Drift+Noise GmbH was incorporated in 2014 as a spin-off company of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and has established itself as a reliable and valued distributor of sea ice information data.

The challenge

Ships constantly have to navigate natural elements like weather, waves, and currents. In polar waters, the sea ice in constant state of flux adds another layer of complexity which must not be neglected, as it can make navigation hazardous. On top of that, limited internet access near the poles makes it difficult for navigators to retrieve the data they need in a timely manner. Yet, having access to the right information is crucial for making quick, informed decisions that ensure both safety and efficiency.

The satellite solution

Inspired by navigators’ repeated requests for ready-to-use data combinations during expeditions, IcySea offers access to the latest ice-specific satellite imagery for research, expeditions, tourism, fishing, shipping and offshore activities via a phone-sized GPS plug. The data is optimized for download in PDF format. The app is accessible and is presented through a user-friendly, intuitive and interactive interface, making it easier for crews to compare and interpret critical information while navigating icy waters. For example, users can access maps of sea ice concentration, manipulate layers and even select a point of ice on an image to forecast its drift. The app also includes a ship risk assessment tool, which evaluates the navigability of ice-covered areas depending on the vessel type entered in the system. To improve situational awareness, IcySea offers access to optical and radar satellite imagery, enabling users to monitor ice flows on clear days with optical images, or to rely on radar imagery when clouds prevent visibility. For each dataset, the app clearly indicates the most recent update time, ensuring crews always have access to the latest available information.

The results

• Reduces cost and risk.
• Instant access to ice relevant data and satellite imagery for navigators on the bridge of ships going into the polar regions.
• Time is saved because of the data processing and visualization via IcySea. Decision-making process is accelerated.
• Access to the kind of data provided via IcySea increases safety on board of ships because navigators can better assess the kind of conditions, they can expect in their target area.
• High-resolution satellite imagery simplifies and speeds up the route planning and allows ships to navigate more efficiently, save fuel and reduce travel times, which all saves the operator money.

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Dormagen is a German town of about 60 000 inhabitants living in the 16 districts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Municipality of Dormagen is responsible for ensuring the quality of the urban environment and of the public infrastructure (roads, bus stops etc).

The Challenge

Until recently, the inhabitants of Dormagen could report malfunctioning of public facilities, tagging, illegal garbage dumping, potholes, and other incivilities and degradations by email or telephone only. Information on which administration department to report to was often difficult to find, and citizens would be discouraged from reporting. Sending the administration’s staff to survey the public space was time-and resource-consuming.

The Satellite Solution

In order to improve the flow of information from citizens to the city administrations, since 2011 the Municipality offers, in collaboration with the internet communications firm Wer Denkt Was GmbH (www.werdenktwas.de),  an internet- and smart phone-based complaint management system enabling  citizens to report incivilities and malfunctioning public equipment to the local administration (maengelmelder.dormagen.de/). The idea is to outsource the defect sensing and reporting to the citizens themselves.

Dormagen’s inhabitants have been provided with a smart phone application that allows them to report urban defects, take pictures on the spot and indicate their precise location thanks to the GPS inbuilt in their smartphones. The location of the defect can be exactly identified and tracked as a marker on a virtual map. The web application allows the administration to process and delegate reports. Defects are then coloured in red, yellow or green on the virtual map, according to their processing state.

The Result

Thanks to the smartphone application, citizens can report urban defects wherever they are and whenever they want, directly to the public authorities in charge, without searching for contact details or other information. The use of this satnav-based application enables the administration to work more efficiently, save time and money, and it empowers citizens as actors in protecting the urban environment.

“The application creates an immediate link between citizens and public administration when managing urban defects.”  Wolfgand Zimmer, City of Dormagen

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Illegal waste dumping, also known as “fly-tipping”, is a threat to our health and the environment.  According to German legislation, anyone who places waste in the public space with no permission commits an administrative offence or even a crime and can be legally persecuted.

According to German environmental law, no public administration can refuse processing a report about illegal waste disposal unless the report is untrustworthy, especially when reported anonymously.

The challenge

Thomas Lennartz, a German technology expert with a background in law, was particularly concerned by this issue. Trying to understand how he could contribute to keeping the streets clean, Thomas noticed that there was no coherent system to report illegal waste directly to the competent authorities.

