Once again, the Galileo Masters – and its sister award programme the Copernicus Masters – was the glittering highlight of EU Space Week 2019 that took place in Helsinki on 3 to 5 December. In its 15th year the Galileo Masters continues to attract the attention of some of the brightest and best minds. Topics submitted to the competition this year ranged through digitisation, big data, the sharing economy and artificial intelligence (AI), amongst others, but all with a common theme: the use of European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (EGNSS) Galileo and/or EGNOS to benefit society.
The 2019 Galileo Masters attracted some 203 participants reaching entrepreneurs from over 41 countries in Europe and around the world. Since its inception in 2004 the competition has seen a cumulative participation by just under 12,000 individuals submitting 4,587 individual business cases.
In addition to the overall Galileo Masters winner and regional awards, a range of special prizes are also given, including ‘Idea of the Year’ and ‘Start-up of the Year’ and a new prize for 2019 responding to an emerging trend: The Galileo-Copernicus Synergy Challenge.
Special prizes
The Gala event took place at the Helsinki Congress Paasitorni centre in central Helsinki on the evening of 4 December. In all, some 31 awards were handed out on the night under the Galileo Masters categories. Master of ceremonies, Bavarian broadcaster and celebrity Claus Kruesken, described the Masters awards ceremony as the “festive highlight of EU Space Week.”
Read this: Performance Cockpit takes overall prize at Galileo Masters 2019
This year’s new prize, the GSA Galileo-Copernicus Synergy Challenge was presented by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. Commenting on the event, he highlighted the links that the competition inspired between the GSA and the space applications community by “providing the GSA with a first-hand experience of emerging needs and solutions.” The first ever winner of the synergy prize was the Xylene concept from Giuseppe Benenati and his team. Read more here.
Other Galileo special prizes this year included the DLR Artificial Intelligence Navigation Challenge awarded to Pieter Bastiaan Ober of INTEGRICOM for a proposal to analyse the Galileo Signal in Space using AI. The BMVI PRS Applications Challenge was presented to Brandon Bradford of tissEU for his Odin’s Eye idea – a Galileo-enabled PRS tactical drone – that was also the winner of the Bavaria regional Challenge prize.
The University Challenge was announced by Paul Bhatia from the University of Nottingham with the winner, Freewheel – a platform that allows people with reduced mobility to increase their accessibility and inclusion – awarded to Lotfi Massarweh, Deimos Engenharia and their Elecnor team.
The SAWCER concept won the GNSS Living Lab Prize with an idea inspired by a move to a new city, Barcelona, for winner Adrienne Fanning. Her app makes local shops as easy to search as online stores by creating and sharing crowdsourced, geo-localised catalogues.
The internet of Things (IoT) is building to be one of Galileo’s largest markets for applications and the Galileo 5G IoT Challenge award was presented to another idea to help inclusivity by making outdoor sports more accessible to blind or partially sighted people: the WAIBRO belt developed by Katrina Sedlackova and her team at WAIBRO sports.
New ideas and accelerators
Fiammetta Diani, Deputy Head of Market Development at the GSA presented the Idea of the Year and Start-up of the Year prizes; both of which target entrepreneurship. Idea of the Year went to the CX-GEODRONE project and a joint team from the Universities of Vigo and Oviedo, who also won the Galicia regional prize, for a radar-based drone payload that promised the inspection of underground utilities infrastructure without the need to dig up the road.
And this: uMaze takes Accuracy Matters prize in Galileo Innovation Challenge
The Start-up of the Year is awarded to a project that is already being implemented in a start-up that is not older than three years and this year was awarded to PODIS - Post Distress Signal. The winning team led by Andreas Alamanos also won the Greek regional prize for this IoT solution-as-a-service concept for automatic crash notification system.
The prestigious EGNSS Accelerator Winners were announced by Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Commission. Three winners were announced for the valuable incubation prize. First up was MEDeus, aka the drone doctors, represented by Hammad Jeilani and his UK regional winning team that is looking to improve the efficiency of delivering healthcare supplies using drones.
Another double winner was second: Dronetag also won the Czech regional prize for Lukaz Brchl. The Dronetag concept will provide real-time identification for UAVs by leveraging Galileo and IoT technologies.
