The ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications programme of the European Space Agency (ESA)* is inviting public and commercial organisations to propose ideas, suggestions and business innovations for space-based applications and services related to satellite communications addressing European and Global market segments. The aim is to generate ideas that will improve business performance and operations, help enforce new regulatory standards, or enable improved resilience.
The submissions will be reviewed by ESA to identify the most promising candidates for entering the next level of the ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications programme, aiming at operational, self-sustaining and profitable solutions.
Satellite Communications Applications
The ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications programme has been created to support applications projects related to satellite telecommunications either originated by industry or in response to specific applications calls initiated by ESA. It aims to improve the competitive position of industry in ESA member states in the field of satellite telecommunications and in their associated utilisation. Being an element of the ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) programme it has successfully contributed to the development, qualification, and demonstration of applications since 1998.
The ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications programme aims to support, design, develop, and demonstrate activities in the telecommunications applications areas, aiming at operational, self-sustaining solutions. The programme addresses the use of satellite telecommunications solutions and services satisfying concrete user needs based on industry excellence. In return, the activities also contribute to the sustainability of the overall satellite communications value chain.
Activities may address new services, an upgrading or improvement of an existing service or a continuation of an activity funded in a different ESA, European, national or the Bidder's own programmes. To achieve this, the following objectives have been defined:
- Identify and carry out design, development and demonstration activities in telecommunications applications, aligned with industry's own plans for future exploitation.
- Help industry of the Participating States to respond to the ever increasing need to enhance their competitive position by enabling timely support to specific opportunities identified by industry.
- Reduce technical and commercial risks in service development.
The Call for Ideas
Core themes which are covered in this Call for Ideas include (but are not limited to) the following areas:
- eHealth (e.g. eMobility, remote medical surveillance and diagnostics).
- Security (e.g. cyber security: improve resilience to cyber incidents and reduce the cyber threat).
- Transport (e.g. train control and monitoring, Unmanned Aircraft System operations).
- Consumer Applications (e.g. digital cinema, augmented reality).
- Emergency (e.g. coordinating rescue services).
- Capacity Building (e.g. telecentre for remote community development).
- eLearning (e.g. training teachers over satellite, virtual whiteboard).
- eGovernment (e.g. counting votes by computer with results transferred over satellite).
- Energy (e.g. meter readings via satellite, offshore oil and gas field monitoring).
- Media (e.g. news streaming from remote locations).
- Any other promising topic.
The ideas submitted will be used to help us to identify with you promising ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications projects which will likely start in 2014. All ideas will be treated confidentially by ESA. Each submitter will be contacted individually by ESA to jointly discuss the best way forward.
Funding
The Member States which have subscribed to the ARTES 3-4 Programme are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Canada.
The Satcom Applications line of the ARTES 3-4 programme offers different types of funding schemes based on the maturity stage of the product or service development, namely:
- Study activities, which provide the preparatory framework to consolidate the technical requirements and baseline and identify technical risks before entering into the development of a product.
- Satcom Applications Projects, which aim at developing the product to the level that it is ready for commercial exploitation.
Both ARTES 3-4 Study activities and Satcom Applications Projects can be financially supported by ESA up to a level of 50%. More detailed information on the ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications programme and relevant funding mechanisms can be found on the IAP portal at http://artes-apps.esa.int/artes-3-4-overview
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*ESA is an inter-governmental organisation made up of 20 European member states for fostering space and its applications. A presentation of ESA is available under: http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/publications/ESA-Presentation/