The EarlY WArning System for Mosquito-borne Diseases (EYWA) was developed in the context of the EuroGEO Action Group “Earth Observation for Epidemics of Vector-borne Diseases – EO4EViDence”.

EYWA is a game changer in the domain of epidemics. The solution enhances mosquito surveillance and control at various spatio-temporal scales and in different climatic zones, and guides day-to-day prevention and mitigation actions. EYWA significantly reduces the entomological risk and results in the aversion of human cases in thousands of villages where it is employed.

This second episode of the Eurisy Members’ Corner series of 2023 was designed and moderated by Dr Haris Kontoes, Head of the Operational Unit BEYOND Centre of EO research and satellite remote sensing of the National Observatory of Athens, Coordinator of EuroGEO Action Group for Epidemics, and Lead Partner of EYWA.

The BEYOND Center of Excellence develops research and provides disaster management services addressing priorities and needs in Southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean area, North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans.

Dr Kontoes explained that mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) are present in more than 100 countries all over the world, including Europe, causing 700.000 deaths every year.

The EarlY WArning System for Mosquito-borne Diseases (EYWA) was developed in the context of the EuroGEO Action Group “Earth Observation for Epidemics of Vector-borne Diseases – EO4EViDence”.

The technological novelty of EYWA lies in the efficient handling of multiple data sources, such as entomological, epidemiological, Earth Observation, crowd and ancillary geospatial data, along with dynamic and data-driven models to generate knowledge on mosquitoes’ abundance and pathogens’ transmission.

Thanks to data provided by Copernicus satellites and Copernicus Core Services, EYWA reliably depicts the dynamics of mosquito habitats and breeding sites. The system capitalises on European investments in Earth Observation and cloud-based data repositories and capacities (i.e. DIAS, GEOSS, NextGEOSS).

Since 2020 the system has been operational in Europe, and in 2022 it provided operational support for 11 regions in 5 European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Serbia). In 2022, EYWA further expanded its operational capacity by adding a new region in Italy and in Ivory Coast, and its pre-operational capacity in Thailand and Ghana, with the goal of covering and supporting regions with different climatic and socioeconomic conditions. In total, the system benefits 14 regions in eight countries across the globe.

This distinction of the EYWA system makes it a significant milestone and an exceptional example of the vast Earth Observation potential and of the societal benefits that can derive from harnessing space technology.

EYWA provides information on the expected mosquito abundance and pathogen transmission to the health authorities in the form of thematic maps and statistics, to enable them to take preventive measures in time.

Dr Konstantinos Tsaprailis, Research Associate & Technical Project Manager at BEYOND, described in detail how the system works to disseminate data and predictions.

In-situ data and Earth observation data are at the heart of the system, and are combined with entomological, epidemiological, socio-economic, meteorological, and geomorphological data.​

36 statistical features are generated for each of the 42.400 mosquito collections in the EYWA database. The system processes more than 300 TB of Earth Observation data to generate the information that is then made available to health authorities and stakeholders through an online dashboard.

In 2022, the system was generating data on 13 regions in seven countries and in 2023 it will expand its capacity to cover three more regions in Europe (Italy and Germany) and in Africa (Ghana).

Two types of predictions are at the core of the system: the West Nile Virus prediction models and the mosquito abundance models, that provide forecasts on the expected mosquito population in a region.

The WNV risk prediction relies on the MIMEMIS model, providing forecasts at the municipality level, and the Bar model, producing weekly predictions at the settlement/village level.

The mosquito abundance predictions are based on the BAr model, offering weekly forecasts at the settlement level, and the MAMOTH model, offering bi-weekly and monthly predictions for larger areas.

In summary, EYWA sets the stage for the creation of a single and global database of entomological and epidemiological data augmented with EO-derived data. The system enables for the creation of advanced data-driven and deterministic models for mosquito abundance and risk mapping.

The platform supports the visualisation of the global entomological and epidemiological datasets and it also allows stakeholders to visualise model predictions, representing a complete state-of-the-art early warning system.

After the general introduction to the EYWA system, the webinar included the presentation of three use cases in specific areas.