The third Incubation winner was in fact a triple success for the German Tocsen GmbH team. Tocsen won the Baden-Wurttemberg regional prize, took this Incubation Accelerator win and was on stage again as the single winner of the EGNSS crowdfunding campaign accelerator! Tocsen is a smart crash detection and automatic emergency call system designed to be incorporated in cyclists’ crash helmets.
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).
Once again, the Galileo Masters – and its sister award programme the Copernicus Masters – was the glittering highlight of EU Space Week 2019 that took place in Helsinki on 3 to 5 December. In its 15th year the Galileo Masters continues to attract the attention of some of the brightest and best minds. Topics submitted to the competition this year ranged through digitisation, big data, the sharing economy and artificial intelligence (AI), amongst others, but all with a common theme: the use of European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (EGNSS) Galileo and/or EGNOS to benefit society.
The 2019 Galileo Masters attracted some 203 participants reaching entrepreneurs from over 41 countries in Europe and around the world. Since its inception in 2004 the competition has seen a cumulative participation by just under 12,000 individuals submitting 4,587 individual business cases.
In addition to the overall Galileo Masters winner and regional awards, a range of special prizes are also given, including ‘Idea of the Year’ and ‘Start-up of the Year’ and a new prize for 2019 responding to an emerging trend: The Galileo-Copernicus Synergy Challenge.
Special prizes
The Gala event took place at the Helsinki Congress Paasitorni centre in central Helsinki on the evening of 4 December. In all, some 31 awards were handed out on the night under the Galileo Masters categories. Master of ceremonies, Bavarian broadcaster and celebrity Claus Kruesken, described the Masters awards ceremony as the “festive highlight of EU Space Week.”
Read this: Performance Cockpit takes overall prize at Galileo Masters 2019
This year’s new prize, the GSA Galileo-Copernicus Synergy Challenge was presented by GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides. Commenting on the event, he highlighted the links that the competition inspired between the GSA and the space applications community by “providing the GSA with a first-hand experience of emerging needs and solutions.” The first ever winner of the synergy prize was the Xylene concept from Giuseppe Benenati and his team. Read more here.
Other Galileo special prizes this year included the DLR Artificial Intelligence Navigation Challenge awarded to Pieter Bastiaan Ober of INTEGRICOM for a proposal to analyse the Galileo Signal in Space using AI. The BMVI PRS Applications Challenge was presented to Brandon Bradford of tissEU for his Odin’s Eye idea – a Galileo-enabled PRS tactical drone – that was also the winner of the Bavaria regional Challenge prize.
The University Challenge was announced by Paul Bhatia from the University of Nottingham with the winner, Freewheel – a platform that allows people with reduced mobility to increase their accessibility and inclusion – awarded to Lotfi Massarweh, Deimos Engenharia and their Elecnor team.
The SAWCER concept won the GNSS Living Lab Prize with an idea inspired by a move to a new city, Barcelona, for winner Adrienne Fanning. Her app makes local shops as easy to search as online stores by creating and sharing crowdsourced, geo-localised catalogues.
The internet of Things (IoT) is building to be one of Galileo’s largest markets for applications and the Galileo 5G IoT Challenge award was presented to another idea to help inclusivity by making outdoor sports more accessible to blind or partially sighted people: the WAIBRO belt developed by Katrina Sedlackova and her team at WAIBRO sports.
New ideas and accelerators
Fiammetta Diani, Head of Market Development at the GSA presented the Idea of the Year and Start-up of the Year prizes; both of which target entrepreneurship. Idea of the Year went to the CX-GEODRONE project and a joint team from the Universities of Vigo and Oviedo, who also won the Galicia regional prize, for a radar-based drone payload that promised the inspection of underground utilities infrastructure without the need to dig up the road.
And this: uMaze takes Accuracy Matters prize in Galileo Innovation Challenge
The Start-up of the Year is awarded to a project that is already being implemented in a start-up that is not older than three years and this year was awarded to PODIS - Post Distress Signal. The winning team led by Andreas Alamanos also won the Greek regional prize for this IoT solution-as-a-service concept for automatic crash notification system.
The prestigious EGNSS Accelerator Winners were announced by Pierre Delsaux, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Commission. Three winners were announced for the valuable incubation prize. First up was MEDeus, aka the drone doctors, represented by Hammad Jeilani and his UK regional winning team that is looking to improve the efficiency of delivering healthcare supplies using drones.
Another double winner was second: Dronetag also won the Czech regional prize for Lukaz Brchl. The Dronetag concept will provide real-time identification for UAVs by leveraging Galileo and IoT technologies.
