the fact that the data can be used to help farmers farm better.”

Campbell said the research institute could provide confidence for new business in Southland.

“It would not create other jobs in the short-term but I think it will be a great incentive for technology-based businesses to come down.

“I think it’s a great initiative for Southland. It’s got tremendous long-term potential.”

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment would not confirm that the bid had been shortlisted, with principal policy advisor of science policy Ron Clink saying an evaluation process was underway.

“Shortlisted applicants will be announced in the coming weeks and will be invited to progress to the next stage of the process – business case development.

“The final numbers will depend, among other things, on the number and strength of proposals and subsequent business cases, and on the level and duration of financial commitments from the businesses and research organisations that will be directly involved.”

MBIE would make its final recommendations to Cabinet once business case developments were completed, Clink said.

“The Government has set aside $25 million in total funding over three years. How much funding each institute requires will be determined as part of the evaluation and business case development process.”

Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt said Southland’s large skies were advantageous for satellite research.

“I don’t think any other region will be as advanced in terms of space technology as Southland at the moment. To be on the short-list even is a compliment.”

Deputy Mayor Darren Ludlow said if the research institute was established it would be a positive for Southland.

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(16 March 2016) The National Remote Sensing Centre of ISRO has signed an agreement with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for preparing satellite-based maps to help check unauthorised construction around over 3,000 protected monuments

Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said this on Monday while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The maps will indicate prohibited and regulated areas around protected monuments for the information of the public.

“The ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has a repository of photographs that are taken routinely through satellite. Those photographs will be used for developing a surveillance system for the centrally protected monuments,” Sharma said.

Source Indo-Asia News Service

By Caleb Henry [Via Satellite 03-16-2016] Belgian law has formed the Association of the European Space Research Establishments (ESRE) as an international nonprofit organization. Members consist of space research centers in Italy (CIRA), Germany (DLR), Spain (INTA), the Netherlands (NLR) and France (ONERA).

Through ESRE, these research centers will strengthen their cooperation and propose common Research and Development (R&D) actions to advance science and technology both to support the competitiveness of the European space sector and address grand societal challenges.

ESRE will pursue two key missions: first, being to enhance cooperation between research centers to support industry; and second, begin to make the organization a guiding force for medium and long term space-related R&D.

After an initial evaluation, ESRE identified the following areas as particularly promising for next generation research and development: collaborative small satellite constellations; future launch systems; cost-efficient satellite subsystem technologies; and satellite-based greenhouse gases monitoring. For 2016, ESRE plans to start consultations and discussions with the European space sector.

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(By Eric Sagara / March 9, 2016). As different satellites scan the globe, they gather a variety of information. That data gathering, known as remote sensing, regularly is used by scientists, and the data is free and publicly available.

The use of satellite data is a fairly recent tool in most newsrooms.

We used it last year to show how California’s drought affected vegetation health and how that, in turn, affected the state’s wildfire season. For that project, we worked with the MODIS sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite. This time, we turned to Landsat 8, a joint satellite mission between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Both satellites capture imagery from a wide spectrum of light stretching beyond what the eye can see. But Landsat 8 has a much finer spatial resolution than MODIS, which means you can see more details in the images.

Landsat 8 scans Earth every 16 days. We selected imagery from four days from late July through September. These days were chosen primarily based on how much cloud cover obscured the area where fires were burning.

The data is available from the geological survey online for free. Landsat 8 captures multiple bands of light – both what can be seen by the naked eye and what cannot – and each band is stored in its own file, for a total of 12 images. By combining these bands in different ways, we could tell different aspects of the story.

Band Name Wavelength (micrometers) Resolution (meters) Purpose
1 Coastal aerosol 0.43 – 0.45 30 Studies looking at coastal areas or focusing on aerosols such as dust or ash.
2 Blue 0.45 – 0.51 30 Bathymetric mapping. Separating some vegetation types as well as distinguishing soil from vegetation.
3 Green 0.53 – 0.59 30 Vegetation health.
4 Red 0.64 – 0.67 30 Vegetation slopes.
5 Near infrared 0.85 – 0.88 30 Shorelines and biomass.
6 Shortwave infrared 1 1.57 – 1.65 30 Moisture content of soil and vegetation. Also penetrates thin clouds.
7 Shortwave infrared 2 2.11 – 2.29 30 Better moisture content analysis and cloud penetration.
8 Panchromatic 0.50 – 0.68 15 Sharper image in the red, green and blue wavelengths.
9 Cirrus 1.36 – 1.38 30 Used to detect cirrus clouds.
10 Thermal infrared 1 10.60 – 11.19 100 resampled to 30 Heat mapping and soil moisture.
11 Thermal infrared 2 11.50 – 12.51 100 resampled to 30 Improved heat mapping and soil moisture.
12 Quality assurance NA 30 Provides metadata on each pixel.

Combining the red, green and blue bands allowed us to produce a true-color image of what the land looks like to the naked eye. Adding a panchromatic band helped us increase the resolution of the images because it captures imagery in the red, green and blue spectrums at a resolution of 15 meters per pixel.
True-color image of fire area

To examine vegetation health, we used a second technique that combines imagery captured in the near infrared, red and green bands. This method was developed during World War II to detect camouflage.

