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Radiant Earth Foundation (formerly known as Radiant.Earth) will release a new, open Earth imagery platform, to change the way humanitarian aid workers, policymakers, researchers, journalists, and others use satellite images to understand and serve their communities. The platform is the first of its kind to offer instant, secure, and free access to Earth observation data on the cloud and help the global development community apply the data to real-world problems.

DigitalGlobe’s WorldView 3 satellite captured this image of Sydney, Australia in January 2015. Photo: DigitalGlobe

Working with organizations such as NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Group on Earth Observations, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, and private companies around the world, Radiant Earth Foundation’s platform brings together billions of dollars’ worth of satellite imagery and makes it available to the global development community. Additionally, the platform provides user-friendly analytical tools and support, empowering a range of users to consume and analyze the data in their everyday work.

During its beta phase, Radiant Earth Foundation served more than 100 organizations including the World Bank and Catholic Relief Services and developed use cases that will be available to the public at large. The platform’s open Application Programming Interface (API) also allows users to integrate non-imagery data, including air quality, population, and weather statistics. With funding from Omidyar Network and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Radiant Earth Foundation serves as a neutral, not-for-profit organization helping the growing satellite imagery industry balance bottom lines and higher purpose, according to the release.

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Space has an invaluable role to play in the 5G ecosystem. Telecommunication satellites can extend, enhance, and provide reliability and security to 5G, helping to deliver its promise of global, ubiquitous connectivity. Other space assets, such as Earth Observation and Satellite Navigation can be integrated with 5G technology to deliver innovative applications in a number of vertical sectors. The European Space Agency (ESA) has joined forces with the Economic Board Groningen (EBG) to support the development of applications that integrate space and 5G. Find out more about this unique opportunity below.

ESA & 5GRONINGEN FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Groningen, the Netherlands, is being transformed into the ultimate 5G testing ground. Managed by the EBG, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations, and experts are being invited to test 5G applications in a dedicated initiative called 5Groningen. The 5G fieldlab is founded by some renowned telecom operators (KPN, Vodafone) and manufacturers (Ericsson, Huawei), together with research institutes like TNO and the Groningen university.

ESA Business Applications (BA) has partnered with 5Groningen to fund selected activities pursuing innovative space-based applications developments leveraging on the deployment of 5G networks. Organisations from member states (listed below) are invited to submit proposals for services that use 5G and satellite technologies. Chosen ideas will then be welcome to test their concept using 5Groningen field-lab and test areas in the Groningen region to pilot their idea and to receive funding from ESA.

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PlanetWatchers has developed a new multi-source Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) platform that utilizes multiple SAR sources to deliver actionable insights without the usual delays due to weather, time of day, and environmental conditions. Natural resource managers will now receive enhanced risk management and analytical data from the new platform.

PlanetWatchers composite SAR image of agriculture fields
World-renowned remote sensing specialist Professor Dirk Hoekman recently joined PlanetWatchers’ radar team and directs the company’s new SAR initiatives. With global experience stretching across North America, South America, and Asia, he is committed to maximizing the efficacy of research into the physical aspects of remote sensing and microwave remote sensing, and developing effective remote sensing applications in forestry, agriculture, agro-hydrology, and environmental change climate studies.

Dr. Hoekman actively engages with PlanetWatchers’ clients in forestry, sugarcane, energy, and agriculture. “Natural resources managers are now highly dependent on data, analytics, and insights to help make better informed business decisions and address risk effectively,” he observes.

“I look forward to collaborating with the team, leading the new SAR initiatives, and working with our growing client base around the world to deliver meaningful, actionable business intelligence.”

Ariel Smoliar, CEO of PlanetWatchers, adds, “Managers base key decisions on data. Until recently, their ability to gather useful data was constrained by environmental factors such as massive cloud cover and heavy prolonged rains; smoke, gases, and wildfires; poor light conditions for satellite imagery; availability of airborne systems and drones; etc.

“After studying the issue extensively, we have developed a new proprietary solution with Artificial Intelligence proven to overcome these challenges.

