ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team, together with Airport Regions Council (ARC) and the EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub (EIH), will hold the Space for Smart Airports and Airport Regions webinar on 19 November.

The webinar will outline the opportunities that the ESA BASS programme can offer to airport stakeholders to develop sustainable and innovative applications based on space technologies.

Background

Airports are key transport hubs in our society. They provide essential infrastructure for airlines and help ensure flights can take off and land safely around the world every day. Airports are increasingly relying on technologies to digitalise operations, become more efficient and sustainable, and support multi-modality. Space technologies, among others, are able to support airports and regions in their digitalisation efforts. 

ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions helps businesses from all corners of Europe to harness space technology to improve life on Earth. We work side by side with industry, developing space-enabled solutions that will grow your business and bring essential socioeconomic benefits. All our activities have a focus on the green transition and the global shift towards a more digital, sustainable future.

Airport Regions Council (ARC) stands as the collective voice of regional and local authorities hosting or adjacent to airports. ARC integrates a wealth of expertise at the intersection of airport operations and local/regional policies. The organisation is dedicated to maximising benefits and minimising environmental impact, ultimately striving to improve the well-being of residents in airport regions.

EUROCONTROL, as a founding member of the SESAR Joint Undertaking and in collaboration with air navigation service providers (ANSPs), airports, airspace users, industry, academia and research centres, develops innovative solutions at its Innovation Hub, to shape a safe, efficient and sustainable future of European aviation, ensuring the adoption of technological and operational advancements that maximise efficiency and sustainability.

Don’t miss this chance to hear about the opportunities offered by ESA BASS for smart airports and airport regions.

Objective

To present the opportunities that ESA BASS (Business Applications and Space Solutions) offers to develop sustainable, space-based applications for smart airports and airport regions.

Who should attend?

• European companies providing services to airports
• Stakeholders involved in airports and airport regions management

Draft agenda

15:00-15:10 Welcome and introduction (Sergi Alegre Calero, Director General at Airport Regions Council)
15:10-15:20 Opening words from EUROCONTROL (Giancarlo Ferrara, DRONE/U-space Team - R&I Work Programme Manager)
15:20-15:40 ESA BASS opportunities presentation (Rita Rinaldo, Head of Applications Projects and Studies Division & Enrico Spinelli, Applications Engineer)
15:40-15:45 Conclusions (Sergi Alegre Calero, Director General at Airport Regions Council)
15:45-16:00 Questions and answers

Webinar

Tropical forestry and agroforestry markets are significant and growing rapidly, as demand for food, fuel, timber and other agroforest products grows with the rising global population. Despite increased global environmental monitoring and a growing demand for eco-friendly and sustainable products and practices, tropical forests declined by 6.3 million hectares every year between 2010 and 2020 and illegal logging remains a significant challenge. Recognising the need to provide timely and accurate information to help forest managers combat illegal logging effectively, Dutch social enterprise Space4Good has developed the FORESTER service, powered by ILDAP (Illegal Logging Detection and Prediction) algorithms, a project supported by ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) programme. 

Following on from a successful Kickstart activity focusing on deforestation, in 2022 Space4Good launched the ILDAP Demonstration Project, working with ESA BASS and the Arsari Enviro Group to develop a new platform. Arsari sustainably manages and conserves hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest in Indonesia and has suffered ongoing issues with illegal logging and land theft.  A section of this forest was chosen as the pilot site as it has areas of virgin forest providing habitats for many endangered species as well as a long history of logging. 

FORESTER combines Artificial Intelligence, Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing data analytics to create cost effective and accessible insights with unprecedented accuracy and precision. The use of satellite data from Sentinel 1 overcomes the challenges of monitoring tropical regions with extensive cloud cover as it can penetrate clouds to identify changes in the forest structure.  After FORESTER triggers a deforestation alert, forest managers and their ground patrols can then verify these incidents. This can be done through field observation or drones which enables swift confirmation and direct action against illegal logging and wildfire. 

The system also offers advanced predictive modelling, tailored to the local context, which can identify potential sites for illegal encroachment and logging incidents. This unique approach enables users to take preventative measures and allocate resources effectively, including engaging with local communities or increasing patrols in the area. 

During the trial period, deforestation decreased by an astonishing 80% within the pilot area, saving 3000 ha of natural forest, at the same time as deforestation events in a nearby Indonesian province increased.  In total, 177 deforestation events were identified, and two major encroachments were found and acted upon by local enforcement agencies.

Beatrice Barresi, Senior Sustainable Applications Officer for ESA, said “we are very pleased to have supported this important project which has real potential to protect significant areas of valuable forest around the world.”