The first was showcased by Dr Daniel Wohlgemuth, from the German Mosquito Control Association (KABS). Dr Wohlgemuth described the use of the system for targeted vector monitoring in the upper Rhine valley in Germany. The region suffers from a disturbing abundance of mosquitos every time it is affected by floods.

Traditionally, KABS would monitor and forecast mosquitos’ abundance through sampling traps. With EYWA, they could perform this work with consistent savings in terms of time and resources.

The second use case was showcased by Dr Renke Luehken, Head of the Department of Arbovirology & Entomology at BNITM, in Hamburg. Dr Luehken gave aa presentation on the ecology of mosquito-borne pathogens in Europe.

Biological invasions are responsible for substantial biodiversity decline, as well as for high economic losses to society and for monetary expenditures associated with the management of these invasions.

The BNITM tries to understand which mosquitos are associated with which diseases and in which temperatures they tend to settle.

In the last years, because of rising temperatures, two types of vector-borne diseases have emerged in Germany, the Usutu virus and the West Nile virus.

BNITM is collecting data on mosquitos’ abundance in almost-real time and these data will be embedded in the EYWA system to enhance its predictions in central Germany.

Dr Julien Zahouli, from the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’ivoire, was expected to present a third use case on the use of Earth Observation data to assess environmental and climatic impacts on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Côte d’Ivoire. Because of connection problems, Dr Zahouli was not able to contribute the webinar, but his presentation is made available at the bottom of this article.

To know more about the activities of the Operational Unit BEYOND Center of EO research and satellite remote sensing of the National Observatory of Athens visit: http://beyond-eocenter.eu/ 

The presentations of the webinar are available here:

• Unveiling the EYWA System | From the challenge…to the solution, Dr Haris Kontoes, Research Director of NOA | Operational Unit “BEYOND Center for Earth Observation Research and Satellite Remote Sensing”; Coordinator of EuroGEO Action Group for Epidemics & Lead Partner of EYWA
• The EYWA platform: Data & predictions dissemination, Konstantinos Tsaprailis, Research Associate & Technical Project Manager, Operational Unit “BEYOND Center for Earth Observation Research and Satellite Remote Sensing”
• Potential utilisation of EYWA for targeted vector monitoring in the upper Rhine valley, Germany, Dr Daniel Wohlgemuth, KABS – German Mosquito Control Association
• Ecology of mosquito-borne pathogens in Europe, Dr Renke Luehken, Head Department of Arbovirology & Entomology, BNITM Hamburg
• Using Earth Observation data for assessing environmental and climatic impacts on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Côte d’Ivoire, Dr Julien Zahouli, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’ivoire

The recordings can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/B9ZGtEh6zYA

Stay tuned for the next webinar of the Eurisy Members’ Corner that will be hosted by the UK Space Agency.

The post Eurisy Members’ Corner: Focus on the BEYOND Center of EO research and satellite remote sensing appeared first on Eurisy.

Focusing on concrete needs and empowering local administrations are the foundational elements of the strategy of the Malta Council for Science and Technology to develop a competitive space sector.

Dr Michael Quinton, working on Space Engagement & Programmes at the MCST, opened this new episode of the Eurisy Members’ Corner series by introducing the Malta Space Research Fund, created with the support of the European Space Agency in 2018. Malta is not yet a PECS (Plan for European Cooperating States) member of  the European Space Agency, but conversations are ongoing to join the Plan, possibly by 2024. In the meanwhile, the country cooperates with ESA though mechanisms such as the Space Research Fund.

The Fund aims at providing economic and technical support for the development of space-based services that tackle societal challenges and encourages cooperation between public, private and academic institutions.

In 2018, the strong Maltese ICT sector was identified as the basis to build upon to develop a space sector in the country and since then 14 space-based services have been financed through the Space Research Fund. These serve as a knowledge base and are meant to encourage more research and investments into the downstream space sector.

Not only the Fund provides financial support, but also offers training to Maltese entities interested in exploiting the potential of Earth observation to apply for European funding.

