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Thank you EU Science & Innovation!
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FabSpace 2.0: “A creative space for fab innovations”
FabSpace 2.0 for Kids
FabSpace 2.0 for Kids
It is really exciting and charming to interact with kids and FabSpace Darmstadt had that opportunity to welcome more than 20 kids in the Laboratory at the Institute of Geodesy, Darmstadt University of Technology. All those kids are in different age group as 10 – 12 years and they are kids of Merck employees. In their occasion in summer named as Merck-Holiday-Week they wanted to know more about earth science, satellite technologies and space science in general. It says “young brains are fertile than an older one” and it is the high time for them to start thinking about those complex sciences. Darmstadt is a hub of space science including relevant organizations like ESOC, EUMETSAT and many more companies. Therefore, kids are also really enthusiastic to know about what is the role of those space industries and how they are practicing space science.
In the beginning kids were introduced the hierarchy of the academic system and what is the specialty of Institute of Geodesy and the project FabSpace 2.0. later on the fundamentals of earth observation satellites were explained. It was an outstanding interactive environment while explaining in local language (German) how satellites can help us improving our life. How satellites are monitoring the earth from space for instance, natural and manmade hazards (i.e. flood, landslide, volcanos, forest fire, oil spill etc.), mapping water resources and forest, managing transportation to reduce air pollution etc.
In the next point kids were introduced by the basics of geodesy and navigation satellites. How navigation services as Galileo/EGNOS or GPS is working for the better positioning system. In an open discussion on how navigation signal works inside a tunnel, kids were very curious and they have very fresh and innovative answers.
The root of our next generation is all of our young stars. It is our social and/or political responsibility to provide them a better environment and proper guidelines to grow-up. It is indeed an outstanding movement by FabSpace to introduce space science and geo-science for their better future. Although, FabSpace all over the Europe act as a pre-incubator for satellite data driven business creation but getting in touch with kids and showing them clear pathway of shaping our future through earth observation and geospatial technologies was a great pleasure.
FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt uploads dozen of new media
Finally after summer break team of FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt worked on some new sections of ComBase and uploaded even more media. You should definitely check out our new image gallery at flickr where you can download all our images. In addition to that you just have to watch our brand new youtube video with a lot of scenes from our recent activities. And there will be even more content in the next weeks from the past and the present. So stay tuned.
FabSpace goes to America
IGARSS 2017 hosts the European FabSpace2.0 project. At Fort Worth, Texas, USA, at the 37th annual symposium of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS), the Fabspace 2.0 project and its first results has been presented in the session entitled “Special Theme: Emerging Industry Remote Sensing Activities”.
The conference is likely the most important in the field of remote sensing, with the participation of thousands of delegates from academics, research and industry. The theme for IGARSS 2017 is “International Cooperation for Global Awareness” which emphasizes the need, organizers stressed, to work together to address many challenges we are facing today.
The talk has been given by Fabio Del Frate (University of Rome Tor Vergata). Announcement of the call for expression of interest recently launched by the project to increase the number of the partners has been also given. “In fact, very high ranked European Universities expressed preliminary interest for the initiative”, says Del Frate.
FabSpace Challenge in Italy: Meet the winners
The projects of the Local Challenge “Improve the planning, operation and maintenance of transport infrastructures” of the FabSpace 2.0 project have been selected by Tor Vergata University and BIC Lazio.
Subject of the Challenge: maintenance and monitoring of roads, bridges and transport infrastructures in Italy thanks to innovative solutions that use satellite data.
The 3 selected projects are:
Project No.1: To optimize, thanks to the use of satellite data, the positioning of electric power columns for vehicles;
Project No 2: Thermal maps that use satellite data to build coverage infrastructures in public transport stops;
Project No 3: To Improve road maintenance and safety thanks to satellite data in those areas where there is vegetation.
Call for Expression of Interest: Creating new FabSpace services
We live in an era of an almost limitless availability of data, spatial data included. At the core of the development of the now emerging (geo)information society is the ability to convert the “raw” data into useful information and knowledge. The ability to use the potential of the available spatial data and to create innovative geo-information applications that change the world around us, the society and ourselves, is essential for the effectiveness of sustainable development, for rational spatial planning and for increasing the European innovativeness.
