ESA’s Smart-Connect project, as part of ESA’s Civil Security from Space (CSS) programme, is expanding its capabilities in meeting the challenges faced when terrestrial telecommunications channels are disrupted during crises events, by bringing in an additional three companies to the consortium.
Funded through ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate, the project has brought onboard Gemostec and Nazka from Belgium, and Medair from Switzerland, building on its original eight-company strong consortium, led by its prime Geoville, representative of five ESA Member States.
The core system components currently under development for the project range from Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled Earth Observation (EO)-Data compression for minimal bandwidth requirements, Application Programming Interface (API)-Gateways framework to provide first responders with user-friendly tools, specialised libraries and compression tests to make more efficient use of performance capacity, georeferenced data services that brings together data into one place for web users, and satcom real-time video streaming framework for drone data.
These components are addressing the bottleneck in networks bandwidth, limiting big-data transmission, particularly in times when terrestrial networks are damaged or destroyed during disaster events. Smart-Connect is building a system called conneXstream Middleware, which will bridge reliability, coverage and bandwidth needs for field staff and first responders to service providers and decision-makers in disaster risk management centres.
The new elements to Smart-Connect are enabling first responders and decision makers to make timely, more efficient and informed decisions using always-up-to-date information, through space-enabled solutions. The tools provided through these systems are being developed with end-users to ensure that they are as effective in practice as they are in theory. When people, governments and businesses need access to communication capabilities in such critical scenarios, space-enabled data and communications provide the resilience and capacity needed to do so.
The new partners bring with them new expertise and capabilities to the project:
Gemsotec, a Belgian digital solutions company, is working to develop a data orchestration system, ensuring that the most critical data enabling first responders on the ground to make quick and confident decisions, while blocking out unnecessary data and noise. The system brings together other project partners, incorporating tracking data from Epic Blue, involving the pilot demonstrator from Portugal and Belgium.
Nazka, a Belgian mapping company, is visualising and modifying geodata to create an interactive and user-friendly map component, crucial for quickly evolving scenarios that first responders often face in crisis situations. Working in tandem with Gemsotec’s orchestration system, the interface will relay Earth Observation information to the end users, with outreach being done with these users to add further value with EO-based data during scenarios which require quick and large-scale response.
Medair, an international non-governmental humanitarian organisation, is working on testing the integration of space assets in real-life crisis scenarios, ensuring that in-field operators can benefit from the Smart-Connect project. This unique entry point provides the project with the opportunity to provide real use cases of its system, improving secure communications where terrestrial systems are limited or unavailable, transmitting critical data from remote locations to decision-makers.
“ESA is proud to be supporting organisations engaged in Smart-Connect, making a difference and providing critical communications infrastructure when it’s needed most,” said Christopher Topping, ESA’s Civil Security from Space Programme Manager. “With Europe facing increasingly significant challenges, we’re proud to be using space to protect citizens and ensure prosperity, through such projects.”
"We approach this opportunity to shape the future of disaster response with great excitement and utmost respect. To tackle the most pressing and, so far, unaddressed issues in the realm of civil security, the consortium has gathered a team of experts and major stakeholders from across Europe," said Christoph Czarnecki, IT Project Manager, GeoVille GmbH. "A future where space assets become a staple in every first responder’s toolkit is approaching, and we are here to deliver it."
Smart-Connect forms part of ESA’s Civil Security from Space programme, a multi-directorate activity led by ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate, in partnership with ESA’s Earth Observation directorate, which works with European and Canadian industry to use space capabilities to meet the arising challenges for civil security and crisis management. Feeding into ESA’s Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response (R3) accelerator, it collaborates with non-space actors to bring space-enabled solutions to end-users outside of the typical space domain.