“Data can now be obtained, as needed, without having to wait for optimal visibility. Analytical insights can be implemented right away—to stop a bad situation from getting worse.”

PlanetWatchers has already successfully completed a number of major engagements around the world using its SAR-based Analytics Platform in a variety of vertical industries including forestry, sugarcane, and energy. “Numerous clients received exceptional field intelligence, and implemented it with measurable gains,” says Smoliar.

The SAR Analytics Platform tasks multi-source SAR sources combined with optical imagery and AI-driven analytics to provide the ‘Last Mile of Analytics, – actionable intelligence critically important to operations, supply chain, risk management, and planning departments at natural resource companies.

The platform identifies a wide array of parameters, such as crop uniformity and environmental damage caused by wildfires, pests, and weather anomalies that directly impact yield, risks, and profitability.

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — NASA has launched a pilot program to evaluate how Earth science data from commercial small-satellite constellations could supplement observations from the agency’s fleet of orbiting Earth science missions. On Sept. 28, the agency awarded sole-source contracts to acquire test data sets from three private sector organizations.

NASA’s Earth Science Division in Washington issued blanket purchase agreements for the “Private Sector Small Constellation Satellite Data Product Pilot” program. Under these agreements, the agency purchases data sets and related products based on observations derived from Earth-orbiting, small-satellite constellations designed and operated by non-governmental entities.

“This pilot program is an innovative and efficient way for us to acquire, examine, and evaluate a wide range of private sector Earth observation data,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “As our very capable NASA research satellite fleet ages and more small satellites are launched by private industry, there are opportunities to leverage the strengths of each into even more complete climate data sets.”

NASA will provide the test data products to NASA-funded researchers, who will examine whether the data help advance the agency’s science and applications development goals. The pilot program is designed to determine whether these private sector observations and associated products offer a cost-effective means to augment or complement the suite of Earth observations acquired directly by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners.

The contracts were awarded to:

DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, has five very high-resolution Earth imaging satellites (GeoEye-1, WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3, WorldView-4) capable of collecting 30-centimeter resolution imagery.
Planet, headquartered in San Francisco, has three satellite constellations (SkySat, Dove, RapidEye) with more than 150 satellites supplying imagery and derived products over the entire Earth at medium and high resolution with high repeat frequencies.
SPIRE, headquartered in San Francisco, operates a constellation of over 60 satellites collecting radio occultation soundings, aircraft location information and ship reports. GPS radio occultation measurements can be used to sound the atmosphere for temperature, water vapor, and atmospheric pressure.
These contracts represent the first time that NASA has engaged with commercial small-satellite constellation operators to purchase their data for scientific evaluation. They establish a way for NASA to acquire and examine the data products during the next 12 months. Each contract includes an option for NASA to extend the agreement for an additional four years, for a total value of up to $7 million for each of the three agreements.

To be considered for participation in this pilot program, companies had to demonstrate they were currently operating a small satellite constellation of no fewer than three satellites in non-geostationary orbit and producing consistent global coverage. Companies also were asked to supply a comprehensive catalog of their data, describing areal coverage, data latency, pricing, and other factors.

NASA uses the vantage point of space to understand and explore our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. The agency’s observations of Earth’s complex natural environment are critical to understanding how our planet’s natural resources and climate are changing now and could change in the future.

For more on NASA’s Earth science activities, click here

Polar applications are not a new subject for discussion. Internationally, the subject has gained considerable attention from institutions such as the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) through its Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The European Space Agency (ESA), from its side, touches upon the topic via its Climate Change Initiative (CCI) and Polaris. In 2016, the European Union even adopted an integrated EU Policy for the Arctic, aiming to contribute to a stable, safe, sustainable and prosperous Arctic.

For Copernicus, the Copernicus Polar and Snow Cover Applications User Requirements Workshop of 23 June 2016 welcomed a series of users, service providers, representatives from the scientific community, the European Commission, ESA, EUMETSAT and industry representatives, to gather a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the evolution of the Copernicus Space Component. This process was finalized by the work of the Polar Expert Group in Spring/Summer 2017, which has made an analysis providing a list of requirements and priorities, including the required space technologies to achieve this, in a series of two reports. These activities contribute to the general exercise in which the requirements for the evolution of the Copernicus Space Component are defined.