The third Incubation winner was in fact a triple success for the German Tocsen GmbH team. Tocsen won the Baden-Wurttemberg regional prize, took this Incubation Accelerator win and was on stage again as the single winner of the EGNSS crowdfunding campaign accelerator! Tocsen is a smart crash detection and automatic emergency call system designed to be incorporated in cyclists’ crash helmets.
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).
Spare a thought this Christmas for researchers hunkered down on their Polarstern icebreaker, adrift in the frozen Arctic Ocean. Subjected to temperatures as low as –45°C and the perpetual darkness of the polar winter, they are willing participants in MOSAiC – the world’s largest and longest polar research expedition. Despite the darkness, however, the researchers and crew remain aware of what is happening close by. How? With the help of radar imaging satellites.
Státní pozemkový úřad oznámil veřejnou zakázku na komplexní pozemkové úpravy v k. ú. Chvalčov a části k. ú. Chvalčova Lhota. Předmětem plnění nadlimitní veřejné zakázky na služby je zpracování návrhu komplexních pozemkových úprav v katastrálním území Chvalčov a části k. ú. Chvalčova Lhota včetně nezbytných geodetických prací v třídě přesnosti určené pro obnovu katastru nemovitostí vyhláškou č. 357/2013 Sb. a vytyčení a označení […]
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Dne 16.12.2019 byla vyhlášena platnost obnovy katastrálního operátu novým mapováním v intravilánu katastrálního území Vlčí u Chlumčan.
Dne 16.12.2019 byla vyhlášena platnost obnovy katastrálního operátu novým mapováním v intravilánu katastrálního území Vlčí u Chlumčan.
Do 15. prosince 2019 probíhá výběrové řízení na studijní pobyty v akademickém roce 2020/2021 v rámci programu Erasmus+ ICM (tzv. mimoevropský Erasmus).
Aktuální nabídku univerzit a detailní info k podání přihlášky naleznete na webu https://czs.muni.cz/cs/student-mu/studijni-pobyty/erasmus-icm.
Pozn.: Výběrové řízení na "evropský" Erasmus+ proběhne až v únoru roku 2020.
Do 15. prosince 2019 probíhá výběrové řízení na studijní pobyty v akademickém roce 2020/2021 na partnerských univerzitách MU.
Více informací naleznete na webu https://czs.muni.cz/cs/student-mu/studijni-pobyty/partnerske-univerzity.
Firma OpenGeoLabs oznámila zahájení programu technické podpory otevřeného GIS software jako je QGIS, GRASS GIS, GeoServer, PostGIS a Python pro prostorová data. Podpora zahrnuje běžnou uživatelskou podporu, doporučení pracovních postupů (import dat, nastavení, problémy se spuštěním…), monitoring nových verzí a doporučení aktualizace softwaru, migraci procesů a dat z jiných prostředí do otevřeného software (podle rozsahu a složitosti), řešení technických problémů, […]
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Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a grant under the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Fundamental Elements funding mechanism for the development of the GIANO (Galileo-based TIming Receiver for CriticAl INfrastructure Robustness) receiver, which aims to make critical infrastructure more robust against interference, jamming and spoofing.
In an increasingly complex GNSS environment in which there is both unintentional and deliberate disruption of satellite signals, the GSA is funding the development of a timing receiver for professional applications to address the needs of the critical infrastructure user community, mainly energy generation and distribution, telecommunications and financial operators.
Improved resilience
The GIANO receiver will leverage Galileo and EGNOS-driven innovation to improve the resilience of the receiver against interference, jamming and spoofing and increase the accuracy and reliability of the time transfer service. The timing platform prototype to be developed and validated will integrate all the latest innovative technologies, including professional products from Thales Alenia Space, paving the way for future Galileo-based timing receivers that offer improved resilience and accuracy at a reasonable cost.
Read this: GSA funding opportunity: Enhanced GNSS Receiver/User Terminal
“Critical infrastructure operators use GNSS for timing and synchronisation and are an important target segment for GSA Market Development because Galileo can make a difference. By funding the development of the GIANO receiver, the GSA aims to provide technological solutions to this community for robust and reliable timing,” said GSA Head of Market Development Fiammetta Diani.
