DLR Environment, Energy & Health Challenge

DLR was looking for innovative ideas that use Earth observation data to drive the sustainable management of our limited natural resources and foster humanity’s well-being.

Finalists

Those are the TOP 3 submissions to the DLR Environment, Energy & Health Challenge. Congratulations to the winning solution!

ajuma UV-Bodyguard – Be Safe in the Sun, Take Sun Protection to the Next Level. Sunburns are painful, but skin cancer is dangerous and has been rising on a global scale. To promote individual healthcare and offer a planning tool for your sunny days, ajuma has developed the UV-Bodyguard. This is a wearable that connects to your smartphone and continuously measures UV exposure, issues warnings, and provides a UV forecast based on Copernicus products. ajuma will apply near-real-time information on the state of the atmosphere derived from Copernicus (Sentinel-3 and -5P for ozone and aerosols) in order to provide accurate location-based UV forecasts. Users get real-time information on current UV and UV exposure, forecasts of when they should come in from the sun, and active warnings to protect them from sunburn and an increased risk of skin cancer. In the winter, it will also ascertain vitamin D deficiencies that stem from a lack of UV exposure. Submitted by Julian Meyer-Arnek

Spacept – Artificial Intelligence for Space Data Analytics to Tackle Climate Change and Save Lives
Spacept is a software platform with specialised computer vision systems that process Earth observation satellite data on infrastructure to enable safer, more efficient, and sustainable operation and maintenance. The mission is in line with Sustainable Development Goals 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and 13 (Climate Action).
Thanks to European (Copernicus) and American (Planet and Digital Globe) satellite data providers, analyses can be delivered anywhere on the planet at a quarter of the price of existing solutions.
The Spacept solution saves lives and eliminates CO₂ emissions while also radically reducing the time and costs involved in infrastructure inspections.
Submitted by Sergiu Iliev

The Challenge

In addition to using Copernicus data and other Earth observation satellite data, participants are encouraged to supplement their ideas with other sources of data, such as information generated by crowd-sourcing, social media or in-situ measurements. Ideas should support professionals working in these areas, inform the public, or empower public authorities to take action and solve issues on a local, national, or global scale.

Areas of particular interest to DLR are:

Environmental Management: Identifying environmental issues and managing natural resources
Sustainable Resource Management: Monitoring and improving the use of natural resources, as well as generation, distribution, or consumption of energy
Health Promotion: Identifying, monitoring and / or providing solutions for negative environmental factors affecting human health

Prizes

CASH PRIZE

EUR 5,000

SATELLITE DATA

Possibility to access EUR 10,000 worth of commercial datasets from the Copernicus Contributing Missions in the Copernicus Data Warehouse (financial support by EC)

Criteria

Submissions to DLR Environment, Energy & Health Challenge will be assessed against the following criteria:

Benefit for society

Does the idea foster human wellbeing, health and/or sustainable resource management?

Copernicus Relevance

How significant is the use of sentinel satellite data for realisation of the idea?

Innovation

Is the idea new?

User acceptance

Is the idea of practical use to users or the general public?

Feasibility

Is the idea feasible?

About DLR

The Earth Observation Center (EOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) comprises the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) and the Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF). The EOC works in all fields related to the development of algorithms and data analysis systems, as well as in the practical implementation of Earth observation applications and services – from satellite data reception and near-real-time services to disaster monitoring and environmental mapping. As such, the EOC is involved in many aspects of Copernicus’s design, implementation, and operations. In determining the focal points of its research, DLR is to a large extent guided by the demand for innovative products and services developed in close cooperation with industry entities. It also invests in promising technologies and offers its research and development capacities to partners for their own use.