The ambition of the Space Research Fund is to serve as a catalyst: more research in the use of EO favours the growth of the sector, which encourages the government to invest more and to make more funds available. This results in an increasing number of local entities becoming interested in EO, and in more support being provided by ESA to sustain this virtuous cycle.

In January 2022, the MCST drafted a National Space Strategy based on five pillars: attracting foreign and direct investors that will allow local companies, also not involved in the space sector, to approach this market; boosting the development of innovative uses of EO; implementing trainings for local administrations and local people; developing a legal framework for space activities; and eventually favouring the commercialisation of the space-based products and services developed in Malta.

Projects can be funded up to 150.000 euros with a duration of 20 months. At the end of the first stage of 12 months, a technical and financial reports are evaluated by experts. The second stage of eight months includes local dissemination of deliverables and the showcase of the results of the projects.

Since 2018, 14 projects have been selected through the Space Research Fund. These are related to diverse topics, all relevant to the Maltese economy, environment and society.

Among such projects, SIPOBED “Satellite Investigation to study POcket BEach Dynamics”, uses EO to study the dynamics of pocket beaches, i.e. small beaches that are isolated between two headlands.

The project, presented by Sebastiano D’Amico from the University of Malta, looks at the overall beach dynamics, both underwater and inland.

Malta is characterised by rocky and sandy beaches. In this project, satellite imagery is used to study the bathymetry (i.e. to measure the depth of the water) of sandy beaches, while drones and other techniques are used to validate the information provided by satellites. The goal of such project is to measure the volume of the sediments, to define a sediment transport model, and to eventually design planning tools to be used by coastal managers.

The system will be used on all pocket beaches in Malta, allowing for the monitoring of sediment transportation with centimetre accuracy. Furthermore, it will enable scientists to also spot other geological features that could influence the stability of the coast, such as soil displacements and earthquakes.

The project, that started over a year ago now, will provide Maltese authorities with information that they can use to proactively protect pocket beaches against coastal erosion.

Indeed, during the second year, the project will implement trainings for the coastal authorities to get acquainted with the GIS (Geographic Information System) produced, and will present a preliminary coastal erosion management plan to public authorities and other stakeholders.

Mr D’Amico also presented the Coastal SAGE project “Coastal Satellite-Assisted Governance (tools, techniques, models) for Erosion”, implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Capital projects of Malta.

This project focuses on coastal erosion on rocky beaches. EO is used in combination with Artificial Intelligence to monitor with millimetric precision ground motion that could cause rocks to fall near the beaches. The final goal of the project is to deliver to coastal authorities the information they need to prevent damage to people and properties.

On the six testbeds, SAR data from Sentinel-1 satellites allow scientists to know exactly how the ground moves. By combining satellite data with in-situ observations and socio-economic data, the project will produce a risk assessment and monitoring tool to develop a preliminary coastal erosion management plan to be presented to public authorities and stakeholders. After completion of the project, the Ministry of Transport will be immediately able to use the plan to prevent the risks associated with coastal erosion around rocky beaches.

On another topic, the “Satellite4Health” project aims at forecasting the number of hospital admissions and the length of patients’ stay in hospitals, and at understanding the impact of weather and air pollution on the spread of diseases.

The project, implemented by a multidisciplinary team, was presented by Dr Lalit Garg from the University of Malta.

Satellite imagery is analysed to measure and monitor weather variables influencing public health, to assess the impacts of such variables on hospitals, and to finally develop a tool to forecast the number of admissions in the hospitals and the length of patients’ stay.

Weather data are collected through satellites (mainly Sentinel-3) and weather ground stations, while hospital data are collected directly from the Mater Dei Hospital and the Directorate for Health Information & Research (DHIR).

The system will allow to foresee the number of hospitals’ admissions and the length of patients’ stay based on weather data. This information will be disseminated through a mobile app that will alert users of events that can impact public health, such as sandstorms.

