EUSPA SatCom Challenge

EUSPA is looking for innovative applications using Satellite Communication in combination with European GNSS (Galileo and/or EGNOS) and/or Copernicus.

The Finalists

Discover the TOP 3 submissions to the EUSPA SatCom Challenge below.
Please note, that finalists are presented in an alphabetically order of their submission title.

GNSS and SatCom for Multipurpose Lightweight UAV with Radar

Saulius Rudys, Vilnius University, UAB Žvelk aukščiau

Installing radar on UAVs can expand the scope of their applications because this technology can penetrate clouds, smoke, and fog and be operated in darkness. In many cases, however, surveillance radar equipment is heavy and expensive. The solution developed at Vilnius University is a lightweight, low-cost alternative that involves mounting mass-produced marine radar and wide high-resolution antennas on a UAV’s wing. Scans are carried out while changing the direction of flight, so using curved flight trajectories will enable 3D scanning even with 2D equipment. The solution can be particularly useful in anti-drone missions, as well as in sea border control or ice monitoring. Additional SatCom, Automatic Identification System (AIS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment is also integrated. Two Galileo-enabled receivers at the tips of the wings are used for robust positioning and to determine the UAV’s attitude for radar scanning. The resultant weight of the UAV can be as little as 10-20 kg, which provides for a lighter, smaller, and cheaper solution compared to existing solutions.

Optimised Protection Against Forest Fires

Marco Trucchi

Current outdoor sprinkler systems allow for good protection of at-risk sites like buildings, schools, or highway rest areas against forest fires. However, they face two main challenges: First, water is limited, so the timing of sprinkler activation is crucial. Second, the remote manual activation of sprinklers is often impossible at present if the local communication network is disrupted. A new service optimises protection against forest fires by tackling these problems and improving the current systems of asset protection. It integrates Copernicus Earth observation data into its mathematical model to predict wildfire front propagation and choose the best moment to activate sprinklers. It also takes topological parameters and recent local conditions of vegetation, humidity, and hydrology into account. Meanwhile, Copernicus data facilitates safer evacuation than using local sensing alone. To ensure flawless communication, the service uses satellites rather than the present ADSL or GPRS/4G network.

Orama-Net: IoT mesh for all

Marc Leminh

Orama-Net brings a new IoT network radio technology that unlocks new applications not possible before. It is a new radio mesh network that transmits data to the cloud via a satellite link to make it available to end users. The innovative solution is easy to use and offers a great range, quality of service and ultra-low power consumption at a low cost. This enables many new applications that could not be achieved previously for coverage or cost issues in sectors like logistics, Smart Agriculture and security and defense.

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The Challenge

Secure connectivity is a new fast developing area: combining positioning information and/or EO data with reliable Satellite Communication services offers a promising potential for new market-oriented applications.

Copernicus provide high quality Earth observation (EO) data, freely available and of potential use across a wide range of downstream domains.

Galileo/EGNOS provide georeferenced data, information with high temporal and spatial resolution, high availability and quality whereas Satellite Communication can provide essential services such as telecommunication services, broadcasting services and data communications to users anywhere on the Earth, even where terrestrial means are unavailable.

Participants are encouraged to propose innovative applications in target application domains, such as (but not limited to):

Transport (e.g. Drones, Maritime, Autonomous driving, fleet management, traffic management, etc.)
Low data-rate applications/Internet of things
Critical Infrastructure monitoring
Maritime or border Surveillance

Crisis management (e.g. Civil Protection, Search & Rescue, Humanitarian aid, etc.)

Rewards 2021

Cash Prize

Cash prize worth EUR 10,000

Additional Rewards for the Overall Winner 2021

Extra EUR 10,000 cash prize if your concept gets selected as Galileo Masters 2021 Overall Winner

Chance to win one of six tailored Galileo Incubation prizes worth up to EUR 62,000 each

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions to the EUSPA SatCom Challenge will be assessed using the following criteria:

Innovation

Innovative approach over existing technical solutions and commercial services

Relevance

Relevance of SatCom technology in combination with EGNSS/Copernicus for the proposed solution

Market Potential

Considerable contribution to uptake in one of the various satellite downstream market segments

Benefit

Commercial and societal benefits along the entire value chains for market players, society and the end users

Eligibility

To participate, any applicant must be a natural or a legal person of an EU Member State or European Economic Area (EEA), European Neighbouring Countries (ENP), South/East countries or other countries with which the EU has space dialogues and cooperation: USA, Canada, Latin America, Africa, Gulf Cooperation Countries, Kazahstan, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand.

For further information see the Terms of Participation.

About the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), a European Union agency, is working with the European Commission on a range of activities aimed at helping European entrepreneurs and businesses – especially high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), research institutes and related networks – build their applications using the positioning, navigation and timing data delivered by Galileo and EGNOS.