This workshop is an opportunity to present the roadmap of Copernicus in this area and to raise awareness concerning the defined offer of products and services for the industry and related stakeholders. The discussions will be based on the EU Arctic Policy, which identifies three policy areas:

1. Climate Change and Safeguarding the Arctic Environment (livelihoods of indigenous peoples, Arctic environment)

2. Sustainable Development in and around the Arctic (exploitation of natural resources e.g. fish, minerals, avoiding oil and gas spills), « Blue economy », safe and reliable navigation (NE Passage…)

3. International Cooperation on Arctic Issues (scientific research, EU and bilateral cooperation projects, fisheries management/ecosystems protection, commercial fishing)

Register here

now launching Round 3 of the Copernicus Incubation Programme that supports European entrepreneurs and start-ups. Winning start-ups will receive up to 50,000 EUR – equity free – for their project working with Copernicus data and services, whether it be the early incubation of a working product or in the phase leading up to launch. Some results from Round 2

Requirements and conditions

- Start-ups receive up to 50,000 EUR and up to 85% of the total costs described in their application to the programme.
- Co-funding is required for at least 15% of the total costs. Any co-funding source is eligible, such as business angels, subsidy programmes, investors, another incubation programme or the start-up itself- The funding covers costs up to 1 year.
- Selected start-ups receive 50% of the total grant as pre-financing.
- Lead time for the incubation support is approximately 4 weeks after the announcement of selection results.

Who can apply?

You are either a start-up or a team of entrepreneurs with a maximum of five years of operational history since the registration of your business. You may be at the early incubation stage or preparing for launch and scaling. Applicants should set up a company in in any EU28 country, Iceland or Norway before receiving any funding from the programme (but not necessarily before applying)

This programme is meant for joint applications – The start-up is required to apply together with a support programme that agrees to incubate the start-up if it receives the funding. The start-up remains the lead applicant and sole beneficiary of the funding.

The next submission deadline is 16th of November 2018.

Apply at https://copernicus-incubation.eu/how-to-apply/

Let Copernicus Incubation boost your start-up!

It is our pleasure to present to you Spottitt Ltd. the winners of our Copernicus ecosystem workshop elevator pitch session.

Spottitt automated Land Cover Analysis generated from 10m resolution Sentinel 2 imagery.

HARWELL, United Kingdom, Spottitt Ltd. has launched a cloud-based workspace that puts massive satellite imagery sources and advanced analysis capabilities at the fingertips of energy, environment, and infrastructure professionals.

“Spottitt provides users with everything they need to extract valuable information from satellite imagery and related data sets in a secure, self-service cloud workspace,” said Spottitt CEO Lucy Kennedy. “With Spottitt, clients do not need powerful computers, image processing software or formal GIS training to leverage the value of geospatial data.”

The Spottitt online portal gives users instant access to multiple satellite image sources, including open source data from the U.S. Landsat and European Sentinel-2 satellites and sub-meter commercial image products from Airbus Defence & Space and DigitalGlobe. Other geospatial products include Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and infrastructure feature layers.

“A Spottitt user simply defines their geographic area of interest, and the system provides thumbnail images of available data sets for purchase,” said Kennedy. “The experience is fast, simple and efficient thanks to cloud-based processing and storage.”

The major differentiator of Spottitt is the powerful data analytics it offers in the cloud. The user selects from a variety of enhancement and information extraction algorithms that can be applied to their chosen data set. Designed primarily for use in energy, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure development applications, these analytics functions include the following:

• Land Cover Classification
• Building Recognition Analysis (Footprint extraction)
• Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
• Normalized Difference Water Index
• Rule-based Greenfield Selection
• Rule-based Wind Turbine Site Selection

“Analytics results are delivered to the client workspace for viewing, editing, and further manipulation within Spottitt,” said Kennedy. “They can be shared with other users or downloaded in GIS-ready formats into other mapping software environments.”