FabSpace 2.0 aims at making Universities open innovation centres for their region and at improving their contribution to the socio-economic and environmental performance of societies by exploiting Earth Observation data and geospatial information. In a collaborative research environment within Universities, students and researchers will get in contact with end-users’ needs and will have the possibility to rapidly prototype innovative EO-Earth Observation applications and services, exploiting free Sentinel Data and Copernicus Core Services.
The initial network of FabSpace 2.0 partners consists of six centres (in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece and Poland), each one composed by a local University and the local ESA BIC-Business Incubation Centre, and it is now expanding.
Your Organization can now become one of them…. and be part of the core group of the FabSpace 2.0 Network
Experience a new journey into open innovation based on geo-spatial and Earth Observation data.
Please read the attached information package below and feel free to ask questions and clarifications to Mr Marcello Maranesi (Univ. of Rome Tor Vergata maranesimarcello@gmail.com ) and Mrs Aurélie Baker (ESA BIC Sud France – Aerospace Valley: baker@aerospace-valley.com
Call for Expression of Interest
FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt Startup week shows the potential of the local ecosystem
FabSpace Darmstadt starts with a great Opening of their first Startup week. OB Jochen Partsch special guest.
On Monday, 26.6. the FabSpace team Darmstadt launched its major innovation event for 2017. The Startup week was being planned for almost half a year and was originally kicked off at the booth of Software AG during CeBit 2017 together with the federal ministry of economic affairs Brigitte Zypries and the former German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter. Software AG is also supporting and sponsoring a trip to Silicon Valley for the best solution.
The Opening was a big success with more than 50 attendees during the entire day. Next to Software AG FabSpace welcomed EUMETSAT, Merck, T-Systems and Hessen Trade & Invest as additional sponsors. Beside the opportunity to take part in the FabSpace bootcamp the best solution can also win a trip to Silicon Valley sponsored by Software AG.
The team of FabSpace Darmstadt arranged a mixture of exhibition together with several presentations and a relaxing lounge to create a unique startup atmosphere. The modern and purist auditorium of the TU Darmstadt Campus was used to host the first day.
Jürgen Powik (Software AG) and Sascha Heising test the relaxing conditions in the “lounge”, carefully watched by Prof. Matthias Becker and Dr. Damian Bargiel.
On top of that the FabSpace team also welcomed a special guest the mayor of Darmstadt Jochen Partsch. He underlined the importance of the local FabSpace in Darmstadt and its connections to several institutions. Furthermore, he also pointed out the role of earth observation for the upcoming tasks fostered by “Digitalstadt Darmstadt”. The identified fields of applications, like smart transportation will also be a new playground for FabSpace. To find out more about Digitalstadt click here.
The major of Darmstadt, Jochen Partsch during his introduction speech at FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt Startup week. (photo: Thomas)
After guest speeches by Jochen Partsch, Prof. Becker and Dr. Zimmermann (both FabSpace 2.0) the audience listened to a keynote by Michael Linke from ESA/ESOC who talked about Earth Observation applications.
Prof. Matthias Becker talks about the benefits of the FabSpace for the university. (photo: Thomas)
Dr. Frank Zimmermann welcomes everybody in the name of cesah GmbH. (photo: Thomas)
In his Keynote Mr. Linke was trying to draw the big picture to give impressive examples of what earth observation can do. Of course, he focused also on the various benefits of the Copernicus program and data from the sentinel satellites.
Michael Linke during his speech highlighting the importance of Copernicus program and sentinel data. (photo: Thomas)
The format with its open design during lecture time was made to allow students to stop by and have a look, which was also very successful. After lunch, the event continued its innovative structure with time to network at the booths of the sponsors and parallel listen to presentations, which was also a big point.
Thomas Schüller from EUMETSAT (photo: cesah)
“The interest of the participating students was impressive, both on EUMETSAT data and services but also on EUMETSAT as a work place”, describes Lothar Schüller from EUMETSAT the atmosphere of the first day. You can also watch the video of the first day to see some highlights.
Afterwards the 12 participants followed an introduction for the upcoming days by Bayzidul Islam and Sascha Heising. Beside some organizational aspects the focus was on a balanced team building and the definition of challenges that the teams want to tackle. The 1st workshop day will start with a one hour webinar sponsored by T-Systems and a brainstorming session to unmark the field.
The fruitful atmosphere of the opening event of the FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt Startup week. (photo: cesah)
Remote Sensing training events at Rome
At BIC Lazio facilities in Rome, with the cooperation of University of Rome Tor Vergata and Copernicus Relay italiano Lazio Connect, a four-days training is going to be a really sold-out event. From 8 to 26 of June, all people are attending a general but at the same time in-depth talks, introducing Earth Observation, Copernicus program and the possibility of using geo data and satellite data also for business ideas. And no seats are empty.