Towards this goal, outreach activities have been conducted among potential final users in the main commercial target groups to collect and analyse their needs. Then, following the definition and consolidation of stakeholders’ needs and the platform specifications, the project conducted a Preliminary Design Review at the end of November 2019.
Europe-wide cooperation
The two-year project, funded under a GSA grant related to the Development of a Galileo-based timing receiver for critical infrastructures (GSA/GRANT/05/2017), will be coordinated by Thales Alenia Space in Italy, in collaboration with four European partners: Business Integration Partners S.p.A (BIP, Italy), PIKTime Systems (Poland), Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Science (SRC PAS, Poland) and DEIMOS (Portugal).
And this: Orolia selected for Galileo resilient time receiver initiative
The project will also benefit from the support of the European Commission’s in-house science service - the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Italian National Metrology Institute (INRIM), which will make available its test facilities for verification activities on the developed equipment.
Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a grant under the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Fundamental Elements funding mechanism for the development of the GIANO (Galileo-based TIming Receiver for CriticAl INfrastructure Robustness) receiver, which aims to make critical infrastructure more robust against interference, jamming and spoofing.
In an increasingly complex GNSS environment in which there is both unintentional and deliberate disruption of satellite signals, the GSA is funding the development of a timing receiver for professional applications to address the needs of the critical infrastructure user community, mainly energy generation and distribution, telecommunications and financial operators.
Improved resilience
The GIANO receiver will leverage Galileo and EGNOS-driven innovation to improve the resilience of the receiver against interference, jamming and spoofing and increase the accuracy and reliability of the time transfer service. The timing platform prototype to be developed and validated will integrate all the latest innovative technologies, including professional products from Thales Alenia Space, paving the way for future Galileo-based timing receivers that offer improved resilience and accuracy at a reasonable cost.
Read this: GSA funding opportunity: Enhanced GNSS Receiver/User Terminal
“Critical infrastructure operators use GNSS for timing and synchronisation and are an important target segment for GSA Market Development because Galileo can make a difference. By funding the development of the GIANO receiver, the GSA aims to provide technological solutions to this community for robust and reliable timing,” said GSA Head of Market Development Fiammetta Diani.
Towards this goal, outreach activities have been conducted among potential final users in the main commercial target groups to collect and analyse their needs. Then, following the definition and consolidation of stakeholders’ needs and the platform specifications, the project conducted a Preliminary Design Review at the end of November 2019.
Europe-wide cooperation
The two-year project, funded under a GSA grant related to the Development of a Galileo-based timing receiver for critical infrastructures (GSA/GRANT/05/2017), will be coordinated by Thales Alenia Space in Italy, in collaboration with four European partners: Business Integration Partners S.p.A (BIP, Italy), PIKTime Systems (Poland), Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Science (SRC PAS, Poland) and DEIMOS (Portugal).
And this: Orolia selected for Galileo resilient time receiver initiative
The project will also benefit from the support of the European Commission’s in-house science service - the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Italian National Metrology Institute (INRIM), which will make available its test facilities for verification activities on the developed equipment.
The upstream space market, with its rocket launches and high-tech satellite payloads, may seem at a first glance to be the most exciting segment of the space industry. But when it comes to innovation, job and revenue creation and the provision of services that change people’s lives for the better, the downstream market is where the action is. This was the key message delivered by European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director Carlo des Dorides at the New Space Economy forum in Rome on December 12.
We are living in the Golden Age of GNSS. Space-based technology is driving innovation and supporting service delivery in almost all sectors of the global economy – from agriculture and transport to healthcare and telecoms. Satellites and the location-based services that they enable are transforming the way that we live and work.
Downstream driving the space economy
Delivering a keynote address on GNSS markets, applications and data at the NSE forum, the GSA Executive Director noted that downstream users are directly benefitting from Galileo. “Over 50,000 jobs are supported annually in the downstream GNSS industry,” des Dorides said, adding that European companies account for 27% of the global GNSS market and that this share is set to grow.
“GNSS downstream is driving the space economy. Global revenue generated by the GNSS downstream market is forecast to reach EUR 150 billion in 2019 and increase to EUR 325 billion in 2029,” des Dorides said, citing the latest edition of the GSA GNSS Market Report. “Over 50% of this GNSS revenue comes from added-value services,” he said.
Read this: Europe’s economy is increasingly dependent on space
With the evolution of the GSA into the European Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) it will be possible to fully exploit synergies between the EU space programmes to deliver applications and services in a wide range of sectors, from security and emergency response, to urban planning, agriculture and energy and critical infrastructure, des Dorides said.