To know more about the activities of the MCST visit: https://mcst.gov.mt/

The presentations of the webinar are below:

SIPOBED Tha Malta Space Research Fund Eurisy_Introduction_to_Coastal_SAGE

SIPOBED

Eurisy_Introduction_to_Coastal_SAGE

Satellite4Health – Eurisy Presentation

The recordings can be accessed here.

Stay tuned for the next webinar of the Eurisy Members’ Corner that will be hosted by the Slovak Space Office (SSO) on the 21th of October 2022 between 11:00 AM and 12:00 AM CET. To register: https://bit.ly/3dc3Aa8

The post Eurisy Members’ Corner: Focus on the Malta Council for Science and Technology appeared first on Eurisy.

So far, the adoption of telemedicine has been pretty limited to specific cases and for basic consultations. The current necessity to respect social distancing, together with the overall limitation of the movements in the cities, have lately provided momentum to a rapid and global development of telemedicine.

The vast majority of the governments are now turning to telemedicine as an outstanding solution to provide general consultations avoiding patients to move from their places and potentially get exposed to a risk of contamination but also as a decisive support tool to identified home quarantined COVID-positive patients with mild symptoms.

Although telemedicine exists since quite some years now, it is not yet regarded as an official medical act. In most cases, the adoption of telemedicine has been slowed down by the lack of national regulatory frameworks, IT infrastructures and trained doctors. At the same time, patients were also reluctant or deterred by such technological solutions, in particular because of the major changes it implies on the doctor-patient relationship.

The rapid spread of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus and its high degree of contagion are leading governments to reconsider their approach to remote and connected health options. The health systems are today brought to their limits: hospitals, are facing important shortages of medical equipment (from ventilators to masks, gloves and hydro-alcoholic solutions), overcrowded ER and ICUs, and finally a shortage of healthcare professionals, who are among the most exposed to the virus. Digital solutions can definitely help mitigating the risks of contamination and favouring the flattening of the transmission curve.

Under these circumstances, accelerating the adoption of telemedicine at legal and regulatory levels is becoming a compelling need.

Telemedicine around the world

All around the world, there are various approaches to telemedicine. In developing countries, as well as in regions short of medical aid, the use of telehealth proved its effectiveness in the care of populations in remote and rural areas. In the Asia-Pacific region, the telemedicine market is expanding and it is expected to further develop in the future, given the on-going growth of the aging population and the spread of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

In the United States, 82% of the population does not use telemedicine services due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and reimbursement schemes. The situation in Europe is quite similar. Across the region, most of the policy makers are hesitant to include telemedicine in their reimbursement schemes, in particular for privacy related concerns. The most advanced countries with regarding telemedicine services around Europe are UK, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and France. The others have not yet elaborated national policies in this matter.

However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19, many barriers seem likely to be overcome. Indeed, the United States and China have actively promoted the uptake of telemedicine solutions to tackle the emergency by lifting previous restrictions. In India, the government is looking for remote solutions to avoid the overwhelming of hospitals, limit the movements around the country and cover the majority of the population.

Remarkable is the recent evolution of telemedicine in France, where the practice is considered a legal medical act only since 2018 and therefore subject to reimbursement by the national Social Security. Before COVID-19 outbreak, the digital services were barely used, except in few cases. But, over the last few weeks, the number of accesses to these services skyrocketed: between the 1st and the 28th of March, 601 000 consultations have been conducted across the country. Such dramatic growth has also been fueled by the decision made by the Assurance Maladie, the French Health Insurance, to increase the reimbursement of the practice from 70% to 100%.

Ireland is also implementing its national approach, thanks to the support of Enterprise Ireland, the start-up WELLOLA launched an app and a portal for teleconsultation to respond to the current health emergency, and to favour the interactions between doctors and patients. Such an example is raising interest of other European countries, as for Italy where the vice minister of Health, Pierpaolo Sileri, recently presented to the government an amendment to boost telemedicine practice in the country.

What about space-based technologies and health in this moment?

