The European GNSS Agency (GSA), in collaboration with the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), has launched the Geomatics on the Move 2020 competition with the aim of fostering the use of EU satellite programmes Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus among students, young professionals, entrepreneurs and small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs), to create innovative geomatics applications and solutions across all over Europe. The deadline for submission of ideas is 16 October 2020. Interested? Click here!
The deadline for submitting ideas is 16 October 2020.
Building and expanding on the CLGE Student Contest, which has been held for the past nine years, the new Geomatics on the Move Prize Contest also targets applications that integrate the use of additional technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, as well as supplementary remote sensing data sources like drones. Solutions animated through mobile phone applications or other easy-to-use platforms are also welcome.
“This is the ninth year of partnership between the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors and the GSA; over the years we have seen some exciting and innovative solutions emerge that leverage the EU Space Programme to deliver practical solutions for the mapping and surveying community,” said GSA Acting Executive Director Pascal Claudel. “This year, as we recover from this global setback, I look forward to seeing even more novel ideas – from all over the European Union - able to respond to current and future challenges.” he said.
What’s on offer?
With an overall prize of €30 000, a set of 10 prizes will be offered in two categories. The first of these categories targets EU space-based Traditional Geomatics solutions and the second Integrated Geomatics solutions. The first category is looking for solutions in which the main innovation is based on the use of EGNSS, employing traditional equipment such as surveying or GIS grade GNSS receivers for applications such as cadastral, marine and mining surveying or GIS mapping.
Read this: Want to know more about EGNSS for geomatics?
The Integrated Geomatics category is targeting integrated surveying solutions that use Galileo or EGNOS and leverage cutting-edge tools and technologies such as drones, mobile mapping, laser scanners or Augmented/Mixed Reality, both within geomatics applications or beyond. In both categories, the solutions can also be supported or combined with Copernicus satellite data.
Geomatics on the Move is an ideas competition. Solutions should be presented and demonstrated through a written submission in the form of a poster and a live pitch at the finals. Applicants do not need to technically develop an application, although the technical feasibility of the idea or scientific finding should be demonstrable.
How it works
The competition will be organised in two stages. The first phase is an open call for ideas, during which applicants should submit a poster describing their idea. The deadline for submissions in this phase is 16 October. These proposals will be evaluated by the GSA and CLGE and a maximum of 10 projects will be chosen to present their pitch during the finals. The selected applicants will refine their poster and prepare their pitch, for which technical support and training will be made available.
Watch this: EGNOS for Surveying and Mapping
The official award of the Geomatics on the Move Prize Contest will take place virtually, during the European Space Week (7-11 December 2020). During this event, each finalist will present their solution to the evaluation board. The winners will be announced on the official contest site and promoted through GSA channels.
With this competition, the GSA aims to increase the use of Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus in the field of geomatics and to increase awareness of the benefits these EU Space Programmes provide toward fostering innovative geomatics applications.
For more information, or to submit an idea, click here.
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