“With its expanded mandate, the GSA will continue to support entrepreneurship and stimulate the EU downstream market to deliver applications with tangible social benefits, such as improved environmental performance, better transport efficiency and more effective emergency response,” he said.
Driving innovation in transport
One sector in particular in which new possibilities are opening up is road transport, which is a huge GNSS market segment. The road segment is forecast to dominate all other market segments and account for 93.3% of cumulative revenue in 2019-2029. In her keynote at the NSE forum, the GSA’s Head of Market Development Fiammetta Diani spoke about GNSS and the road sector and, in particular, the state of play in autonomous vehicles.
Noting that almost 97% of new vehicles are equipped with GNSS-enabled in-vehicle systems, which provide PNT for a wide range of in-vehicle applications, Diani said that these systems are currently able to support navigation, remote diagnostics and assisted driving. “In the future, IVS will support even more complex applications, including automated driving,” she said.
And this: First Galileo-enabled autonomous vehicle successfully demonstrated
In terms of the state of play with autonomous driving, the GSA’s Head of Market Development said that preparations are currently underway for Level 4. At this level, a highly automated vehicle performs all driving tasks and monitors the environment under limited conditions, but the driver may still be required to intervene. Level 4 is the penultimate stage before full automation at Level 5.
Diani also noted the recent live demonstration of a Galileo-enabled autonomous vehicle. As part of this demonstration, a Renault ZOE electric car fitted with an innovative positioning engine developed by the ESCAPE project was autonomously driven on tracks at the University of Technology and on public roads in Compiègne, France. The EGE leverages Galileo signals and services to provide a core positioning component in autonomous vehicles.
"This successful test of the ESCAPE positioning engine based on Galileo, at automation Level 4, means that we are getting closer to provide the high accurate and reliable absolute positioning that will be needed for full automation,” she said.
More generally, Galileo will support new road safety functions that will become mandatory from 2022, including accident data recording, intelligent speed assistance, lane keeping assistance and vulnerable road user detection.
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).
As France’s top rugby players scrum, run and tackle they are being tracked by more than just TV cameras and the watching eyes of the crowd. Satnav-based tracking devices between their shoulder blades are keeping tabs on their position and performance – and helping to safeguard their health.
Do geodetického softwaru KOKEŠ ve verzi 14.50, která byla firmou GEPRO oznámena před vánocemi 2019, programátoři udělali následující aktualizace Geom. plány – do převzetí ze starého nastavení doplněno i převzetí GEPLAN.INI. Geom. plány – Tisk GP: funkce nově předpřipraví název výsledného souboru dle kat. vyhlášky včetně možnosti zadat cílový adresář, přidány volby na tisk formuláře „výpočet […]
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Vývojářská firma GEPRO představila novou verzi svého software MISYS, aktuálně ve verzi 14.50, která obsahuje následující aktualizace a novinky Práce s atributy – atributová tabulka pracuje i nad daty WFS. Práce s atributy – do atributové tabulky přidána funkčnost hromadných operací z textového souboru. Práce s atributy – nová funkce Doplnění dalších informací k parcelnímu číslu identifikací. Úpravy v souvislosti se změnami v poskytování […]
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Helsinki was the cool venue for European Space Week 2019. From 3 to 5 December Europe’s leading space event brought together business leaders, policymakers, international experts and the space application user community to gain first-hand insights into the EU’s Space Programmes Copernicus, EGNOS and Galileo. They discussed how space solutions can contribute to a more sustainable future for Europe and the world.
This year’s European Space Week focused on four central themes: how space solutions can help to strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader in climate action; the new space economy for sustainable growth; how to save space for future generations; and space solutions for a sustainable Arctic environment.
Opening the EU Space Week plenary under the banner ‘Sustainable Space, Sustainable Europe, Sustainable Future’ former Finnish President Tarja Halonen highlighted how “Space applications observe own blue planet, enable us to find our way, communicate and connect, more sustainably.”
Christophe Grudler, MEP stated: "Major investments by the EU have enabled progress that no Member State could have achieved on its own.” He highlighted the need to defend and grow the space allocation in the forthcoming European Union budget negotiations. “An ambitious budget will be the only way to ensure Europe's global leadership and strategic autonomy," he concluded.