As pointed out in our previous posts (What we can learn from the corona crisis with satellite data, and Call for space assets in response to COVID-19) the space sector is actively trying to respond to the emergency by inviting start-ups and SMEs to propose solutions to tackle the COVID-19, with a specific focus on telemedicine and e-education. Indeed, space-based technologies can be adopted to enhance the control of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Especially satellite navigation and communication can be exploited on a large scale to help containment strategies and to assess the treatment of the patients while protecting the medical staff. Also, Earth observation satellites have been put to work during multiple health crises. In 2014, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS-rapid mapping) was activated during the Ebola epidemic crisis. The Italian Ministry of Interior and the Civil Protection recently asked for the activation of the EMS service during the month of March 2020 and beyond. The main driver for activation was the urgency of mapping stable and temporary health facilities, such as triage, and so on.

Moreover, the SES satellite-based eHealth communication platform, SATMED, is now available free of charge for the healthcare professionals’ community to fight the pandemic. The Government of Luxembourg, that owns the platform, is giving free access to the eHealth applications available, offering also cloud storage capabilities in compliance with data protection and regulations.

The European Space Agency also deployed Tempus Pro devices in response to COVID-19. These lightweight all-in-one monitors are normally used by doctors at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) to assess and communicate the condition of astronauts when they return to Earth.

What’s next?

In Europe, apart from specific cases where telemedicine has been successfully adopted, in general terms, it can be rightfully affirmed that the lack of supporting policies, awareness, and training are limiting the revamp of the health sector. Even if EC adopted a series of measures and initiatives to respond to the vacuity of the legal schemes in the field, still at the national level the legal and policy bottlenecks are burdening the implementation of new solutions and impeding the scale-up of telemedicine providers’ solutions.

However, in the very near future things might radically change. The novel coronavirus confronts Europe with the need to re-invent and re-organise the health sector. In 2018, the European Commission estimated that by 2021 the global telemedicine market would reach €37 billion value, with an annual growth rate of 14%. After the emergency, these numbers are poised to evolve. Indeed, the business of telemedicine might face a much stronger acceleration that should encourage the governments to better take advantage of this practice for more efficient national health policies.

The space sector has a role to play in this process. The technical and budgetary involvement of the European Space Agency and national space agencies can favour the integration of space technology within the health sector. Additional support could be granted to users by providing training and education to professionals in the field. Institutional space actors and service providers should interact more with users and with governments to support and contribute to the decision-making process.

In conclusion, this crisis may lead to a reorientation of the health sector and to eventually speed-up the adoption of telemedicine practice. In this sense, the exploitation of telemedicine should not be considered as a by-product but a mainstream solution.

The post The strengthening of the health sector after the COVID-19 outbreak appeared first on Eurisy.

European Space Agency (ESA)

While ESA isn’t really placed to help forecast the progression of the virus, it is responsible for developing and operating the family of Copernicus Sentinel satellites on behalf of the European Union, ensuring the flow of data for the Copernicus-enabled services. These sophisticated satellites, as well as new artificial intelligence technologies, can be used to understand and monitor some of the societal shifts happening right now.

To see how Earth-observing missions could be further used to explore the effects of COVID-19, ESA has issued two new initiatives. The aim is to see how satellite data can be used, for example, to map changes around transport networks, commercial ports and heavy industry such as oil refineries, to understand the effects that COVID-19 is imposing on society, the economy and the environment.

• Space in response to Covid-19 outbreak

In cooperation with the Italian Minister for Technological Innovation and Digitalization (MID), ESA launched an Announcement of Opportunity to respond to the emergency that Europe, and especially Italy, is facing because of the spread of the coronavirus. Companies are invited to propose Demonstration Projects dedicated to the deployment and demonstration of pre-operational services, addressing healthcare or education. The scope is to support the realisation and deployment of digital solutions to help citizens and communities which are facing the extraordinary consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. This call closes on 20 April 2020, 13h00 CET.

• Submit an innovative proposal for characterising COVID-19 impacts

This new call has been added to the Permanently Open Call, part of ESA’s Earth Observation Science for Society programme. Proposals which address the monitoring of Covid-19 impacts on society with Earth observation data will be considered. The closing date is 17 April 2020 at 13h00 CET.