In the parterre there are students, engineers, entrepreneurs, architects, physicists, and firefighters too. This proves that the aim of FabSpace 2.0 project to involve people with no Remote Sensing background is going well. The Fab Space local training indeed is addressed to people that want to approach the theme, giving necessary competences for using satellite data and information. A basic free knowledge, to develop services and innovative digital ‘Earth observation based’ applications, useful to participate to fab space challenges.
The next 30 June in fact is the dead line for the Italian local challenge submission.
Topics of training (find here the program):
Introduction to Remote Sensing and Copernicus free data (Valerio Caroselli, Lazio Connect)
Introduction to Optic and Multispectral Remote Sensing (Fabio Del Frate, University of Rome Tor vergata)
Introduction to Microwave Remote Sensing (Fabio Del Frate, University of Rome Tor vergata)
Practical exercises about SAR, Optic and Multispectral Remote Sensing (Matteo Picchiani, University of Rome Tor Vergata)
FabSpace Challenges League!
In Poland FabSpace 2.0 has launched a half-year competition with issues of remote sensing and spatial data. During this time, several competitions will be held in which participants can earn points. Awards and title The Master of the FabSpace Challenges League will be admitted to the person who has scored the most points in all competitions. The first contest has just started – participants have to estimate the area of colza on Sentinel-2 in the given area.
Good luck!
In the recent era, earth observation data and digital application development is the most promising field of innovation. The FabSpace Darmstadt team is also working hard to make things happen in a digital form by incorporation satellite imagery and geo-information. In this regard FabSpace 2.0 Darmstadt organized the second Open Day at Darmstadt University of Technology from 10th to 13th July. The whole session was four day long theoretical and practical learnings on Radar Remote Sensing. There were more than 20 participants attended the program and most of them studying at TU Darmstadt.
Photo: All the participants listening to the instructor Dr.-ing Damian Bargiel
In the first day, participants were gathered knowledge on the basics of Radar Remote Sensing with special focus on bands, frequency and wavelengths of different radar satellite imagery. It was also discussed in brief about different space born SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite since 1978 and their data properties. At the end of the day participants got an overview on SAR system and their application in the field of classification and monitoring Earth deformation caused by earthquakes, volcanic activities, and subsidence etc. The FabSpace laboratory also offers easy access to SAR datasets and ready to use software and tools to do such complex operations. The laboratory is well equipped with physical server and geo-server including all necessary software installed which can give remote access to the users for high speed computation.
In the next day, the technical discussion was little deeper in the field of radar polarimetry at the laboratory. It is introduced to the participants the principles of different radar systems of transmit/receive (i.e. single, dual, alternating and polarimetric) of polarization combinations. In general, the session summarized how radar imagery collects different and complementary information using different wavelength and polarization combination. In the third day the main topic was SAR interferometry and practical exercise on interferogram generation. The technical session introduced how theoretically and practically InSAR observations measure Earth’s surface in a dynamic way. In principle SAR techniques observe a same point on the ground more than two times in a slightly different angle and then it is possible to calculate difference between these radar images to detect horizontal and vertical surface movement in millimeter scale. A powerful remote sensing technique Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is more precise measurement of Earth’s surface displacement over time. Therefore, the last topic of the Open Day was the review of such PSI techniques and practical exercise on PS point generation. It was also demonstrated if the PS density is low then how artificial corner reflectors can be used to generate a good interferometric phase.
In the conclusion, participants were examined by oral presentation and their performance in the exercises. The conceptual understandings and the opportunities of using radar remote sensing has been debated in the whole session. Moreover, the business potentials of innovating solutions out of this complex science has been generalized.
Photo: “This is your chance to use all the system we built and test your idea without any cost” underlined Md Bayzidul Islam (right) and “Now a days promoting earth observation based solution has large business potential” explained Sascha Heising (left)
Nevertheless, FabSpace Darmstadt with all other FabSpaces in Europe continuously energizing young enthusiast for geo-data driven innovation and the Open Day was a part of it. To join any event and to follow FabSpace activity, please look at the following websites.
www.irit.fr/fabspace.eu
www.fabspace-germany.de
https://fab-server.ipg.verm.tu-darmstadt.de