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#myEUspace, EUSPA’s signature competition, developed under the CASSINI Entrepreneurship Initiative, challenges innovators to develop game-changing solutions that leverage EU Space data from Galileo, Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and/or Copernicus, the European Earth Observation programme. 

This year’s competition is unique in that it is divided into three different prize tracks (Ideas, Prototypes and Commercial Products), with each track consisting of three different innovation areas:

• Space My Life: Consumer solutions in focus areas such as health, citizen safety and security, gaming and entertainment, sports and fitness, tourism.
• Our Green Planet: Innovative solutions addressing conservation of ecosystems, green mobility, sustainable agriculture, management of energy and resources.
• Dive in Deep Tech: Innovative solutions combining EU space data with deep technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum technologies, Blockchain, Metaverse and Extended Reality.

This evolution aimed at encouraging more innovators to apply – which is exactly what it did. Following a first track that saw 92 ideas submitted, the competition’s second track – for Best Prototypes – received 95 submissions from 25 countries of the European Economic Area. 

After carefully evaluating each prototype and assessing their technology maturity, the #myEUspace competition jury has made its decision. “With this second track geared towards tested prototypes and beta versions ready to be brought to market, the jury paid particular attention to overall innovativeness, market potential, feasibility and relevance to the EU Space Programme,” says Justyna Redelkiewicz, Market and Downstream Innovation - Consumer Entrepreneurship and Environment Manager at EUSPA.

Without further ado, the 10 winners of the #myEUspace competition’s ‘Best Prototypes’ track are:

• CoCuRA Eco: Machine learning techniques to identify organic cotton  
• OverView: Online platform to access and visualise environmental data
• Spillalert: Intuitive web interface for oil spills and blackwater tank detection 
• Plantiverse: Green area monitoring and management platform 
• Artificial Brain Tech: Quantum optimised scheduling of Earth Observation satellites 
• Avalanche Monitoring: Monitoring avalanches with satellites and seismic sensors 
• Climate AI for Web3: Real-world portable climate API for virtual worlds powered by AI and satellite data 
• WaveOut: Augmented reality navigation app that guides by sound 
• AeroVR: Virtual reality solution that simulates real UAV flights and operations 
• Artur (Nav-X): Smartphone app using augmented reality to digitally explore tourist destinations 

Submissions for the ‘Commercial Products’ track, the competition’s third and final track, are currently being evaluated. 

Organised by EUSPA as part of the European Commission’s CASSINI – Space Entrepreneurship Initiative, the #myEUspace competition is open to teams from all EU Member States plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland and has a total prize of nearly EUR 1 million.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Scheduled for 28-29 June 2023, this event is an opportunity for the Galileo HAS user community, industry stakeholders, application developers and international experts to know more about the Galileo HAS Service (in operation since January 2023). In addition, it will be a great opportunity for all attendees to come together to discuss and share their expectations on the HAS service challenges and benefits.

During two days, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the latest status of Galileo HAS service, including current performance, evolution plans and key user applications and to network. There will be also dedicated user sessions in parallel where participants could rotate, including live demonstrations allowing participants to experiment the Galileo HAS capabilities. In addition, participants will have also the chance to visit the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) premises, the single interface between the Galileo system and the users. The GSC is a centre of expertise, knowledge sharing, custom performance assessment, information dissemination and support to the provision of value-added services enabled by the Galileo services. For the particular case of Galileo HAS, the GSC hosts the High Accuracy Data Generator (HADG), which computes the HAS orbit and clock corrections as well as the signal biases which are broadcast through the Galileo constellation and over the internet. 

This first edition of the Galileo HAS Days will be held as a hybrid event, meaning you can join either online or physically in INTA (Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid - Spain). 

The draft agenda is available here.

Registration for the event is open until 16 June 2023 for those willing to attend onsite. Join us here!  

For more information on Galileo HAS, please refer to the service documentation available online.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EUSPA, together with Eurisy, recently co-organised a workshop on Satellite-based Services for Disaster Risk Management. Held in Nicosia, Cyprus, the workshop brought together national and regional stakeholders to discuss how satellite-based services can support disaster risk management and search and rescue operations.

The workshop was hosted by Cyprus, in cooperation with the Department of Electronic Communications, Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and EURISY.

The event kicked-off with a number of keynote speakers, including from Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Philippos HADJIZACHARIAS stated that "investing in Space means investing in the future". "Space is seen as a driver of innovation, growth and competitiveness and a key factor in accelerating the twin digital and green transitions and promoting societal well-being. The vast amounts of information provided by satellite systems can be used in a variety of sectors, and one of them is Disaster Risk Management," he said. 

“While Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus and GOVSATCOM are powerful tools in their own right, the Emergency Management and Disaster Response sector stands to benefit the most when these solutions are used in synergy,” added EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa. “That’s why, as a user-oriented agency, EUSPA closely follows this market’s needs and works to shape and deliver new space-enabled services accordingly.” 