Pierre Delsaux from the European Commission agreed saying: “We must continue to invest in space.”
Space for climate action
The new European Commission will have a clear focus on climate action, but how can space solutions help? Pierre Delsaux highlighted a future Copernicus mission to monitor CO2 emissions, while GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides outlined the contributions of Galileo and EGNOS to improve resource and energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture through more accurate positioning by enabling the maxim: “Doing more with less.”
“At GSA’s core is the development of products and services,” he continued. “We are funding concrete projects delivering solutions to specific questions and organising events such as hackathons to inspire young developers. The limit to projects is human creativity.”
Sustainable space ecosystem
A new economic ecosystem has been created in Europe as more talent and investment see the space sector as a cool place to do business. Pekka Laurila of Iceye, a small satellite company in Finland building a new digital infrastructure to enable real time knowledge of where everything is at all times, acknowledged that their success has been enabled by others. “We are the product of an ecosystem; we are standing on the shoulders of giants including institutions funded by public money plus a high-quality education system,” Laurila said.
Investor Uli Fricke, founder of Triangles, agreed that there was a viable and thriving commercial space market in Europe and “The funding ecosystem from start-up to IPO is the bottleneck for many companies.” The key factor for any young space business was to have a clear business model and value proposition. “Often you need to take the space angle out of the question, when talking to investors,” she added.
Pascal Claudel, Chief Operating Officer at the GSA highlighted the agency’s role in delivering services 24/7 to users and in fostering users across all market sectors. “We can support SMEs in this ecosystem across the whole EU,” he said. “And there is no need to have space experience to work in the space market nowadays.” But there was a need to work together and involve all EU Member States and public and private investors to grow and sustain the market.
Saving Space
Space – especially low Earth orbit – is becoming a congested space noted keynote speaker Professor Minna Palmroth of the University of Helsinki. And more satellites are being launched with a mega trend towards very large fleets of small commercial satellites. Space debris is becoming a priority issue and she also highlighted the lack of knowledge of space weather in the near-Earth environment. “We still do not fully understand the environment that we launch into,” she commented.
But how to clear the debris? Newer satellites will have limited lifetimes and include de-orbiting technology, while older satellites might require third party action. Could there be a market established for deorbiting space debris and is international legislation a way forward or is standardisation the right route? “The sustainable future in space requires every one of us to work together on this topic,” she concluded.
Sustainable Arctic
The final Space Week plenary examined how EU space solutions can protect the arctic environment and support sustainable growth as the climate changes. Jouni Pulliainen, Director of Space & EO, at the Finnish Meteorological Institute saw three main issues where space can help: gaps in monitoring the climatic changes that are happening, improved communications and more accurate navigation information. Session moderator Professor Heidi Kuusniemi of Vaasa University reinforced the growing importance of robust and reliable navigation services in the Arctic.
Improved synergies between space services could help boost their use in the Arctic said Dan Chirondojan, Director at the Commission’s Joint Research Centre that has conducted a study on space solutions and the region. Improved satellite navigation and communication would be needed to enable future remote control and autonomous vessels in the arctic said Karno Kenovuo, Co-founder and CEO of Awake.AI so evolution of EGNSS services in the region was important. Wider coverage of the Galileo Search and Rescue (SAR) service would be very useful due to its enhanced performance.
Mauro Facchini of the European Commission agreed and indicated that the EGNOS Safety of Life service was currently supported to 72 degrees North but may be extended to 75 degrees North soon and could be deployed over the entire arctic by 2030.
Concluding the plenary sessions Finnish Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Katri Kulmuni thanked all participants in EU Space Week 2019 and stated that: “Space activities must be pursued in a sustainable and responsible manner,” but that the week’s debates had shown that “Space is truly a channel for sustainable growth.”
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) 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 GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).
It is now almost 10 years since ESA’s CryoSat was launched. Throughout its decade in orbit, this novel satellite, which carries a radar altimeter to measure changes in the height of the world’s ice, has returned a wealth of information about how ice sheets, sea ice and glaciers are responding to climate change. One of the most recent findings from this extraordinary mission shows how it can be used to map changes in the seaward edges of Antarctic ice shelves.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the green algae blooms swirling around the Baltic Sea.
'Algae bloom' is the term used to describe the rapid multiplying of phytoplankton – microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea. The chlorophyll that phytoplankton use for photosynthesis collectively tints the surrounding ocean waters, providing a way of detecting these tiny organisms from space.