Indeed, when finding illegal deposits of waste, the first challenge for an everyday citizen is to determine who is in charge of receiving the warning. In Germany, local authorities are usually responsible for waste removal. Nevertheless, even when the responsible authority is easily identified, what is often missing is an effective and comprehensive platform for citizens to report their findings. Germany counts 13 000 municipal areas, each relying on a different reporting system based on phone calls, online forms, emails and even faxes.  Navigating these reporting systems can thus quickly become a burdensome endeavour.

The satellite solution

In 2017, Thomas Lennartz decided to use its computing skills to create the app Müllweg!DE (literally “Trash away”). He did so as a personal project and with no commercial purposes in mind. The app allows individual citizens to report illegal dumping and communicate its location directly to the competent authorities through the built-in satellite navigation receivers on their mobile devices. Local authorities are hence able to better locate and remove the waste.

The app operates on two databases covering around 10 000 municipalities or regional districts. Almost 2 000 entries have been manually checked by Thomas, while 9 500 municipalities’ contacts have been collected from web resources or through official channels. If both databases deliver no match, a real-time algorithm will try to retrieve the e-mail address of the competent authority by combining a Wikipedia API query to find the website of the municipality and a website crawling attempt to get the address from the “about us” section of the authority’s homepage. Missing authorities and contacts can be added by the users of the app or by the app’s administrator.

According to the point of access of the user, the geolocation of the illegal dumping can be immediately acquired using a smartphone. Otherwise, the app can extract the location from the metadata of a picture taken with a digital camera. Alternatively, the address can be manually indicated and the app will automatically transform it into latitude and longitude coordinates. The geolocation is indicated on OpenStreetMap and can be corrected manually by the user, if necessary.

The overall reporting procedure takes less than a minute. The app does not require registration, but the identity of the users is certified through the personal email address used when sending a report either through the app or desktop interface.

The results

Today, Müllweg! DE includes data on 10 000 of the 13 000 German municipalities – that’s more than 85% of the area of Germany and its coverage is continually growing.

The success of Müllweg! DE is due to its usefulness and to Thomas’ online marketing activity, including Google SEO optimisation, social media, online networking, and communication to stakeholders, such as environmental organisations, newspapers and websites. In some cases, the municipalities themselves decided to promote the app.

Müllweg! DE recorded more than 8 000 downloads and approximately 300/400 new users join in every month. On a monthly basis, 500 to 600 illegal dumping reports are recorded. Besides, more than 5 000 train stations managed by Deutsche Bahn, the German Railway company, are included in the database of Müllweg! DE.

Running the app costs only 200 euros per year, showing that good will, skills and a touch of technology are sometimes the only ingredients needed to improve the management of our streets.

With MÜLLweg! DE I would like to make a small personal contribution to environmental protection. I am happy about any suggestions helping it to become a little bit better day by day

Thomas Lennartz

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The German Federal Office for Goods Transport (Bundesamt für Güterverkehr – BAG) is an independent higher federal authority and an executive agency of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. It performs numerous functions relating to road haulage and makes a valuable contribution towards enhancing safety on Germany’s roads, in particular by carrying out roadside checks.

The challenge

Historically, German motorways have been financed by a tax levied on car owners’ revenue. As of 1990, the German federal administration wished to reduce truck traffic on Federal motorways by implementing a tax targeting heavy vehicles (>12t). The aim of the initiative was not only to reduce congestion but also to limit the deterioration of roads. The tax would also start charging foreign trucks which previously circulated on federal roads without paying any fees.

On 9 February 1994, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark signed an agreement to introduce a common charge based on road usage time (the Eurovignette). As of 1999, the Ministry of Transport decided to replace it by a distance-related tolling system and launched a tender call to design, implement and manage it.

The satellite solution

In 2002, the contract to implement the tolling system in Germany was awarded to a consortium including Daimler Chrysler Services AG (now Daimler Financial Services AG), Deutsche Telekom AG and Cofiroute S. A., which created a dedicated society, Toll Collect. The tolling system became operational in January 2005.