European GNSS Agency (GSA)

• Precise location is a key requirement when attempting to monitor and map the spread of a disease and GNSS is one of themain tools supporting this. Galileo, currently embedded in over 1.3 billion smartphones and devices worldwide, is helping to increase GNSS accuracy and availability, especially in urban areas. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus earlier this year, many apps have been developed that use GNSS precise location to monitor the global spread of the virus and to map outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease. GNSS-apps are also proving their usefulness by helping people to implement social distancing in queues and other public spaces. The GSA is looking for apps that are already working and available in app stores. Submit details of your solutions in writing to market@gsa.europa.eu and they will be featured on www.useGalileo.eu/GNSS4Crisis. The goal is for this page to become a toolbox to help authorities, emergency response services, citizens and app developers to understand what resources are currently available and what needs remain unmet.
• It is also possible to develop new applications by submitting innovative ideas to solve pressing societal challenges with the help of satellite data. For Earth observation there is the Copernicus Masters, and for satellite navigation there is the Galileo Masters.

Copernicus Hackathon

• The Copernicus Hackathon Sofia 2020, organised by the Risk-Space Transfer Technology Transfer Office (RST-TTO), will be a virtual Hackathon between 24-26 April with the motto “Space Hacking of COVID19”. The Hackathon will cover topics such as the monitoring of air pollution, assessment of water quality, assessment of geographical distribution during this pandemic. Topics can also be suggested by participants.

• Eurisy, the National Space Centre and the Blackrock Castle Observatory of the Cork Institute of Technology organise the Copernicus Hackathon Cork online on 9-13 June 2020 on the issue of “Natural and Cultural Heritage”. A special challenge is dedicated to the impacts of Covid-19. The hackathon will challenge students and IT professionals to use the data made available by the Copernicus Earth Observation System to better protect, manage and promote natural and cultural heritage. A webinar will be held on May 18th.

COVID-19 Custom Script Contest

The European Space Agency, in coordination with the European Commission, is launching a special edition of the Custom Script Contest, focused on the support of space assets during the COVID-19 crisis, managed by Euro Data Cube group. It is a quest for ideas and new algorithms on how satellite data could help monitor and mitigate the situation for the upcoming months, as the world will get back to business and will need to adapt from this crisis. The contest will be running until end of May with weekly prizes. Due to importance of the matter, the best ideas will be selected on a continuous basis and will be presented to the European Commission in the context of the dossier ESA is preparing on space as a support to Covid-19 situation.

NASA International Space Apps Challenge

Join the special edition of the International Space Apps Challenge on May 30-31 and tackle the COVID19 challenge in this global virtual hackathon!

The post Call for space assets in response to COVID-19 appeared first on Eurisy.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

The geospatial community fulfils an important role in tracking the spread of the COVID-19 virus by constantly updating the number of affected people, and providing real-time data with GIS-driven spatial health information. In order to visualise and track the location and number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, deaths, and recoveries for all affected countries, there is a list of several interactive web-based dashboards. The dashboards rely on data from online platforms, social media, news services, and communications from regional, national and local health authorities, such as the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in China, Europe and the United States. For more detailed information about the global outbreak, this Worldometer can be consulted.

Most of the information data is generated locally, but once coupled with satellite imagery it makes an outstanding tool for situation awareness. For example, Maxar developed multi-layered Human Landscape data that is essential for disease modelling. The layers include medical facilities, demographic details, tourist attractions, cultural points of interest, roads, public transport hubs, and water infrastructure. By combining satellite imagery with thousands of open data sources, it creates a rich dataset of both geospatial and demographic data. This enables public administrations to see what is happening where and who is involved or impacted, in order to anticipate civilian needs, to enforce restrictive measures, to ensure safety in public spaces, and to better manage critical infrastructure in the times of crisis we are living.

Remote Sensing

Copernicus data showed how the coronavirus outbreak in China and Italy has prompted pollution to plummet, as nitrogen dioxide emissions have declined following nationwide quarantine measures. Never before have we measured a reduction in air pollution on such a size and in such a short period. The extreme improvement of air quality is, of course, the result of exceptional circumstances. However, it does show that the impact of human activities on the environment is huge. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) combines satellite and ground-based observations to monitor air quality in Europe. This gives indications about human activities during the lockdown, as well as the effects of air quality (including pollens) on respiratory health.

