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 [...]
Drones are increasingly used as a source of information that complements data provided by satellite-based remote sensing (e.g. Copernicus Sentinels) and eventually in-situ data sensors. These Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) enable more flexibility, increased accuracy or specific actions or analyses (e.g. hyperspectral imaging) and their rapidly growing global commercial market size in 2018 had already [...]
Developing countries are defined as low and middle income countries that, compared to industrialised countries, have a less developed industrial base relative to their population. They are facing common challenges related to health, food security, lack of infrastructure and utilities (e.g. electricity, water, sewage), or pollution. Given local conditions, they may suffer from natural disasters [...]
The Earth Observation (EO) industry as a whole is in the midst of a revolution, spurred by deregulation, smaller and cheaper electronics, innovation in launcher and sensor technologies, and advancements in Cloud Computing and data processing. The phenomenon is dubbed “NewSpace”, and it covers the whole value chain, from satellite manufacturers and operators to data [...]
Among the greatest strengths of Earth Observation (EO) is its universal application. This aspect is manifested in two ways. Firstly, EO satellites allow the monitoring of a wide variety of natural phenomena and operational processes across the whole globe. Secondly, the decisions or actions that organisations dealing with such phenomena or operations must take are [...]
The enormous increase of Earth Observation data over the past few years is bringing tremendous business opportunities for start-ups and SMEs but also calls for a fundamental paradigm shift. Thus, making the most of Big EO data, requires disrupting the traditional workflows whereby downloaded datasets are processed locally. Instead, through a multitude of web-based platforms, [...]
Since the advent of the Copernicus Sentinels era and the rise of new, venture-backed business models relying on large fleets of small satellites, more and more data is becoming available. To unlock the insights provided by this unprecedented volume of diverse data, users need robust access, powerful computation and innovative processing methods. This need can [...]
“Faster, Higher, Stronger” is not only an inspirational call to start-ups and young entrepreneurs to develop and launch EO-based services in the market. It is also the reality experienced today at the interface of Earth Observation with Big Data: Higher – the volume of Earth Observation data has grown almost exponentially in the past few [...]
