How does a farmer benefit from the use of Copernicus Sentinel data? How much can a shipping company save from using this data when navigating the Baltic? Can civil protection agencies using satellite-based maps reduce the damages incurred by extensive floods? What are the associated environmental benefits and how do all these cases extrapolate on a Europe-wide basis? These are the questions we try to answer in the 4-year long Sentinel Economic Benefits Study funded by ESA.
Led by EARSC, the study involves the analysis of operational cases across Europe and beyond, whereby Sentinel data is used to support the actions of private or public actors. Each case study underlines the causal relationship between the use of Copernicus Sentinel satellite data and benefits resulting from their use, including increased productivity, more efficient and environmentally-friendly operations, economic gains, improved quality of life, etc. The results of this work are shared with policy makers, the Earth Observation industry and the general public.
Leading the execution of other ad hoc analyses. This is done by our Director Dimitri Papadakis who acts as the Sentinel Benefits Assessment Analyst. In this role, Dimitri carries out detailed studies of other areas benefitting from the Sentinels, such as the start-up ecosystem or the research community.
The Copernicus Service in Support to EU External Action (SEA) constitutes a valuable decision support tool for actors dealing with crisis management and security abroad. The service is managed by the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) and has been fully operational since 2016. It provides users with rapid, on-demand geospatial information for the detection and monitoring of events or activities outside the European borders that may have implications for European and global security. In this context, SatCen is looking to raise the awareness of current users of the service, as well as promote the benefits of the service to new potential users. Evenflow is leading the corresponding User Uptake contract, helping SatCen by producing and executing a comprehensive communication strategy.
Copernicus provides a wealth of data collected by satellites orbiting the Earth and complemented by “in-situ” observations on the ground, in the sea and in the air. This combination not only enables to collect ground truth to complement satellite data; it also enables the development of applications offering reliable information for the benefit of multiple sectors such as agriculture, forestry, coastal water quality monitoring etc. In this context, the European Environment Agency (EEA) plays a coordinating role in the Copernicus in situ component, helping the Copernicus services and the European Commission to manage an ecosystem of data providers and maintain an overview of the state of play in relation to in situ observations. This effort is supported by Awareness raising activities, led by Evenflow in the context of 4-year framework contract. The main aim of these activities is to spread the word to a large audience of potential users across Europe and promote uptake.
Produce a series of communication materials: a new Copernicus In Situ component website, newsletter, a series of fact sheets on in situ data requirements for each Copernicus service component, etc.
From construction sites to vineyards, from highways to narrow city streets, and from offshore surveying sites to the skies, satellite navigation signals provide precise positioning and accurate timing that help users optimise or secure their operations. Thus, with the overall market for satellite navigation services growing over the past decade at a double-digit rate, it is imperative to further develop their use and bring a multitude of benefits to economy, society and the environment. This is precisely the role of the European GNSS Agency (GSA), who oversees market development activities around Galileo and EGNOS. These two European flagship programmes not only secure Europe’s independence in such a crucial domain; they also have unique value proposition compared to other systems allowing them to enable new or more advanced applications.
Getting off a skype call with Sir Magdi Yacoub – the world renowned cardio surgeon, we knew that this was going to be one of the most pleasant and meaningful assignments of our working career. As part of its inspired vision, the Magdi Yacoub Foundation has overseen the establishment of the New Aswan Heart Centre – a centre of excellence to combat heart disease in Egypt. The extension of the hospital would be ideally completely “green”, that is powered only by renewable energy. To that end, Sir Magdi asked us to develop a business plan for the development of a solar farm in the adjacent area of the hospital. Teaming up with solar energy experts, we developed an advanced economic modelling tool that can run different investment scenarios – based on the exact location and associated solar radiation potential, the use of different technologies (PVs or CSPs) and the expected consumption.
It’s not easy being a farmer. This is especially the case on Europe’s nearly 10 million small farms facing a number of growing challenges, including climate change and higher fuel prices. The APOLLO project has recognised that satellite data can be used to address many of these challenges and is developing an app to help farmers increase their efficiency – saving money and protecting the environment. FARMORE, as the app is called, is being developed together with farmers in Greece, Serbia and Spain to make sure it is tailored to their needs and habits.
APOLLO is financed by the European Union through the Horizon2020 programme.
