UK satellite and Earth observation specialist Earth-i has successfully delivered an operational system which provides up-to-date information on global supply chains for metals and minerals. The Global Activity Indices from Space (GAINS) project, developed under ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) programme, focuses on two key areas - global steel smelting operations and movements of iron ore for steel production - and has already gained its first customers, underscoring the sector’s appetite for such a system.

Earth-i’s GAINS service monitors and tracks activity at numerous globally distributed industrial sites to provide high-frequency indicators of activity in complex supply chains, with a focus on sites producing tradeable goods and high-value commodities. Two products were developed as part of the project: a steel smelter activity monitoring service that covers over 95% of known global steel production, and an iron ore stockpiles product focusing on Chinese ports. 

Recognising that ground sources can be unreliable and patchy, GAINS uses a mix of very-high, high, medium and low resolution Earth observation data to deliver data-agnostic geospatial insights in a format that is easy for non-technologists to understand and use. The two initial products use different automated methods to process the data, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, spectroscopic analysis and volumetric calculations.

The steel smelter product offers daily monitoring and a continuous dataset dating back to 2016, enabling users to aggregate data by company, country or region, or have custom filters, with options to compare production between different countries or regions. Globally, there are over 1200 sites related to steel production, of which around 800 are operational.

Francesco Feliciani, Head of the Company Led Projects Division at ESA, said “We are pleased to have supported Earth-i in the development of this service which has been well-received by industry, having already been adopted by targeted customers.” 

Target markets for GAINS include traders, asset owners, market research companies and regulators. GAINS can provide data down to individual asset performance level or aggregated up to a macro-economic level, depending on the requirements of each trader. Meanwhile, market regulators can use the data to better understand market movements and validate information being reported by industrial operators.

Earth-i launched the live operational GAINS service in May 2023 on a subscription basis. It currently uses optical satellite data of different resolutions from multiple operators, but will later expand to include radar and thermal imaging data, with the programme designed to accommodate other satellite and remote-sensing sources as well as new open source datasets. 

Charles Davis, CEO at Earth-i commented “The GAINS service demonstrates the power and scalability of fusing Earth Observation (EO) data and AI to be able to monitor, process and analyse over 1,000 sites dispersed around the globe on a daily basis to a high level of accuracy, and at a low cost. At a time that supply chains are becoming more opaque and more complex, GAINS provides the near-real time transparency our customers require to gain a competitive advantage by being able to validate data 30-90 days ahead of their competition. Earth-i is grateful to ESA and the UK Space Agency for their support to the GAINS project.”

The scalable architecture developed and demonstrated under the BASS project will enable Earth-i to add more product lines in future, such as lead, zinc and other commodities, and extend coverage along entire production chains in specific industries. With scrap steel smelting set to become a major focus in the steel industry, the company is also looking at a scrap steel stockpile monitoring product; the European Union has set a target of 40% of capacity to adopt this approach by 2032. With a transition to electric smelters predicted to result in 80-95% reduction in emissions, Earth-i also has plans to monitor and forecast the pollution caused by steel smelting, to support regulators and authorities to improve the environmental impact of the industry.

With support from an ESA Demonstration Project, golfing performance specialist Shot Scope has delivered new software application solutions to golfers globally, growing its golfer user base by more than a factor of four. The developments made during the 18-month Golf Data Intellect project have also led to new commercial partnerships on both sides of the Atlantic.

Founded in 2015, Shot Scope specialises in providing wearable GNSS and automatic performance tracking technology solutions to the worldwide golfing market. By utilising a combination of GNSS signals and satellite imagery, Shot Scope products now help golfers review their game quickly and easily, and improve their performance by gaining insights into how they play on each course and learning how to choose the most appropriate club for each hole.

During the Demonstration Project, which started in 2020, Shot Scope engineers developed software to deliver six new features to users of the Shot Scope mobile application. These were tested and trialled, with four of the six then further refined and launched to users across 120 countries. The company’s user base has grown from 20,000 before the project started to over 85,000.

The project trials involved a UK golf retailer, a USA-based golf equipment manufacturer and over 500 beta Shot Scope users. In total, the technology developed during the Golf Data Intellect project was tested by over 7,500 golfers playing over 30,000 rounds of golf. 

Helping golfers iron out weaknesses

Shot Scope has a database of 40,000 golf courses mapped metre by metre using the company’s proprietary course mapping software. In addition, the patented technology in Shot Scope’s wearable devices includes an RFID antenna. Together, this means that by using GNSS data, the exact position of a golfer, the shot played, or the layout of the course can be provided on a wearable or handheld device. 

As a result of the project, which was co-funded by ESA, Shot Scope’s devices now provide a range of on-course data. This includes: overhead views of every hole, detailing every shot; personal statistics, analytics and performance insights; heat maps; and interactive graphs, charts and tables that relate to a round, season or custom events as set by the user.

“I’m pleased to see the success of Shot Scope: this is a great example of the potential of space to drive commercial solutions within the sports industry“ says Elena Razzano, Business Applications Officer at ESA Space Solutions.

Among the future commercial developments are a coaching platform and a data platform. Shot Scope has started working with college coaches in the USA to further refine the coaching platform ahead of its commercial launch in 2023, and aims to partner initially with at least 25 USA-based college golf teams. The launch will be in partnership with a global telecoms leader.  

In parallel, Shot Scope is working with a retailer in Europe on further development of the data platform, with a roadmap of 18 to 24 months for commercial launch of the platform. Another partnership will see it work with a distributor in Japan.

The four-fold growth in the number of users during the 18 months of the project has been matched with a 400% increase in revenue. The company is now seeking to recruit four new software developers and expand its the commercial team. The number of daily rounds recorded on Shot Scope has also increased by a factor of four to an average daily round count of over 10,000 rounds, with the company forecasting this will grow to over 50,000 daily by the end of 2023.

David Hunter, CEO of Shot Scope said: “ESA’s support in the Golf Data Intellect project has allowed us to expand and grow our software development team, which in turn has enabled us to accelerate the development of game-changing features for the golf market. This in turn will help us expand internationally.”