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Tag: Copernicus Masters

  • Copernicus Masters 2019 submissions now open

    The Copernicus Masters competition awards applications and solutions that use Copernicus data to tackle important challenges. Submissions for the 2019 awards opened on April 1.

    The demand for Earth observation (EO) data is exploding in order to find innovative solutions for today’s challenges such as climate change, food security or water supply.

    With more than 15 terabytes of free EO data generated by the Copernicus programme every day, the Copernicus services deliver near-real-time data on a global level — contributing towards the sustainable management of the environment.

    Simultaneously, the Earth observation industry is constantly growing. New data platforms are being developed to receive and process the huge amount of satellite data collected from the Sentinels — and other contributing commissions.

    These data platforms are established on the cloud and work with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, enabling the development of new applications in the EO sector.

    The Copernicus Masters 2019 — Europe’s leading innovation competition for Earth observation (EO) — is searching for such outstanding applications, solutions, and business concepts from future-oriented SMEs, startups, universities and individuals in the fields of business, research and higher education.

    From April 1 to June 30, participants in the Copernicus Masters 2019 can submit their innovative EO solutions to eight challenges offered by the following world-class partners: European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Astrosat, Planet, BayWa and Airbus together with sobloo and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

    “The Copernicus Masters is the innovative driver for future-oriented applications and business concepts using Earth observation data. This creates socio-economic benefits through public services all over Europe. Besides, it supports business ventures and high-tech jobs in Europe’s digital economy,” states Josef Aschbacher, director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes. ESA is an initiating partner of the Copernicus Masters and has set a challenge for participants every year since 2011.

    Participants can demonstrate their innovative use of Earth observation data across a wide variety of challenge topics, including the fields of future EO, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, energy, health, sustainable living, smart farming, and digital transportation, as well as maritime, defence & security.

    “Since 2011, the Copernicus Masters competition has evolved into the leading innovation platform for promoting user uptake of Earth observation data in a commercial, societal and sustainable context. Each year, it showcases new solutions and trends, serving as an integral part of an international EO innovation network,” adds Thorsten Rudolph, managing director of AZO, the competition organizer.

    Together with cash prizes, challenge winners will receive access to an international network of leading Earth observation organizations, substantial satellite data quotas, and business development support worth more than EUR 450,000 in total. The Overall Winner will receive an additional cash prize of EUR 10,000.

    For more details on this year’s challenges, prizes, and partners, visit www.copernicus-masters.com. For more information, see space-of-innovation.com. Additional information on the Copernicus programme is available at www.esa.int/copernicus and www.copernicus.eu.

  • European satnav competition open for submissions

    The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) — the largest international competition for the commercial use of satellite navigation — is once again in search of outstanding ideas and business models for accelerating Galileo applications.

    Renowned institutions and regional partners are set to award prizes worth a total of more than €1 million in more than 20 categories.

    Submissions are due June 30.

    Innovation Network for Satellite Navigation

    Satellite navigation is indispensable when it comes to accurate, reliable and continuous localization, according to the ESNC. This technology is fundamental to a variety of current trends, including multimodal logistics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and smart cities.

    First held in 2004, the ESNC has evolved into the leading innovation scouting mechanism in terms of Galileo-related applications across Europe and beyond. Moreover, the ESNC promotes the transformation of groundbreaking business ideas into market-ready products and new ventures.

    Each year, the competition offers advantages to more than 400 business ideas. It has awarded prizes to more than 300 winners, which represent just a fraction of the 3,700 innovative concepts submitted by 11,000 participants. Through its network — including the ESA Business Incubation Centres, other incubators across Europe and the new E-GNSS Accelerator co-funded by the European Commission — the ESNC plays a decisive role in the realization of promising ideas by supporting the foundation of startups and creating high-tech jobs.

    One of the main objectives of the ESNC is fostering the European space sector’s competitiveness globally by boosting the development of commercial space applications, especially for startups, SMEs and young entrepreneurs. Advancing Europe’s space programs and meeting user needs, especially when it comes to space data access to encourage alternative business models and technological progress, represent major goals of this strategy.

    ESNC-2017-kickoff

    The involvement of the pan-European spirit within the EU Space Strategy is realized in the ESNC by engaging multiple regions across Europe with their own dedicated prizes.

