GNSS driven EO and Verifiable Image and Sensor Integration for mission-critical Operational Networks

Project Information

GEO VISION

Grant agreement ID: 641451

DOI

10.3030/641451

Project closed

EC signature date 4 December 2014

Start date 1 January 2015

End date 31 December 2016

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Space

Total cost

€ 1 323 315,00

EU contribution

€ 999 653,25

Coordinated by

ANSUR TECHNOLOGIES AS
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GEO VISION (GNSS driven EO and Verifiable Image and Sensor Integration for mission-critical Operational Networks)

Reporting period: 2016-01-01 to 2016-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

GEO-VISION targets developments of GNSS-enabled technology and functions that will provide SME based GNSS applications (GALILEO 2 – 2014-2015, SME Based EGNSS Applications.)

Europe and the World are facing sever challenges in how to reduce the impact of emergencies and disasters, both natural and man-made. These happen, but we can prepare the management of them by improving preparedness, response and recovery.

GNSS, and especially Galileo, is a key enabler for addressing some of the largest challenges of our society, by helping to provide timely and relevant geo-spatial information. A large number of lives and societies are affected in humanitarian and economical ways every year due to emergencies, crisis, missing security and larger disasters. From the target focus areas we cover citizen safety, mobility, disaster management and climate action including natural catastrophes.

A main innovation focus is a mission-critical visual communication system, where, in addition to true location and time, also trust, reliability and robustness is needed in all elements, ranging from the information capture via the communications to the analysis and decisions. That system has been named RAIDO, and complements a live mapping solution by UNOSAT. GEO-VISION is the sum of both. GNSS is essential for reducing financial and humanitarian impacts of disasters, and technical innovations are related to how GNSS is used for providing trust and confidentiality into data and communications, and managing optimal networking.

A core issue is that in mission-critical visual communication, the photos and video targets use for situational awareness. The ability to make better decisions is key, and visual content should have effect on operations. Precision is needed, with low delay and cost. Traditional “pixel-moving” technology cannot be used effectively.

Several markets for the technology are connected, and we are in working relationships with all. The main markets targeted were:
• Humanitarian: Disaster response (United Nations) and emergency management (civil protection).
• Financial: Damage documentation for cost claims in smaller (Insurance) and larger (Government) Scale.
• Security: Police, surveillance, citizen safety, Government operations, peace keeping.
• Satellite and Mobile communication: Low bandwidth visual communication is relevant for mobile systems and in fact also terrestrial mobile networks with poor coverage or congestion. It´s important to keep in mind that during disasters the capacity is often reduced and the demand is increased.
• UAV operations: When UAVs are used for the target scenarios, real-time sharing of the information captured beyond the location of the pilot is required, but as flights may be conducted in poor coverage areas too, bandwidth-efficient solutions are need.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work packages are divided into 4 main categories, which in a loose way can be descried as below (SyGMa WP-numbering in parentheses):
• WP 20 (3-5) - Getting it all in the right track
• WP 30 (6-8) – Putting it together
• WP 40 (9-10) – Checking that it works well
• WP 50 (10-11) – Making it known and last

Research, Design and Functionality:
o Visual interactive communication with photos and video clips
o Adaptive video streaming
o Smart networking
• Nodes
o User nodes, and RAIDO field communicators for PC, smartphone and embedded Linux
o Remote HQ nodes with a server, mapping and web interfaces
o Field Coordination node, based in laptops and ability to work offline from Internet with users.
• Operations
o Observe, for capturing trustful and reliable situational awareness information and communicating that for further analysis and decision.
o Decide, for rapid and interactive analysis and decision making based on a fusion of the received in-situ information with space and UAV observations
o Act, for communication of relevant visual and other information to field teams that can act and resolve related situations.

Trials:
• Field user trials, specifically testing the overall objectives and the user needs specified. Several field tests were conducted during both years of the project.

Dissemination:
• Range of dissemination and exploitation activities, with activities in Europe, Asia, Africa and Americas, including the United Nations. Impact, has focused specifically on United Nations, European Civil Protection and new opportunities in the world elsewhere. The main purpose is to secure a lasting impact, and for that commercial activities are required as a direct follow-up of the project investments.

Overall status:
All scheduled deliverables are delivered and approved.

Software development:
Several releases for iOS and Android; Novel decision portal for ASIGN.

Design and operations:
Triple function concept (RAIDO: Interaction, Adaptation, Networking);
Triple node network (Field observer, OSOCC, Remote HQ);
Triple phase operations (Observe-Decide-Act).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress beyond state of the art has been achieved in

• Integrated geo-spatial situational awareness system design and implementation in form of RAIDO plus UN rapid mapping

• World Class Research into GNSS-assisted networking and robust communication

• UAV payload communication via satellite for geo-spatial operations and integration

• Operations in crisis and emergency management based in rapid access to accurate geo-spatial visual in-situ data

• Integration of Copernicus and Galileo data

Expected Impact of GEO-VISION
GEO-VISION can have major global impact in a large number of markets, including all phases of emergency management. The process we have with the insurance industry has verified there is also a major potential impact here. An interesting angle in the US has been opened in addition to the UN and EU. We also see impact in the security, UAV and EO markets.

GEO-VISION provides decision-makers with substantially better, faster, cheaper and broader base of space-related information for situational awareness and innovative GNSS solutions for improving the accuracy and security in critical situations and disasters, enabling better and faster decisions, with the impact of saving lives, values, infrastructure, cultural heritage and societal stress and suffering. We believe the synergies of early response capability for insurance in harmony with disaster responders has major potential.
GEO-VISION supports GNSS benefits, in particular GALILEO’s, for citizens directly. The impact is probably increased since GEO-VISION builds upon previous successful work, a solid basis in advanced research and proven implementation efforts in Earth observation, space, emergency management, secure wireless communication and disaster management technologies.

Expected Impacts as Listed in the Work Program
GEO-VISION targets and secures the objectives of the work program directly, and GEO-VISION has a major impact on all phases of both humanitarian and environmental emergency management, and will provide a clear impact at the European and global level. Step by step the solution is making it´s way into UN and EU operations, and is now also a formal part of the EU Civil Protection training. We are discussing further use with the ERCC in MArch. Similarly we are in the process with UN OCHA.
GEO-VISION provides a decisive impact both to the European and global levels relative to the objectives listed in the work program.

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