Resolution of the second Earth Observation Use Case Ideas Competition for the Private Sector

The call to participate in the second edition of the Earth Observation Use Case Ideas Competition for the Private Sector was published on 15 January. This initiative, which is being coordinated by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), is part of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia promoted by the Catalan Government and deployed in collaboration with the IEEC, the  Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) and the i2CAT Foundation.

The competition was aimed at obtaining innovative proposals for Earth observation use cases that the NewSpace ecosystem can offer to the Catalan private business sector in the form of services based on information coming from satellites.

Among other requirements, the call for proposals demanded all submitted cases to be based on satellite data; to incorporate data obtained from the ‘Menut’ nanosatellite—the second satellite mission, and the first Earth observation mission, of the NewSpace Strategy—as a demonstrator; to be applicable to the Catalan territory; and to integrate the active participation of the end-user.

Moreover, as a new feature in this second edition, the winning use cases will be part of ESA Phi-LabNET Spain’s project portfolio. ESA Phi-LabNET Spain, co-funded by the Government of Catalonia through the NewSpace Strategy and coordinated by a consortium led by the IEEC, is framed within the ScaleUp Program of the European Space Agency (ESA). Focused on promoting research and transfer to the market of space solutions that improve climate resilience and sustainability, its main mission is to accelerate the future of the space sector, both upstream and downstream, through innovative projects with high commercial potential.

The companies and proposals that have been chosen are:

• SPASCAT (REMOT project)
• Lobelia (SAPIC project)
• MOAI Analytics (TIAFA project)

The three chosen Earth observation use cases will help to promote the use of satellite data and to highlight the benefits that companies can obtain if they incorporate data from the ‘Menut’ into their operations. The three cases will be awarded a financial prize of 2,500 euros and will be eligible for a subsequent service contract of 47,500 euros each. All details are available on the public procurement services platform.

REMOT aims to use Earth observation technologies to optimise vineyard irrigation by inferring the water stress of the plants in a scalable and automated way. This would allow irrigation to be planned according to the needs of the crop, merging data from multispectral satellite imagery, field samples and predictive models. The solution will take the form of a WebApp platform, integrated into the end-user workflows to reduce time-consuming processes and improve decision-making.

This project will be developed in collaboration with two Catalan companies: the technical consultancy for agricultural companies Agropixel and the winemaking company Codorníu.

The service proposed by SAPIC is a viewer that will provide an advanced fire danger indicator capable of reporting the risk of fire in any area selected by the user; in this case the area of influence of the energy transfer operator Electra Caldense, which will be the end-user. These infrastructures represent an added risk factor, as any incident can generate sparks and start high-intensity fires. The SAPIC system addresses the challenge of detecting points that could start a fire by using Earth observation technologies combined with high-resolution climate data adapted to each specific location.

This project will be developed in collaboration with the company Electra Caldense itself, which conveys electricity to ten municipalities in the Vallès region and six in the Segrià region, through the use of electricity grids that combine underground lines and medium-voltage overhead lines. The Spanish Association for Sustainable Forestry (PEFC), which promotes and disseminates the sustainable management of forests, will also be taking part.

The TIAFA project consists on the automated detection of water leaks in underground and open-air canals, using satellite image analysis technologies and artificial intelligence algorithms. The main goal is to carry on an early identification of any signs of leakage, such as anomalous changes or disturbances in vegetation or soil moisture adjacent to the canal, in order to prevent water losses, reduce safety risks and improve efficiency in water management.

The project is mainly aimed at large operators and managers of energy supply and generation infrastructures, with canal networks spread over very diverse territories. In this case, the project will be developed in collaboration with ENDESA.