    “The investment in space technologies and applications as well as the support of forward-thinking entrepreneurs and startups ensure Europe’s increased competitiveness,” said Elżbieta Bieńkowska, commissioner for internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs. “To achieve this ultimate goal, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) and the Copernicus Masters are a proven platform for trendsetting technologies and business models based on Galileo and Copernicus to implement the new EU Space Strategy.”

    Within this context, this year’s ESNC patronage taken over by Markku Markkula, president of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), sets the tone for the innovation competition’s pan-European mission of uniting the European regions and cities through the support of space-related businesses and future-oriented entrepreneurs, increasing the market and user uptake of Galileo.

    “The European Committee of the Regions attaches great importance to the new opportunities linked to the involvement of European regions in innovation networks, such as the European Satellite Navigation Competition,” Markkula said. “I have therefore gladly taken on the role of patron for the ESNC as of 2017.”

    E-GNSS Accelerator

    As the high-tech platform for pioneering satellite navigation applications, the ESNC is now additionally equipped with the new E-GNSS Accelerator. This program is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and startups to accelerate their business case on a broad scale and bring their products and services to market.

    The E-GNSS Accelerator will run for three years and will directly support the winners of the ESNC 2017, 2018 and 2019. Thereby, the participants await even more prizes, services and three further business incubations worth an additional value of EUR 500,000.

    ESNC-2017-event

    ESNC Partners

    In the ESNC 2017, special prizes are to be offered in partnership with the following institutions: the European GNSS Agency (GSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

    Prototypes can also be entered into the GNSS Living Lab Challenge.

    The University Challenge, meanwhile, is explicitly designed for students and research associates.

    In addition, participants choose from this year’s confirmed partner regions: Asia, Austria, Baden-Württemberg / Germany, Basque Country / Spain, Bavaria / Germany, Catalonia / Spain, Estonia, France, Hesse / Germany, Ireland, Madrid / Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, and the Valencian Community / Spain.

    Stay tuned for more updates on additional ESNC regions.

    Obtain more information at the official website, www.esnc.eu, comprising all relevant information on prizes, partners, and terms of participation involved in the ESNC.

    Prizes for the Best Applications

    This year’s winners will take home prizes worth a more than EUR 1 million and be welcomed into the ESNC’s leading innovation network for global satellite navigation systems.

    Along with cash, the various prize categories offer primarily technical, business-related and legal support in realizing the winning business models. A jury of international experts from the realms of research and industry will also evaluate the winners of all the categories to select an overall winner, who will be revealed at the festive Awards Ceremony in early November 2017.

    Furthermore, three additional incubations, supported by the European Commission, will be awarded in front of a high-ranking audience.

    Those who enter the ESNC also stand to benefit greatly from the opportunity to work closely with leading institutions and regional partners. The ESNC is geared towards individuals and teams from companies, research facilities and universities around the world.

    Awards Ceremony and Space Conference

    A partner program, the Copernicus Masters (Earth observation), also kicked off on April 5 in Brussels.

    The Awards Ceremony for both the ESNC and the Copernicus Masters takes place in early November. The event brings together industry, politics, entrepreneurship and research to showcase the most disruptive space applications and discuss trendsetting developments in the satellite downstream sector and its various application fields.

  • Munich Start-up Building Radar Wins Copernicus Masters Competition

    ESNC-2015-BuildingRadar

    Building Radar GmbH — providing a global, satellite-based online database for new construction projects — has been named this year’s overall winner of the international Earth observation competition Copernicus Masters.

    The award ceremony took place during the Satellite Masters Conference. The ceremony was held at the ddb forum in Berlin Oct. 20 and held in conjunction with the European Satellite Navigation Competition awards.

    Thorsten Rudolph (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen), Dr Josef Aschbacher (European Space Agency), Paul Indinger (Building Radar GmbH) and Ulrike Daniels (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen). (Photo: Anna Kreuz)
    Thorsten Rudolph (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen), Dr Josef Aschbacher (European Space Agency), Paul Indinger (Building Radar GmbH) and Ulrike Daniels (Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen). (Photo: Anna Kreuz)

    Founded in Munich by Paul Indinger, Leopold Neuerburg, and Artem Ostankov in 2014, the start-up came out on top in the competition’s European Space Imaging High-Res Urban Challenge and went on to edge out the winners of seven other categories for the grand prize. The Building Radar online platform, which already contains more than a million construction projects and over 200,000 company profiles, uses a custom-developed algorithm to identify new building projects around the world. Its customers include companies active in the new construction and maintenance sectors. With building project leads accounting for some EUR 72 billion in revenue each year, Building Radar makes it possible to verify online search results and track changes in projects by means of satellite imagery. The platform thus enables its users to monitor many different construction endeavours while providing much greater cost-efficiency than its competitors thanks to its innovative data research methods.