Trucks circulating in Federal motorways have been equipped with On-Board Units (OBU), containing truck identification data and a geo-positioning device which records the position and distance covered by the vehicles. The OBUs periodically download satellite time-stamped position, and then records trucks’ movements. Those signals are confirmed thanks to data generated by complementary on-board sensors so that the accuracy stands below 10 metres (which is crucial if toll roads are located close to free ones). The system automatically logs in when the truck takes off. Registered users do not need to communicate in advance their itineraries and are free to change them during their journey. The system automatically calculates the toll fees due by users. Alternative ways of payment are also available, according to chosen subscription terms (direct debit, card payment, etc.).

The results

The satellite-based tolling system entails time-savings (less paperwork to generate tolling bills) and more flexibility for the drivers. The toll network covers today about 12,500 km of highways (plus some federal roads) and includes 2,213 junctions. The system does not require any road-side equipment and enables a free-flow traffic on German motorways and federal roads. In contrast to conventional tolling systems, there is no need for vehicle speed restrictions, stops or special toll lanes

During the first two years of implementation (2005/2006) only, the satellite-based tolling system generated revenues for €5,943 billion, which reached €35 billion in 2014. System operating costs are currently equivalent to around 10 % of revenues.

About 158,000 transport and logistics companies from 41 countries and nearly 1 million vehicles are registered with Toll Collect. The revenues of the system are used to maintain the motorway network and to provide increasingly satisfying services to motorway users.

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Bremen is a German Hanseatic city of almost 550,000 inhabitants. Thanks to a flat landscape and its 700 km of cycle paths, Bremen has the highest bicycle traffic in Germany, making up to 25% of the overall daily city traffic.

Economic Development Bremen (Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH) is responsible, among other missions, for promoting and developing the city’s attractiveness and quality of life on behalf of the municipality.

The challenge

Bremen needed a new and more advanced marketing tool, slightly different from printed maps and brochures, to promote biking in Bremen to locals and tourists.

In 2012, the Senate of the Federal State of Bremen mandated Economic Development Bremen to promote both tourism and smart city mobility through the development of biking facilities and opportunities, in line with Bremen’s strategy of being a “bike city”.

The satellite solution

In June 2013, Bremen launched the project “Bremen and Bremerhaven, bike it!” with the financial support of the European Development Fund for touristic development.

Bremen City partnered with BikeCityGuide, an Austrian start-up which develops navigation software especially designed for cyclists. Bremen bought a license for two years, during which locals and tourists can download the application on their mobile device for free.

Thanks to the geolocation system the app relies on, users can easily navigate through the city and discover touristic points of interest or attractive bike routes. The application also integrates a vocal guide and is available in various languages.

In addition, Bremen bought a few thousands “Finn”, a smartphone holder designed for bikes, and distributes them in a Bremen-branded packaging, supporting promotion and marketing activities.

The result

The Bremen bike city guide was launched in March 2014 and presented at the world’s biggest tourism fair, ITB Berlin. In April 2014, Bremen organised an official press conference, inviting journalists and media representatives to test the application. Within 24 hours, the app was downloaded 2,200 times and received very positive feedback.

Easy to handle, free of charge and especially designed for cyclists, the Bremen city guide is a useful tool to promote city attractiveness and address both tourism and mobility objectives.

The App is excellent at helping locals and tourists easily find the best cycling routes and discover the most interesting places in Bremen. It helps promote Bremen as a bike city with a high quality of life.

Klaus-Peter Land, Managing director ADFC Bremen, (German Cyclist’s Feferation, Bremen)

 

                   

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The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) is a joint institution of the German Federal Government and the five German Coastal States. The CCME is responsible for handling maritime incidents in the North and Baltic Seas, including on beaches, islands and inland sea. These tasks are carried out in close cooperation with all relevant authorities and institutions of the federal government, the coastal states and private organisations.

The challenge

To respond efficiently to marine pollution, oil spills in particular, the CCME needs to receive information on potential threats as quickly as possible, before the oil drifts away into the sea or reaches the beaches. It is in fact much more expensive to clean up the coast than it is to eliminate the fuels while still in the sea. Oil spills are not only a threat to the environment, but also to local economies, especially in the summer time, as beaches are an important source of revenue for coastal regions.