The FORESTER Service provides users with the information they need to support proactive approaches to forest management, enabling effective mitigation of wildlife crimes, reducing operational costs and preserving biodiversity and carbon stocks. By providing a single source of transparent, accurate and up-to-date information for forest managers, local communities, indigenous people and conservation project developers, the service also develops trust and facilitates better forest stewardship .

“With FORESTER we aim to empower rainforest guardians in their fight against illegal logging with a powerful tool, tailored for ground teams, that can help them better respond to threats and coordinate around forest protection” said Alexander Gunkel, Managing Director and Founder of Space4Good.

The platform is now ready for operation and a new pilot in Ecuador, the Maquipucuna Reserve situated in the central area of the Andean Bear Ecological Corridor, has already been signed. Space4Good plans to extend its pilot campaign to other areas and organisations and to launch the ILDAP/Space4Good FORESTER as an ‘off the shelf’ service by the end of the year. 

Ongoing developments in FORESTER’s insights, alerts and predictions will support the restoration of global tropical forests, and offer protection against the increased risks of fire, drought and diseases due to climate change. Through its service, FORESTER will also ease documentation and risk mitigation efforts in nature credit development. By supporting the connection between green finance and forest stewardship, FORESTER can help reduce the economic pressure on forests, contributing towards the United Nations deforestation objectives and conserving biodiversity and endangered species. 

It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in Europe have pollen allergies and these can have a major impact on the lives of sufferers, affecting their health, quality of life and productivity. Research shows that the problem is getting worse as climate change is extending the pollen season. Norwegian company Airmine has developed a new space-enabled pollen forecasting system under ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions programme which can help people plan their day-to-day activities to reduce allergic reactions. 

Recent studies have shown that hay fever symptoms are actually more severe in urban areas, with the allergens on pollen grain from urban trees and grasses made more potent by the chemicals in polluted air.  With pollen allergies also triggering flare-ups of serious lung conditions such as asthma, Airmine recognised the need to improve pollen forecasting and help hay fever sufferers take more control. With support from ESA, through a Feasibility Study and a Demonstration Project, they have developed an app which offers pollen risk forecasts for today and tomorrow, risk maps and a pollen diary for logging of allergy symptoms.

The pollen model is informed by a range of insights, including satellite imaging data to help determine land use and map pollen-producing vegetation. This is combined with weather data, ground-based sensors and topography to detect and forecast levels of different types of pollen down to a 40x40 metre resolution. 

 

Most people are allergic to specific types of pollen, such as grass or birch tree pollen. For the project, this meant that Airmine needed to know the location, density and distribution of allergenic plant species to be able to create useful forecasts. In order to do this, Airmine manually mapped plant species and used public tree databases in sample areas of land. They then combined this data with satellite images of the area to create a machine learning algorithm which is able to distinguish between species. This algorithm was then applied to areas where the nature of the vegetation was unknown to verify the results, iteratively developing the algorithm up to 82% accuracy for plant identification.

“We’re proud to have supported Airmine to harness the power of Sentinel-2 to improve pollen forecasting. This is a great example of how satellite technology can be at the heart of services that create healthier places to live and work – a central aim of our Smart and Green Cities initiative” said Davide Coppola, Head of Space Applications Section at ESA.

The first forecasting models covered Norway, and have now expanded across the Nordic countries, the UK and parts of Australia and South Africa, as well as major cities in parts of Central and South America, the USA and Poland. 

Having established and automated reliable pollen models, Airmine has developed a number of options for municipalities, pharmaceutical companies and individuals to access local forecasts.  The free Airmine app launched in May 2023 and has been downloaded over 70,000 times.  It provides easy-to-use ‘heatmap’ forecasting for seven different allergenic species. Users are also invited to report symptom severity through the app, and these citizen insights and data help to continually improve forecasting accuracy. By producing actionable insights and analytics for personal healthcare, Airmine allows individuals to adapt their activity to minimise exposure to potential allergy triggers and prevent severe allergic or respiratory reactions. This in turn reduces the demand on healthcare services.

Airmine also provides web widgets and integrations to embed local pollen information onto websites and digital signage, for instance in healthcare and municipal settings, expanding the reach of the service beyond those who download the app and offering the potential to inform planting policy in urban spaces.

Kristin Pettersen Grenan, Airmine CEO, said "the invaluable support from the Norwegian Space Agency and ESA has enabled us to develop ground-breaking new technology which, thanks to the use of satellites, is highly scalable. This enables us to fulfil our commitment to deliver the highest quality pollen app to help pollen allergy sufferers worldwide."