    The Copernicus Masters’ EUR 20,000 grand prize was presented to Building Radar’s managing director, Paul Indinger, by Dr Josef Aschbacher, Head of Programme Planning & Coordination within the European Space Agency’s Earth Observation Programmes Directorate. “Building Radar’s innovative combination of Earth observation data including Sentinel-2 optical data, machine learning, and data mining has created an all-new service for the construction industry,” Aschbacher stated. “It also clearly demonstrates both the usefulness Copernicus provides to a wide range of sectors and the Copernicus Masters ability to discover market-oriented applications of Earth observation data.”

    Since 2011, the Copernicus Masters has recognised each year’s best ideas for making innovative use of such data. The 2015 edition received more than 200 entries from close to 50 countries around the world. The applications submitted this year offer a fantastic glimpse of the next generation of Earth observation services along the entire value chain.

    “Through the Copernicus Masters, we’re aiding visionary companies in bringing their innovations to market. Working with the European Space Agency and its ESA incubation programme (ESA BIC) has enabled us to assemble an ideal platform for providing these projects with long-term support,” explains Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of competition organiser Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen. “We’re proud to have witnessed a constant rise in the start-ups involved in commercialising Earth observation services since the Copernicus Masters was initiated in 2011 and are confident that the number will continue to grow with the launch of further Sentinel satellites. Meanwhile, it’s great to hear that we’ll have the chance to support Building Radar further at ESA BIC Bavaria follow its big win in this year’s competition.”

    Much of the international Earth observation industry came together at the ddb Forum in Berlin on Tuesday for the 2015 Copernicus Masters Awards Ceremony. Along with the overall winner, those who emerged victorious in nine topic-specific categories took home prizes worth more than EUR 300,000 in total. These included cash, consulting, data packages, and other assistance designed to help the winners refine their ideas for an eventual market launch at one of Europe’s 11 ESA Business Incubation Centres.

    As in the previous year, the awards ceremony was held in parallel with the Satellite Masters Conference. This afforded the winners the opportunity to introduce their ideas to the international Earth observation and navigation community and discuss innovations in space-based technologies and services.

    The Winners

    Since 2011 more than 700 participants submitted their innovative solution for business and society based on Earth observation to the Copernicus Masters. Many of the ideas submitted in previous years have been implemented and successfully launched into the market. Within the last five years, 40 winners have been awarded within the competition.

    University Challenge
    Foresight Crops – Insect Swarm Prediction Modelling, submitted by Dr Oluropo Ogundipe from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

    ESA APP Challenge
    Wave – The City Assistant, submitted by Patrick Wolowicz from subzero.eu software, Austria.

    DLR Energy & Environmental Challenge
    Beehive Locations – Monitoring Habitats with Satellite Data, submitted by Deepak Bhatia from Poland.

    T-Systems Big Data Challenge
    ImageQuerying – Real-time Image Analysis and Querying, submitted by Dr Dirk Tiede and Team from the Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS, University of Salzburg, Austria.

    Smart Cities and Intelligent Transport Challenge by the Satellite Applications Catapult
    eXude – Flood Monitor and Drain Effectiveness, submitted by Steve Lee from Stevenson Astrosat Ltd., United Kingdom.

    NCMA Spatio-Temporal Data Visualisation Challenge
    CybEarth – First-Person Visualisation of EO Data, submitted by Asst Prof Panagiotis Partsinevelos and Team from SenseLab, Technical University of Crete, Greece.

    CLOUDEO – The Going Live Challenge
    Crop Analytics – The Future of Farmland Diagnostics, submitted by Nicolas Ackermann and Team from Gamaya SA, Switzerland.

