Resolution of the second Earth Observation Use Case Ideas Competition for the Private Sector
The call to participate in the second edition of the Earth Observation Use Case Ideas Competition for the Private Sector was published on January. This initiative, which is being coordinated by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), is part of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia promoted by the Catalan Government and deployed in collaboration with the IEEC, the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) and the i2CAT Foundation.
The competition was aimed at obtaining innovative proposals for Earth observation use cases that the NewSpace ecosystem can offer to the Catalan private business sector in the form of services based on information coming from satellites.
Among other requirements, the call for proposals demanded all submitted cases to be based on satellite data; to incorporate data obtained from the ‘Menut’ nanosatellite (the second satellite mission of the NewSpace Strategy); to be applicable to the Catalan territory; and to integrate the active participation of the end-user.
The chosen use cases will help to promote the use of satellite data and to highlight the benefits that companies can obtain if they incorporate data from the ‘Menut’ into their operations. The cases will be awarded a financial prize of 2,500 euros and will be eligible for a subsequent service contract of 47,500 euros each. Moreover, as a new feature in this edition, the winning use cases will be part of ESA Phi-LabNET Spain’s project portfolio.
The companies and proposals that have been chosen are:
REMOT Project
REMOT aims to use Earth observation technologies to optimize vineyard irrigation by inferring plant water stress in a scalable and automated way. This would allow irrigation planning based on crop needs, merging data from multispectral satellite images, field samples, and predictive models. The solution will be a WebApp platform and will be integrated into end-user workflows to reduce time and improve decision-making.
This project, by SPASCAT, will be developed in collaboration with two Catalan companies: the technical consulting firm for agricultural companies Agropixel and the wine company Codorníu.
SAPIC Project
The service proposed by SAPIC consists of developing a viewer that will provide an estimated indicator of fire risk in any area selected by the user; in this case, the area of influence of the energy transmission operator Electra Caldense, which will be its end user. These infrastructures pose an added risk factor, as any incident can generate sparks and start high-intensity fires. The SAPIC system addresses the challenge of detecting points likely to cause a fire by using Earth observation technologies combined with high-resolution climate data tailored to each specific location.
This project, led by Lobelia, will be developed in collaboration with Electra Caldense, which transports electricity to ten municipalities in the Vallès region and six in the Segrià region through the use of electrical networks that combine underground lines and medium-voltage overhead lines. The Spanish Association for Sustainable Forestry (PEFC), which promotes and disseminates sustainable forest management, will also participate.
TIAFA Project
The TIAFA project involves the automated detection of water leaks in underground and open-air channels, using satellite image analysis technologies and artificial intelligence algorithms. The main objective is to identify early any signs of leakage, such as abnormal changes or alterations in vegetation or soil moisture adjacent to the canal, to prevent water losses, reduce safety risks, and improve water management efficiency.
The project, led by MOAI Analytics, is primarily aimed at large operators and managers of energy supply and generation infrastructure, with canal networks spread across a wide range of territories. In this case, the project will be developed in collaboration with ENDESA.
More information is available on the public procurement services platform.