The Spottitt solution has already been used extensively in the renewable energy and infrastructure management fields. Energy firms have used it to select the optimal locations for wind turbines by mapping land cover and terrain characteristics in areas of interest. The Spottitt building recognition and change detection analytics are ideal for energy utilities to monitor changes and risks in infrastructure assets over time.

Spottitt workspaces are securely hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud, giving clients access from any browser-equipped device at any time. Clients are offered the option of paying for imagery and processing as they go or under subscription arrangements.

As well as being available to clients directly through Spottitt’s own online portal we are thrilled that Spottitt’s services are also available through Veracity, DNV GL’s industry data platform and online marketplace. DNV GL, a global quality assurance and risk management company based in Norway, who established the Veracity ecosystem to provide easy access to databases, analytics, and applications for its worldwide customer base in energy, maritime and other industries.

“We are delighted to welcome Spottitt to Veracity and our rapidly growing ecosystem of applications, services and data,” said Barry Authers, Commercial manager Veracity by DNV GL. “We see big potential in combining satellite data with existing asset data and the Spottitt Energy solution is a valuable contribution to our marketplace.”

2019 will see us expanding our offering to our base of energy, environment and infrastructure customers to include analyses based on satellite Single Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery sources such as Sentinel 1 which can see through cloud cover and satellite derived atmospheric data from the Copernicus program, helping our clients automatically detect and quantify an increasing range of changes to land cover, features and atmosphere.

“The Spottitt team believes passionately that satellite imagery and data is a powerful source of global information that is underutilized because it a perceived as being inaccessible, expensive and complex to work with,” said Kennedy. “We believe that by making access to satellite imagery and complex analytics as easy as shopping online Spottiitt can bridge this gap but there is still a long way to go interns of getting the message out to industry that satellite imagery and data has arrived and is ready to support them. Pitching at the Copernicus Ecosystem workshop alongside many other interesting companies working with satellite data all helps to get the message out there.”

To learn more, request a free demonstration, or just find out what satellite imagery and analytics could do for you please visit us at www.spottitt.com or contact us at info@spottitt.com.

BETTER is an H2020 project led by DEIMOS in the scope of the EO-2-2017 EO Big Data Shift call. The main objective of BETTER is to facilitate the usage of large volume and heterogeneous datasets by downstream users, by creating pipelines of analysis ready data so that they can focus on the algorithms for extraction of the knowledge instead of losing time on data preparation processes. The BETTER Consortium is led by DEIMOS Space and includes the participation of DEIMOS Engenharia, DEIMOS Space UK, Terradue, Fraunhofer IAIS, European Union Satellite Centre (Satcen), World Food Programme (WPF) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Zurich (ETH-Z).

Delivering Continuous EO-based Data Streams
BETTER is implementing a Big Data intermediate service layer focused on creating user-centric services and tools, while addressing the full data lifecycle associated with EO data, to bring more downstream users to the EO market and maximize exploitation of Copernicus data and information services. These customized solutions, denominated as Data Pipelines, are driven by data challenges identified by the Challenge Promoters – users deeply involved in addressing key Societal Challenges.
BETTER is improving the way Big Data service developers interact with end-users. Once a Challenge Promoter defines the respective challenge and set of requirements in a dedicated workshop, the BETTER development team – DEIMOS, Terradue and Fraunhofer – co-designs the solution with the users, and is then responsible for the implementation and delivery of the Data Pipelines. During the implementation phase, promoters can continuously test and validate the pipelines. Later, the implemented pipelines are used by the public in the scope of Hackathons, enabling the use of the data pipelines in other areas and the collection of additional user feedback.