    European Space Imaging High-Res Urban Challenge and Copernicus Master
    Building Radar – Construction Detection and Monitoring, submitted by Paul Indinger and Team from Building Radar GmbH, Germany.

    GEO Illustration Challenge
    Two Halves Of One Heart, submitted by Dieter Pikulski from Germany.

     

  • Copernicus Masters Competition Submissions Due by July 13

    The Coperinicus Masters Cup Photo: Anwendungszentrum GmbH
    The Coperinicus Masters Cup
    Photo: Anwendungszentrum GmbH

    Copernicus Masters submissions of ideas, applications or business concepts involving innovative uses of Earth observation data are due by July 13. Along with cash prizes, the winners will gain access to an international network, corresponding data, start-up funding and other support valued at more than €300,000 ($322,444) total.

    The amount of data produced by Copernicus, the European Earth observation program, and its Sentinel satellites opens the door to products and applications in a wide array of business sectors. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) have thus initiated the Copernicus Masters competition to aid visionary entrepreneurs in bringing their innovations to market.

    “Start-ups and SMEs in particular stand to benefit from the virtually limitless scope of the data Copernicus provides,” said Prof Dr Volker Liebig, director of Earth observation programs and head of the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), ESA. “The ideas submitted to previous editions of the Copernicus Masters have already demonstrated this to impressive effect, as has the constantly growing number of companies that are developing products and services based on Earth observation data in ESA’s business incubation program.”

    These companies operate in a diverse range of fields, where they address subjects such as resource efficiency in agriculture, construction and renewable energy. The Copernicus Masters also is looking for new services and products in forward-thinking segments such as big data, cloud computing, crowdsourcing, data visualisation and mobile applications, to name a few.

    In this year’s edition, prizes will be awarded in topic-specific challenges sponsored by partners, including: ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), T-Systems International GmbH, Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., Greece’s National Cadastre and Mapping Agency (NCMA), CloudEO AG and European Space Imaging GmbH. The new University Challenge specifically addresses students and research assistants around the world.

    “We and our partners are offering the participants space for innovation in areas that are already shaping the future — the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, smart cities and renewable energy, for example,” said Thorsten Rudolph, AZO managing director. “We want to support them in realising their creative solutions to these global challenges.”

    Research and industry experts will select the winner of each challenge. The overall winner and 2015 Copernicus Master will receive, along with their challenge prize, €20,000 ($21,478) in cash and a satellite data package worth a further €60,000 ($64,434), which is being provided with the financial support of the European Commission.

    “Taking part in the Copernicus Masters gave us the chance to make some key contacts and gather valuable feedback,” said John Smedegaard, a co-founder of Ceptu, which won the CloudEO Farming Challenge in 2014. “The whole process was a huge help in advancing our idea and developing it into a commercial product through our new start-up.”

    All of the winners will be announced this fall and recognized at an awards ceremony.

    For details on this year’s prizes, partners and terms of participation, view the event website.

  • Deadline Friday for Satellite Masters Conference Registration

    Deadline to register for the first Satellite Masters Conference, scheduled for October 23-24 in Berlin, is this Friday, October 10.

    The conference is planned as a networking event and a “unique marketplace for sharing innovations based on satellite navigation and Earth observation capabilities and connecting with the world’s leading network for downstream satellite business,” according to conference organizers.

    The event will feature conference sessions, workshops, and round-table discussions. Speakers will come from research and industry, as well as award-winning entrepreneurs. See the program here.

    The conference features the joint awards ceremony of Europe’s major innovation competitions for space applications — the European Satellite Navigation Competition (Galileo Master) and Copernicus Masters. The Awards Ceremony will be held October 23 at 18:30.

    Another event is business matching — individual meetings with other conference participants. All participants are invited to register for business matching, held all day October 23 and 24, to pre-schedule one-on-one meetings with their peers.

    Attendees can connect with high-level representatives from leading institutions such as the European Space Agency, European Commission, European GNSS Agency, European Patent Office, EU Committee of the Regions, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, German Aerospace Center, and NASA, as well as major industry players like Airbus Defence and Space, European Space Imaging, Hisdesat, Garmin, Nokia, Skybox Imaging, TomTom, T-Systems and many more. A multitude of exciting start-up companies from the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) and other award-winning entrepreneurs will also be in attendance.

    For more information, visit the conference website.