The satellite solution

The CCME uses CleanSeaNet, an oil spill and vessel detection service based on satellite data, provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency. The CCME receives 600 satellite images per year, containing a classification of the dark spots detected according to their resemblance with oil spills and their potential impact. By combining information on potential oil spills and their position relative to vessels, the CCME is also able to identify the potential polluters.

All this information is received within 30 minutes from the capture of the images. One hour after the satellite has passed over the German seas, the CCME sends an aircraft directed by the satellite observations to confirm the presence of oil spills and to inform the headquarters via a satcom connection. Then further measures are taken to remove the spills and to collect evidence.

The result

Thanks to the CleanSeaNet service, the CCME could improve its surveillance capacity by being better informed of incidents. The Commando receives in fact, in near-real time, more satellite images than ever available before. The CCME can detect oil spills, verify them, and inform the competent authorities on the suspected polluters, as it happened during a minor spill in the North Sea in August 2013.

“Thanks to CleanSeaNet we have better, objective information which helps us intervene rapidly in case of incidents, and identify potential polluters with more certainty. The fact that we can share and compare this information with other member states, allows for a coordinated protection across European seas” Dirk Reichenbach, Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME)

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The State Agency’s Department for Air Quality, Noise, Vibrations, and Radioactivity is responsible for the survey of the air quality, including measurements, forecasts and information to the public. It contributes to mitigating measures (low emission zones, traffic restrictions, renewing industrial filter systems, etc.). It also implements European Commission directives on air quality and reports on the region’s compliance with them. The objective is to protect the health of the region’s citizens.

The Challenge

North Rhine-Westphalia has two distinct characteristics: it is home to Germany’s most important industrial sites as well as having a high population density of 524 inhabitants/km2. The region accounts for 28% of Germany’s nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions (e.g., caused by traffic) and 50% of industrial fine particle (PM10) emissions (such as soot or ash). Air pollution therefore is high and represents amajor health hazard.

Mitigating air pollution efficiently depends on correctly identifying its sources. However, until recently, the Department for Air Quality had relied on ground measurements and air quality modelling. To investigate supra-regional pollution episodes remained a difficult task.

The Satellite Solution

To monitor air quality efficiently, the Department for Air Quality obtains 3-day forecasts twice a day from the Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research (RIU). The information, visualised as animations similar to weather forecasts, is derived from satellite images, air quality model forecasts and measurements on the ground. Pollution does not stop at the regional border. Satellite imagery has the advantage of providing border-free air pollution data, thus allowing a better overall view on the progress of pollution episodes (such as forest fires, volcanic ash, etc.).

The Result

The Regional Air Quality Forecast provides more comprehensive information on air pollution and its causes, contributing to a better adaptation of mitigating measures. The visual quality of the forecasts makes them easy to understand for the general public, helping to inform citizens about air pollution on the state agency’s website and in public communications.

“The information is very helpful to identify PM10 exceedance days caused by long range transport. This is an asset for our duty to report to the EC. The comprehensive pictures of the forecasts help inform the general public.” Sabine Wurzler, Head of Department, Air Quality Modelling, Atmospheric Changes

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Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and home to over 155.000 inhabitants and UNESCO – world heritage site. Bordering on Berlin, the city is part of the metropolitan region Berlin-Brandenburg that is characterised by highly urbanised areas (Berlin and Potsdam) surrounded by rural, natural landscapes.

The challenge

The city attaches great importance to the reconciliation of urbanisation and the respect for natural habitats, and ecological sustainability is an important factor in the formulation of the city’s public policies.

However, the city officials considered the environmental monitoring information provided at regional level insufficiently detailed. The city administration therefore provided a budget and mandated its Department for Environmental Monitoring to survey the evolution of natural habitats (biotopes), the volume of the city’s vegetation that contributes to maintaining air quality (green volume), and the loss of soil to the construction of roads and buildings (soil sealing).

For this mission, a source of information needed to be identified that was readily available, easily comparable at regular intervals and at a reasonable cost.

The satellite solution

Satellite images proved to be the most appropriate solution for the Department’s need for information on a relatively small area at a precise point in time: the city’s territory is covered by a single image which can be purchased when needed at low cost.