Over China, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) observed a major drop in emissions during February as factories were closed and streets were cleared.

Over Italy, Copernicus satellites have also shown a sharp decrease in emissions during the first months of 2020.

These data, showing the immediate impact of the reduction of traffic and other activities, definitely carry lessons that need to be considered once the crisis has been overcome. One can only hope that humanity will not be immune to rethink how people are moving around and how they are using fuels. This does not just apply to China or Italy, but also to the rest of Europe and other regions in the world.

Traffic may have been reduced drastically due to the strong measures taken by national governments, however, many European citizens are unable to travel back home, and trucks carrying medicine and essential goods are blocked. In order to get citizens, and medical facilities around Europe, everything they need, Copernicus images are also being used to monitor road activity and traffic congestion at borders between member states. Furthermore, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service has been activated in Italy to map critical temporary health facilities, field hospitals and gathering areas in order to have a clear understanding of the current situation of the territory during the emergency. The Copernicus Climate Change Service further demonstrates the versatility of Copernicus data with an application that maps mortalities against temperature and humidity data.

The post What we can learn from the Coronavirus crisis with satellite data appeared first on Eurisy.

Each month we come across new examples of how space and satellite technology can help improve life on Earth. Here are some of our favourites from September.

1. Safety first!

2. Watching out for the elderly

Norwegian StartUp CONTINYOU launched a wearable healthcare device which helps elderly people live autonomously for longer. The device measures and reports critical health data of the wielder, such as heartbeat, skin temperature, blood- and oxygen-saturation. It also detects falling motions and location.  Critical changes in these health parameters, or the detection of falls, can trigger and alert the carers in real time.  The wearer can also trigger the alarm themselves, and chat with the carers about their condition using the device.

The rest of the time, the device can inconspicuously pose as a simple watch. https://continyou.no/en/

 

<spanCalibri’,’sans-serif’; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;”>3. Leo’s Fave!

Global Fishing Watch lets users track nearly 40,000 fishing vessels across the oceans in near real-time. Every citizen can identify and report suspicious behaviour, helping combat illegal fishing and habitat destruction. The map relies on 4.5 years of data on boat mobility from more than 37 billion data observations.

Environmental activist Leonardo di Caprio is one of the prominent advocates of the app. http://globalfishingwatch.org/

 

<spanCalibri’,’sans-serif’; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;”>4. Satellites keeping track of your bike!

Norwegian StartUp BikeFinder has built an internally installed tracking device for bicycles. Using GSM and GPS, the device can communicate the bikes location to cloud server. The owner can then access the location of the bike through an app, and forward it directly to the closest policemen in case of theft. The cloud anonymously stores all data on mobility, which can then be used as input to other applications. http://bikefinder.no/

 

<spanCalibri’,’sans-serif’; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;”>5. Cows staying connected

Uruguayan company Chipsafer monitors and alerts the movement of kettle in South America. The device is self-charging, and reports the current geo-position of the kettle to Chipsafer’s servers. The data is then made available for farmers, who can view the real time position of the kettle on their computer or mobile device. Chipsafer also detects anomalies in the movement of the kettle. Farmers are then automatically alerted if the kettle moves outside a given area, or if their movement is suspicious. Chipsafer aims to help increase the productivity of the farmer, and make his work more convenient. http://www.ieetech.com/?q=node/24

 

6. Shipping made easier thanks to satellites

Byrp is an Austrian StartUp company based in Vienna. The company has developed a mobile application to help individuals ship any object to a given location in the cheapest way possible. The user simply takes a photo of the object(s) they want to send, and enter where they want to send it on the map. Byrp then sends a carrier to the sender’s location using satnav with the appropriately sized packaging, and ships it to the desired location at the lowest prize available. Byrp aims to make shipping easier, faster, and cheaper for the user. https://www.shyp.com/

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