Supporting a range of disaster scenarios 

Speakers also provided insight on how the various components of the EU Space Programme can be used to support a wide range of disaster scenarios – including fighting wildfires. For instance, fire departments and decision makers are using Copernicus data to help mitigate the risk of fires before they happen and to battle them when they do. They’re also replacing their ground-based systems and use of rotorcraft with drones equipped with a range of sensors for capturing data. Such systems are particularly beneficial in rural and remote areas, where Earth Observation-equipped drones guided by the precise positioning offered by GNSS can provide wildfire fighters with another layer of information – and protection.

The use of European GNSS is also helping save lives. Take for example the European 112-emergency number. Thanks to the inclusion of Galileo signals in most mobile phones, when someone places an emergency call, the emergency responder will receive their location information with an accuracy down to just a few metres. This level of accuracy has had a major impact in terms of response times, ultimately allowing for quicker intervention in emergency situations where every second counts – resulting in more lives being saved.

Last but not least is the forthcoming GOVSATCOM, which provide secure, cost-efficient communication capabilities to security and safety-critical missions, operations and infrastructure. “Galileo provides information about where you are, Copernicus provides information about what is around you and GOVSATCOM provides resilient, secure and high-availability connectivity to the disaster area in order to coordinate the rescue teams and get real-time on-site information. Thus, GOVSATCOM complements the existing space-based tools provided by the EU Space Programme to support disaster risk management,” said Georgios Synnefakis, EUSPA GOVSATCOM programme manager.

EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa presenting the EU Space Programme at the Satellite-based Services for Disaster Risk Management

The policy perspective 

The programme concluded with a high-level policy panel moderated by EUSPA, where decision-makers were invited to shed light on the national and European policy framework, as well as share their perspectives on the future of risk assessment and management. 

Galileo Search and Rescue in action 

Parallel to the Eurisy workshop, the Cypriot authorities organised a Search and Rescue exercise as part of the larger ARGONAUT 2023 military exercise in presence of Minister of Defense, Michalis Giorgallas. In the exercise, several EU and NATO Member States participated, including Greece, France, the US, Israel, Italy and Cyprus.

The scenario involved a passenger ship traveling from the Middle East Region towards the Republic of Cyprus when it sent out a MAYDAY alert.   

A Galileo-enabled EPIRB equipped with the ground-breaking Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) was successfully activated to notify the authorities.

The emergency signal was picked up by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in just under 2 minutes, confirming once again Galileo's excellent performance.

“With the EU recognising European Maritime Day this week, this demonstration shows how the EU Space Programme provides European maritime operators, seafarers and national authorities with the tools they need to enhance safety at sea, optimise navigation performance and protect our oceans,” said da Costa, who watched the exercise live from the Joined Rescue Coordination Center.  

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Satellite Communications (SatCom) play an essential role in ensuring continuity in a wide range of governmental missions, supporting the operations of key infrastructure as well as being an essential tool for the Crisis management and Surveillance missions– especially when terrestrial networks are not available or are not sufficiently secure. That’s why, in today’s volatile geopolitical landscape, having access to robust, assured satellite communications is of utmost importance. It was against this background that EUSPA hosted the very first SatCom Downstream Days. Over 100 industry players participated in the event, which was held at EUSPA headquarters in Prague. 

“SatCom is a key domain for Europe. Its contribution is not only crucial for the economy but it is also supporting the other space segments transversally and securely. Together with the other components of the EU Space Programme, it will contribute to ensuring the EU’s strategic autonomy,” says EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa.

Featuring a range of engaging panel discussions led by governmental users and industry representatives, the event helped facilitate open dialogue between end users (Member States, EU Agencies) and European SatCom downstream industry players. It was also a chance to reflect on current challenges and propose innovative solutions, such as the 14 downstream applications pitched by innovative SatCom companies.   

Key takeaways from these discussions include the need to combine the benefits of multiple orbits (LEO, MEO and GEO) and the ability to deploy SatCom services swiftly and securely beyond terrestrial connection points as well as seamlessly integrate SatCom solutions with terrestrial based connectivity. Representatives from the European Commission specifically highlighted how standardisation and interoperability among terrestrial and satellite communication networks will influence the development of SatCom applications.

Secure SatCom in action

Participants were also treated to demonstrations of secured SatCom use cases by the EU-funded ENTRUSTED project.  

Established to provide a concrete set of governmental user requirements for GOVSATCOM services, representatives from the project demonstrated how users can benefit from the secure and interoperable services the programme will provide. The demos included pooling and sharing capabilities, access to telecommunication services in remote areas, and the confidentiality, integrity and availability offered by secure and highly secure SatCom services. 

The ENTRUSTED project has consolidated hundreds SatCom user needs and requirements, defined 85 governmental use cases and conducted an in-depth assessment of the user technology needs that the forthcoming GOVSATCOM and IRIS² programmes will cover.

Presentations from the 1^st SatCom Downstream Days can be found here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).