The satellite images are interpreted by an external service provider who extracts the information regarding natural habitats, green volume and soil sealing. The Department for Environmental Monitoring then feeds this information into the city administration’s Geographical Information System, combining it with information from other sources (archive aerial images, habitat maps, topographic maps, statistical data, etc.).

The result

The results of this regular, in-depth analysis are available as a basis for the city council’s public debates on sustainability, providing tangible information that allows public policies to target issues touching on the city’s ecological balance. For example, in expanding neighbourhoods where the balance between urbanisation and the respect of green spaces and natural habitats may be threatened, the city council can react by adapting urban planning. 

The information, illustrated by satellite images, also serves as an important tool in the city’s public relation activities to demonstrate its performance in terms of sustainability.

“Without the use of high resolution satellite images to measure soil sealing and green volume, effective environmental monitoring at municipal level with data available elsewhere would have been difficult to achieve otherwise.” Steffen Tervooren

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Shanai is a family-run Indian restaurant in the German city of Munich, preparing and serving a variety of traditional Indian dishes to students, families, and businessmen. The restaurant opened in 2006 with a staff of six and a capacity of 120 guests.

 The challenge

Shanai’s managers face the challenge of getting known in Munich, a city with over 80 Indian restaurants in different neighbourhoods. In order to gain visibility among potential customers, the restaurant was looking for a solution that would save them the important costs associated with marketing and advertising.

 The satellite solution

While considering various possibilities, Shanai’s owners came across an innovative online platform – ordofood.de – allowing restaurants in Munich to advertise special offers. Ordofood uses satellite-based information to match guests and restaurants according to location, offers and availability. Potential guests can check Shanai’s proximity to their desired location, its dishes and prices, and make a reservation online by selecting the restaurant from the list of local eateries subscribed to the system. Customers can also use the service on their smartphones and hence get to know Shanai while they are looking for a restaurant nearby their position.

Each time someone reserves a seat at Shanai through the online platform, the restaurant pays a small fee of € 0,99 to ordofood. The restaurant can choose the days in which the offers will be valid according to the workload expected.

 The result

Shanai has now been using the service for six months. Thanks to the satnav solution, Shanai is attracting enough customers to keep its tables busy, offering up to 20% discounts to new customers according to the desired capacity. Thus, the restaurant’s managers can better predict and manage the number of guests on a given day, and hence optimise workload and staff working times. The restaurant has also made itself known to more people, some of which become regulars.

“The solution based on geo-localisation made us known to a wider public and attracts new customers.” Rasil Mahamud, Shanai.

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Founded in 1992 as a small, local, mechanical engineering company, BES GmbH has continually grown and innovated its business practices. Today, BES is an important competitor in the market for the construction of cutting-edge photovoltaic power plants and water treatment facilities. BES employs over a hundred staff, of which about half are mobile, being in charge of setting up and servicing machinery at customers’ sites.

The Challenge

Until recently, employees manually filled in time sheets and filed receipts and documentation of their missions, which were then manually processed by the management team. Not only was this practice particularly time-consuming, it was also prone to errors (poor handwriting, wrong time records, lost paperwork, etc.).

The Satellite Solution

BES GmbH implemented M3 Logbook, a workflow software developed by BERNOT Information Technology (Konstanz, Germany) based on satellite navigation. Automatically and in real time, the application creates and processes time sheets, receipts and documentation of maintenance missions carried out by the mobile workforce. These are then fed directly into the company’s central information system.

A mobile version of the satnav application is used by maintenance staff to check in upon arrival at the customer site, document the work to be carried out and the result (e.g. a time- and geo-referenced photograph of the machinery before and after repairs), and check out upon completion. The generated data is sent instantaneously to central processing and can be consulted via a web portal. BES GmbH can thus supply its customers with geo-referenced and time-stamped documentation of the maintenance work carried out. In the long run, this data is also used to improve workforce and fleet management.

BES GmbH funded the equipment of its mobile workforce with GNSS-enabled mobile phones and pay an annual licence fee for the use of the workflow software.

The Result

BES GmbH now saves a considerable amount of money every year on internal administration alone, allowing it to invest in the future. Thanks to M3 Logbook, customer invoicing is now based on transparent, tamper-proof documentation and contributes to customer satisfaction.

Key fact/figure:
Saving time and money while increasing transparency

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