Water is vital to life – and thus to society, the economy and the environment. As a precious resource, we must responsibly manage our lakes. Practically, it is a challenge to monitor and understand these complex ecological systems. To address these challenges, the EOMORES project is drawing on Copernicus data and developing innovative optical on-site sensors to measure, model and forecast water quality. The project will result in a commercial service.
EOMORES is financed by the European Union through the Horizon2020 programme.
Producing communication materials, including the website, leaflets, brochures, etc.
Wouldn’t it be great if you had an app that informs you on the current and future air quality conditions, UV index, pollen at your exact location? How about offering you also personalised advice on when its best to visit a major sight in a new city, go out for a bike trip or simply stroll outdoors? This is exactly what DiscovAIR does, a new app developed by the National Observatory of Athens with the support of Evenflow and the Academy of Athens. DiscovAIR, recognised already as a success story, is powered by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) data to identify atmospheric hazards (Saharan dust, air pollution, sun radiation strength, allergens and heat waves) and help tourists to optimise their plans and avoid discomfort. Currently tested in Greece and Cyprus, DiscovAIR aspires to become the go-to app for tourists and citizens around Europe!
DiscovAIR is being developed as a use case of CAMS – which is implemented by ECMWF.
The number of displaced people in the world has never been higher. In turn, growing migration has led to increased pressure on civil protection and humanitarian organisations. It is very hard to predict migration numbers and to adequately prepare and respond. The Big Data for Migration project – funded by the European Space Agency – has explored how satellite, mobile, social media and other kinds of data could be used to support the operational needs of actors such as Frontex, SatCen, EASO, IOM and SOS Children Villages. It has resulted in the definition of different services that will be further tested in subsequent a demonstration project.
Europe’s investments in space can bring large benefits to its neighbouring countries in the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa. They can be harnessed to improve the quality of life for the average citizen by informing plans to adapt to climate change, access to safe and nutritious food, safer extraction of raw materials, support for wider use of renewable energies, and other uses. The GEO-CRADLE project, led by NOA, brings together 25 partners from 3 continents to support and coordinate the Earth Observation community across the region and help it achieve its potential to support advancement.
To accomplish its mission, the project includes a range of activities. It surveyed the status and assessed the maturity of Earth Observation in 13 countries, creating an open regional data hub to include data sets identified through the survey. It organised workshops with academics, key government personnel, innovative companies and Earth Observation experts from across the region and created an online portal to enhance regional networking. In addition, the project is currently organising international pilots to demonstrate Earth Observation and its benefits in action.
GEO-CRADLE is funded by the European Union through the Horizon2020 programme.
Our team members have or are taking part in the project under other organisational arrangements.
The European Space Expo was a travelling exhibition organised by the European Commission to raise awareness of European Space programmes amongst the general public. Active between 2012 and 2016, it showcased the space-based services and applications made possible by the EU flagship programmes EGNOS, Galileo and Copernicus in 33 cities across Europe. The exhibition had over one million visitors in these four years.
We teamed up with Planetek Italia to carry out an awareness-raising demonstration of a Copernicus Marine Service downstream application called CMEMS Rheticus. The result was Rheticus™ Marine, an innovative service for monitoring coastal water-quality in the Mediterranean. The service was enriched with Copernicus Marine Service data and made operational in Greece and Italy.
The Copernicus Observer is the Copernicus programme’s official e-magazine. Starting in 2013 as a quarterly newsletter, it now releases one highlight article every Friday afternoon. Aimed primarily at the general public, the Observer offers insights on the Copernicus ecosystem, reporting on new research, service upgrades, business support schemes and other major developments, as well as promoting workshops and conferences relevant to Copernicus.
Evenflow’s Dimitri Papadakis is a regular contributor to the Copernicus Observer, both as an author and copy editor. A list of articles he has contributed to can be found here. Fun fact: Dimitri came up with the name “Copernicus Observer”, in his previous role working for the European Commission’s contractor.
Evenflow has been supporting the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies to perform strategic studies looking into the current state of play and the evolution of the European EO Sector. These studies have helped to promote the dialogue between different actors in the EO value chain and contribute to the realisation of benefits stemming from Copernicus for service providers and users alike.
Contributing to the conceptualisation of eoMALL (fun fact, Lefteris came up with the name!) and to the development a roadmap for its implementation. In that context, an in-depth analysis of PPP schemes was also performed.