UK drone specialist Skyports has successfully completed the second phase of a medical delivery project on the west coast of Scotland, funded through a joint ESA and UK Space Agency COVID-19-related initiative. With support from ESA Space Solutions, Skyport’s drone service slashed delivery times for COVID samples and medical supplies, significantly speeding up UK National Health Service (NHS) testing and response.

From February to the end of May 2021, Skyports’ unmanned drone fleet ferried coronavirus test kits and samples, medicines and equipment between three hospitals and a medical practice in the Argyll and Bute area of Scotland. Their aim was to test the feasibility of using the service to replace some road-based deliveries. Skyports uses a range of space services and data to plan and operate the drones.

The joint ESA and UK Space Agency funding call, ‘Space helping UK on COVID-19 and other pandemics’, was issued in April 2020, soon after the pandemic started. Skyports’ drone service was one of three projects chosen to tackle UK-specific challenges. 

Airborne systems avoid geographical challenges

The sparsely populated Argyle and Bute region of Scotland includes several islands and has thousands of kilometres of coastline. Its geography means that road-based medical delivery services take an average of 21 hours. During the trials, Skyports’ drones cut this to just 1 hour, enabling diagnoses to be provided far faster by a hospital on the mainland and speeding up delivery of urgent medical supplies.

The project was carried out with Argyle and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), which manages the area’s healthcare. NHS staff at the four trial sites requested pickups through an online system developed by project partner Deloitte. 

Drones flew on pre-programmed flight paths based on data from a global space-based navigation system, with Skyports’ operators on the ground monitoring progress and taking control, if required, using telecommunications satellites. Earth observation data contributed to drone mission planning.

Stephen Whiston, head of strategic planning, performance and technology at Argyle and Bute HSCP, said: “The trial has proven that although there are still some challenges to overcome, there are some significant benefits. These include reducing the burden on our staff and getting results quicker to aid in diagnostic and treatment decisions. Anything that can be done to enable us to treat patients locally, instead of discharging them to hospitals further away, or to improve treatment pathways is great. Other health boards in Scotland are very interested in what’s been achieved and what this technology can bring us.”

ESA Space Solutions has been supporting Skyports’ trials in a variety of ways. “As well as financial support, we have provided Skyports with a range of technical and business expertise, including how to structure and present their trial results,” explains Arnaud Runge, ESA medical engineer and technical officer for the Skyports project. “In addition, as a professional pilot, I could offer assistance with aspects relating to airspace management, which is important when sharing airspace with, for example, emergency response services.”

Further trials are planned with a view to providing a permanent service as early as 2022.

Alex Brown, head of operations at Skyports, said: “It was great to work with ESA Space Solutions on this project. It was very much a partnership-based relationship, working together flexibly through the various regulatory and technology challenges associated with a cutting-edge operation such as this. ESA's deep technical expertise and their relationships across government stakeholders were instrumental in getting the operation running for the NHS. We look forward to working with them again soon."

An offshore pollution monitoring solution, based on expert interpretations of satellite imagery, is helping to make our marine environment cleaner. By alerting offshore industries to any unusual slicks or discharges, CGG’s SeaScope, developed with the support of ESA Space Solutions, accelerates response times to minimise risks and potential impact. 

Pollution incidents can present a significant risk to the many industries operating offshore because any resulting impact on the local marine environment can have far-reaching reputational and cost implications. A system that offers early detection and qualification of anomalous pollution beyond normal discharge levels could not only help to ensure a timely response, but also minimise any related exposure and vulnerability.

SeaScope meets this need by using satellite Earth observation (EO) data to provide critical intelligence about sea surface slicks. It gives users greater visibility over the interaction between offshore assets, coastal facilities, vessel activity and the local marine environment, which is vitally important for strengthening situational awareness and informing oil spill response activity.

“SeaScope is the latest innovation in our portfolio of environmental monitoring solutions. Its value lies not only in helping offshore industries to respond quickly to events, but also to mitigate risks and support their environmental and operational transparency commitments,” says Peter Whiting, SVP, Geoscience, EAME, CGG.

Combining satellite data for actionable intelligence

Developed by CGG Satellite Mapping with the support of ESA Space Solutions, SeaScope integrates two types of space assets: EO imagery and satellite-derived ship location (AIS) data. EO imagery is interpreted by CGG’s experts to monitor the ocean surface for offshore slicks and determine their extent. The AIS data provides knowledge of ship location and activity, and is used to link slicks with vessels in the area. Combining these technologies generates high-quality, reliable intelligence alerts on anomalous events to offshore infrastructure operators, significantly enhancing their ability to understand the occurrence and evolving behaviour of nearby pollution events. 

SeaScope was developed from 2018 to 2020 as a Demonstration Project as part of the ESA Space Solutions Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) programme. Over 3020 medium and high-resolution satellite radar scenes were processed and interpreted across infrastructure in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and South East Asia. The results (10 750 unique events) were either integrated into client systems or made available via an online portal.

Key to the success of the Demonstration Project was the ability to provide standard geospatial data with clear reporting statistics to emergency response teams, who often have responsibility for multiple offshore assets globally. End-users receive targeted information supported by clear visual data showing the location and extent of any slicks within the SeaScope geographic database. A heatmap showing slicks over time quickly informs operators of anomalous events beyond normal discharge levels. The results provide critical, timely intelligence to multiple operational teams.  

Evidence base of responsible operations

SeaScope’s proactive monitoring enables companies with offshore assets to establish production water baselines and provides early detection of anomalous events and third-party pollution incidents, as well as surveillance of natural seeps. It also supports the creation of an evidence base of responsible operations for stakeholders, such as operators, regulators, investors and insurers. 

“SeaScope delivers a highly scalable remote monitoring solution to identify individual offshore pollution events or verify clean activities across global asset portfolios. The CGG team will continue to develop the analytics surrounding the growing SeaScope database to provide further insights for our user clients,” says Whiting.

SeaScope from CGG on Vimeo. SeaScope uses satellite data from a number of providers to deliver information about sea surface slicks, including data that can be used to provide evidence of responsible operations.

ABOUT ESA SPACE SOLUTIONS

ESA Space Solutions is the go to place for great business ideas involving space in all areas of society and economy. Our mission is to support entrepreneurs in Europe in the development of business using satellite applications and space technology to improve everyday life. ESA Space Solutions is designed to provide multiple entry points such as ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs), ESA Technology Broker Network, ESA Business Applications Ambassadors and ESA Business Applications programme. Funding typically ranges from €50k to €2M and supports everything from technology transfer, business incubation, Feasibility Studies to large-scale Demonstration Projects.