In most of the Baltic Sea, there are two annual blooms – the spring bloom and the cyanobacterial (also called blue-green algae) bloom in late summer. The Baltic Sea faces many serious challenges, including toxic pollutants, deep-water oxygen deficiencies, and toxic blooms of cyanobacteria affecting the ecosystem, aquaculture and tourism.
Cyanobacteria have qualities similar to algae and thrive on phosphorus in the water. High water temperatures and sunny, calm weather often lead to particularly large blooms that pose problems to the ecosystem.
In this image captured on 20 July 2019, the streaks, eddies and whirls of the late summer blooms, mixed by winds and currents, are clearly visible. Without in situ measurements, it is difficult to distinguish the type of algae that covers the sea as many different types of algae grow in these waters.
The highest concentrations of algal blooms are said to occur in the Central Baltic and around the island of Gotland, visible to the left in the image.
Although algal blooms are a natural and essential part of life in the sea, human activity is also said to increase the number of annual blooms. Agricultural and industrial run-off pours fertilisers into the sea, providing additional nutrients algae need to form large blooms.
The bacteria that consume the decaying plants suck oxygen out of the water, creating dead zones where fish cannot survive. Large summer blooms can contain toxic algae that are dangerous for both humans and other animals.
Satellite data can track the growth and spread of harmful algae blooms in order to alert and mitigate against damaging impacts for tourism and fishing industries.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
In this week's edition of the Earth from Space programme, Copernicus Sentinel-2 takes us over the green algae blooms swirling around the Baltic Sea.
See also Baltic blooms to download the image.
Máte rádi mapy, moderní mapové aplikace a máte chuť se podílet na rozvoji softwaru, který je vytváří? Chcete pracovat pro leadera na českém i světovém trhu v oblasti geoinformatiky? Chcete být členem dobře fungujícího týmu? Pak Vás rádi poznáme. Právě hledáme posilu do našeho týmu konzultantů a developerů.
Protože chceme náš tým rozšířit o další konzultanty a vývojáře webového GIS, hledáme někoho, kdo má alespoň základní znalosti a schopnosti vývoje ve webovém prostředí – primárně vývoje klientských aplikací v JavaScript (ES6, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS3) a ideálně i serverových aplikací nad platformou .NET či Java.
Na práci v menších týmech, kde táhneme za jeden provaz a učíme se jeden od druhého navzájem. Na projekty plné inovativních a technologicky progresivních řešení. Na moderní IT a software opravdového leadera na trhu GIS. Na další vzdělávání, a to nejen formou různých externích školení, ale také interních kurzů v ARCDATA nebo přímo v Esri.
Uvítáme, pokud se na svět díváte jako geograf a k tomu umíte příjemně vystupovat a dobře komunikovat nejen v českém, ale i anglickém jazyce. Výhodou pochopitelně bude i to, zda se navíc dovedete orientovat v produktech Esri nebo v jiných geografických informačních systémech.
Pokud Vás nabídka zaujala, tak neváhejte a pošlete nám svůj životopis na adresu jobs@arcdata.cz. Pokud webový vývoj není zrovna Vaše parketa, ale chtěli byste se i tak stát součástí našeho týmu, podívejte se na další nabízené pozice na stránkách Kariéry.
Poslední únorový pátek se v Olomouci pravidelně koná Kartografický den Olomouc (KDO). 14 ročník (28. 2. 2020) se bude věnovat tématu Kartografie a sport. Podle organizátorů vystoupení přislíbili: účastník několika ročníků závodů Ralley Dakar v roli navigátora “vrchní kartograf” Českého svazu orientačního běhu producent českých turistických map nadšený sportovec tělem i duší využívající mapy před, […]
The post 14. kartografický den v Olomouci bude o mapách a sportu appeared first on GISportal.cz.
Poslední únorový pátek se v Olomouci pravidelně koná Kartografický den Olomouc (KDO). 14 ročník (28. 2. 2020) se bude věnovat tématu Kartografie a sport. Podle organizátorů vystoupení přislíbili: účastník několika ročníků závodů Ralley Dakar v roli navigátora, “vrchní kartograf” Českého svazu orientačního běhu, producent českých turistických map, nadšený sportovec tělem i duší využívající mapy před, […]
The post 14. kartografický den v Olomouci bude o mapách a sportu appeared first on GISportal.cz.