The Data Pipelines will deliver continuously large volume EO based datasets to users, customized to their needs, which in turn will allow the user to focus on the analysis of the extraction of the potential knowledge within the data and not on the processing of the data itself.
The Data Pipelines are deployed on top of a mature EO data and service support ecosystem which has been under consolidation from previous R&D activities. The ecosystem and its further development rely on the experience and versatility of the consortium team responsible for service/tool development – DEIMOS and Terradue. This is complemented by Fraunhofer’s experience in Big Data systems, which brings to the consortium transversal knowledge extraction technologies and tools that will help bridge the current gap between the EO and ICT sectors.

Addressing Key Societal Challenges
Earth Observation data is used more and more to help solve global societal challenges, by itself or integrated with other data streams. Accordingly, stakeholders have to deal with a large volume of diverse data sources that sometimes needs to be processed and made available within a short period. BETTER brings a unique approach to exploit the potential of EO Big Data to help address the top priorities of key societal areas, driven by thematic challenges set by promoters that are main stakeholders in their areas.
By using a user-centric and flexible approach, BETTER will maximize impact of the built pipelines on the operational and R&D activities of the promoters and reach additional related user communities so that they start reusing those pipelines and building additional processing components on top of them. Currently, BETTER is reaching the end of the first yearly challenge cycle with several pipelines already developed or under development. Those pipelines will be made available to other users in a First BETTER Hackathon to take place mid next year.

WFP, SatCen and ETH-Z working in the areas of Food Security, Secure Societies and GeoHazards are the baseline Challenge Promoters of the project. Each one of them, will introduce at least 3 challenges per year. BETTER is also welcoming new Challenge Promoters addressing a key societal challenge. Whether you are an EO service provider, a non-EO expert decision maker or a developer, BETTER can boost your solution with the advantages of Big Data technologies and tools. If you are interested in becoming a new Challenge Promoter in 2019 or you would like to assess other possibilities to engage with BETTER, contact us info@ec-better.eu.

For more information, please check our website (http://www.ec-better.eu) and follow us on Twitter (@BETTER_H2020)!

Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, UK, 25 October 2018.

Spruce Beetles have become an increasing threat to the forestry industry over recent decades. Outbreaks used to be episodic but are now at epidemic levels in many parts of the world.

Once an infestation is identified, it is a race against time to contain the outbreak and salvage affected timber before it loses its commercial value.

Rezatec, leading providers of geospatial data analytics for the forestry sector, have produced a guide: ‘Identify Spruce Beetle Infestations Earlier Using Satellite Data’, which examines how beetle infestation affects timber quality over time, the challenges of identifying infected trees using traditional methods, and how multi-spectral satellite data can help to identify affected stands before they lose much of their commercial value.

By assessing multi-spectral bands such as infra-red to measure more subtle indicators of plant health, infestation can be detected up to three months earlier than when using purely visual methods.

Tim Vallings, Vice President, Global Resources at Rezatec commented: “Identifying diseased trees as early as June allows foresters to validate, plan and fell in the same year, and thereby sell the timber as much as a year earlier than traditional methods allow to obtain a better market price.”

The key benefits of using satellite data to identify Spruce Beetle infestations are:
• Regularly monitor subtle changes in tree health across entire forest
• Identify outbreaks up to three months earlier
• Salvage and sell timber up to one year earlier

Rezatec have produced a number of other guides relating to the application of satellite data for effective forest management including: tree species identification from space and a comparison of the benefits of satellite and lidar data for forestry analytics.

To learn more about how regularly updated satellite data could help you to better manage your forest or woodland, visit https://www.rezatec.com/services/forestry-services, email info@rezatec.com or call +44 (0)1865 817500.

Editor’s notes
About Rezatec

Rezatec applies data science to satellite imagery and geospatial data to deliver sophisticated, cloud-based analytics to customers owning and operating high value, distributed land-based assets. Rezatec data services enable improved margins, enhanced competitive advantage and optimised asset management for its customers. Rezatec customers cover the globe and are leaders in their respective industries in the water, agriculture, infrastructure and forestry sectors. For more information about Rezatec visit www.rezatec.com

For editorial enquiries contact:
Simon Haskell, Marketing Manager, Rezatec Limited
Tel: 01865 817537, Email: simon.haskell@rezatec.com