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The Canadian Geomatics Environmental Scan and Value Study Summary Report provides highlights and key results from two major bodies of work carried out by Hickling Arthurs Low Corporation on behalf of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). This research represents the most comprehensive assessment of geomatics and geospatial information in Canada to date.

Geospatial information (GI) identifies “where” natural, built or cultural objects are located relative to the Earth – in other words, their geographic location. Combining location with other forms of data allows for better and more informed decision making.

GI is used in a wide variety of applications:

  • by business – e.g. transportation, construction, retail and marketing, utilities, natural resource management;
  • by government – e.g. property rights and boundaries, elections, weather, asset management, emergency response;
  • by universities and colleges – e.g. research;
  • by not-for-profit organizations – e.g. conservation; monitoring; and
  • by consumers – e.g. social networking, leisure, tourism, shopping.

The Geomatics Sector produces GI and makes the production and use of GI possible for others through geospatial services and technologies. The Sector includes organizations from industry, government and academic institutions that:

  • create or capture geospatial data (e.g. through surveying, digitization, satellites); process, analyze and/or display GI;
  • deliver location-based services; and/or
  • develop geospatial technologies (e.g. sensors, positioning systems).

What does the summary report tell us?

  • In 2013, about 2,450 private sector geomatics firms contributed $2.3 billion to the Canadian economy.
  • The use of geospatial information contributed $20.7 billion – or 1.1% of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), $19 billion to Real Income, and generated approximately 19,000 jobs to the Canadian economy in 2013. Regional distributions of GDP and Real Income by region are available in the report.
  • The uptake of “open” geospatial data (data available a minimal or no cost and for use without restriction) provides an estimated additional $695 million to GDP and $635 million in real income in 2013.
  • National scale productivity impact estimates attributed to the use of geospatial information (measured by percentage change in industry output) are most significant (>1.0%) for:
    - mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction (4.54%)
    - transportation and warehousing (1.64%)
    - utilities (1.58%)
    - public administration (1.51%)
    - construction (1.23%)
    - agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (1.22%)
    - management of companies and enterprises (1.08%)
    - Fourteen (14) case studies carried out as part of the Study describe important, but hard-to-measure social and environmental benefits, like:
    - improved health and safety for employees;
    - more effective deployment of public health campaigns;
    - increased competitive advantage for companies;
    - more livable cities;
    - better coordination and planning for asset management;
    - more of the “right” habitats conserved;
    - more effective assessment of risks;
    - and many more…

Download the Summary Report

Representatives of Polish Armaments Group (PAG) and National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) signed on March 8 2016 agreement for joint development of Technologies for remote sensing Satellites.

Poland starts to expand its presence in global space industry. Recently one of the biggest Polish armament companies, Polish Armaments Group (PAG) and National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) established joint group for creating plan of cooperation. Result of work was signing after five days agreement by Deputy President of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), Radosław Obolewski, and the Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine, Lubomyr Sabadosh. Agreement, signed in Warsaw on March 8 2016, creates strong base for Polish-Ukrainian cooperation especially in satellite technologies – optical sensors and radar devices for Earth observation satellites. According to statement of Radosław Obolewski, PAG is strongly interested in cooperation with NSAU (quotation from official press release):

“We are very interested in cooperation with the Ukrainian space industry in the field of modern technologies. We are also glad that also the State Space Agency of Ukraine is ready to execute specific projects together with PGZ. We are going to seek opportunities together to cooperate in the development of technologies used in satellite Earth observation systems,”

It should not be surprising that PAG is looking for new opportunities and foreign markets for their products. Polish Armament Group consolidates 35 companies and manufacturers of various Military equipment from tires for military vehicles manufactured by STOMIL through highly efficient men-portable SAM “Grom” from Mesko to advanced military radars by RADWAR. Surely starting cooperation with independent space agency with impressive experience like NSAU is chance for development and good beginning of future participation in global space industry.

Ukraine attempts of developing own satellites were previously based on strong cooperation with Russia and Roscosmos. Until now Ukraine space industry manufactured six satellites in different types: Sich and Okean (Okean was mainly manufactured during lasting of USSR and last was launched in 1994). Sich series (1, 2 and 2M) along with Micron-1 were designed by Yuzhnoye State Design Office. Recently on Ukraine was also developed PolyITAN-1 Cubesat satellite by National Technical University of Ukraine. Ultimate communication satellite Lybid-1 is still not launched and its development was delayed due the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

NSAU and Yuzhnoe are experienced with remote sensing satellites and Polish Armament Group has something important to offer. It is owner of PIT RADWAR – experienced and innovative radar manufacturer based in Warsaw, Poland. PAG is certainly interested in combining PIT RADWAR experience with Ukraine know-how in remote sensing satellites to eventually offer on global markets radar devices suitable to be installed on various satellite platforms. Participation of RADWAR would also improve possibilities of Sich series and creates new possibilities for developing new generation satellites.

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