Experts from various fields introduced the companies to possibilities of using Earth observation and navigation data as well to opportunities of participating in prestigious European competitions.On Thursday, 4 June 2020, SARIO hosted its first webinar focused on space technology. The discussion about the use of data from the European satellite programmes Copernicus (Earth observation) and Galileo (navigation) was joined by Monika Mayr from the German organization AZO (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen), Peter Pastorek from the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic (MŽP) and representatives from Slovak companies Matúš Bakoň (insar.sk) and Jakub Kapuš (Spacemanic, Slovak Organisation for Space Activities).The discussion was moderated by Michal Brichta, SARIO’s team leader for Diversification services.In the first part of the debate, M. Mayr presented activities of the AZO centre, one of the most important one being organization of different competitions relevant to the space sector, known under the name Innovation Masters Series. M. Mayr described, in particular, two of these competitions – Galileo Masters and Copernicus Masters, which aim to seek innovative solutions in the field of satellite navigation and Earth observation. Both of them represent a unique opportunity for Slovak companies to gain, besides a financial reward, also professional feedback for the submitted projects and ideas as well as tips for their improvement and a chance to develop their network of professional contacts on an international scale.We would like to highlight the approaching deadline for the submission of applications for these two competitions – the 30th of June 2020.M. Bakoň, from the company insar.sr is the last year’s winner of the Copernicus Masters Airbus sobloo Multi-Data Challenge, focused on seeking innovative solutions using data from Copernicus and Airbus EO systems in the fields such as agriculture, forestry, defence and security, or smart cities. The winning system remotlO-X, developed by the company insar.sk, is able to monitor movements of soil, buildings, or other objects. At the last SARIO webinar ‘ICT in Emergency Situations’, M. Bakoň already presented how the system remotlO-X can help during critical situations.Another participant with successful involvement in Innovation Masters Series, this time in Galileo Masters, is J. Kapuš from the company Spacemanic and the Slovak Organisation for Space Activities, which successfully developed and launched the first Slovak satellite skCUBE. He stressed that the competitions do not demand much time to participate and are suitable not only for completed complex projects but also for proving and contesting ideas in their early development stage. J. Kapuš identifies an advantage in the data from this system particularly in its accuracy and its ability to be implemented through different sectors (agriculture, forestry, aviation, people localisation, etc.).P. Pastorek, the representative from the Ministry of Environment of the SR, presented the possibilities of different use-cases of the Copernicus system and he also highlighted its versatility in several sectors. Thanks to the constellations of Sentinel satellites which constantly orbit the Earth as well as thanks to terrestrial data sources we are now able to collect information about chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere, levels of emissions, or the state of our oceans, fields or forests. The Ministry, itself, uses this data in the field of environmental protection either in the observation of climate changes, or changes in the vegetation zones.The speakers have agreed that the data from both programmes have a wide range of possible utilisations and therefore create great opportunities for software companies and start-ups. They all fully recommend participation in both competitions - Galileo Masters and Copernicus Masters, which offer a great possibility to present projects to experts in the sector and to promote companies behind these projects in this international space economy.Should you have any questions regarding the competitions, feel free to contact us at diversification@sario.sk.
