In the last 50 years global population has doubled, and the global GDP has grown fourfold. In parallel, various environmental problems like water scarcity, climate change and depletion of critical natural resources have been growing at a high rate in part due to the impact of energy intensive industries. During this period, the annual global [...]
Shrinking of the polar ice cap allows for a longer and safer navigation season in polar waters. Since the 1970s, the Earth Observation (EO) satellites provide daily pan-Arctic surveys of the sea ice [1]. The image painted by the data leaves no doubt: the Arctic ice cap is shrinking and shrinking fast. September’s 2020 sea [...]
Cities all over the world are entering a new era. The concept of smart cities that encourages the digital transformation of many city sectors, has been gaining popularity globally. A smart city is defined as a city which merges traditional infrastructure with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in order to promote innovation and provide useful [...]
Wildfires are a menace that gained much of public attention during recent years' summer seasons. Images of swaths of Australian bush ablaze in January and February 2020 caught public attention as brave firefighters were carrying koala bears from the inferno. The Australian fires were followed by an exceptionally disastrous fire-season in the Western United States. [...]
Smart cities are based on well connected, sustainable, and resilient technologies allowing the information to be available and findable. Significant amounts of data are generated and two key trends make this data collection and availability possible: Internet of Things (IoT) and Open Data. All the smart solutions in smart cities are based on IoT where [...]
An alternative to cleaning up emissions from vehicles directly could be to deploy technologies which remove pollution from the ambient air. For example, a number of companies are developing photo-catalytic treatments which remove pollutants from the air in the presence of sunlight. These treatments can be applied to a range of surfaces, for example roofing [...]
The environmental change affects cities and their inhabitants more regularly, bringing new challenges for city planners. Among those, there is a need to improve air and water quality and control noise pollution looking to create a healthy and enjoyable environment for city inhabitants. For that, environmental monitoring and management is gaining importance, as understanding and [...]
What is smart specialisation (strategy), and why is it important? The Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) is a policy concept developed as an instrument for boosting national or regional innovation, specifically focused on the strengths and the competitive advantages of a region, through enhancement of partnerships between businesses, public entities, and knowledge institutions. Registered countries and [...]
In the language of Earth Observation (EO), “in situ data” is the common denomination of data deriving from ground-based, sea-borne or air-borne monitoring systems, as well as geospatial reference or ancillary data. In situ sensors can be carried by, among others, air balloons, ground stations, or ferry boxes. In situ serves validation and calibration of [...]
Innovators seeking for new and marketable EO solutions typically combine the use of free and rich Copernicus Sentinel data with a number of important enabling technologies such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, the Internet of Things, Deep Learning or Artificial Intelligence. There are many examples of successful use of EO enabled solutions across a large [...]
