Planet “See Change, Change the World” Challenge

Planet is looking for new ways to help solve climate and environmental challenges through the use of daily satellite imagery, tools and analytics.

Finalists

Stay tuned! One of these finalists will become the Planet “See Change, Change the World” Challenge winner!

Amplifying Urban Resilience – One Rooftop at a Time
Recent metrics expect a 68% increase in populations living in urban areas by 2030, which will place further pressure on already fragile food systems and economies. To reduce the distance between food sources and inner cities, areas of urban agriculture have sprouted up in unlikely locations: vacant lots, rooftops, and abandoned shipping containers, for example. But these interventions are undertaken on a limited scale, or as one-off approaches by disparate parties. Finding means of expediting the adoption of agricultural production in city centres can augment existing food production pathways in viable (and critical) ways and add valuable green spaces to urban landscapes.
DirtSat is creating a sensor-enabled network of urban rooftop farms to empower smart cities to more quickly achieve food security, climate resilience, and sustainable development goals through geospatial data and analytics. By leveraging various satellite resolutions (Sentinel-1 and -2, Planet SkySats), powerful data analytics platforms (AI), and soil and weather sensors (IoT), the DirtSat platform enables cities to index, connect, and monitor their natural capital like never before.

Christine Tiballi

Gorillas in Our Midst: Deforestation in the Virunga
Virunga, which is perhaps best known for its population of mountain gorillas, is the richest landscape on the African continent in terms of biodiversity. However, it also faces the most complex and persistent challenges, including conflicts, human encroachment, and poaching. On top of that, deforestation in Virunga is extremely intense and uncontrolled and the relevant data is either non-existent, virtually inaccessible, or not actionable.
Geo Gecko will use the ground-breaking power of Planet satellite imagery to quantify the extent of deforestation and develop information products that decision-makers can use to enhance their activities. The solution will benefit the organisations mandated to protect the Virunga forests by providing them with the insights necessary to support their actions. This will ultimately result in stronger institutions and reduced deforestation.

Bernard Wright

IMARA: Quantifying Nature’s Benefits for People
Remote sensing data from the likes of Copernicus and Planet is continuous and objective. This data needs to be translated into information through the collective language of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
IMARA combines spatial data with an agricultural, ecological, and economic model to cover the entire spectrum of social, economic, and environmental aspects. By quantifying the impact of agroforestry on both social and environmental indicators, IMARA clients can monitor and evaluate progress and accountability in order to prove the impact of their activities.

Elise van Tilborg

The Challenge

Planet’s mission to make global change visible, accessible and actionable aligns with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which can help support economists in making more informed decisions.

Planet is excited to partner with those seeking to use Planet and Copernicus data to find creative solutions in the following areas of interest:

Sustainable Food Systems, both in agriculture and maritime, i.a.:
- Ensure more sustainable food systems that guarantee nutritious, affordable and safe food with minimum use of pesticides and fertilisers and minimum greenhouse gas emissions
- Achieve optimisation of land use, especially in areas affected by rapid urbanisation and/or land degradation
- Provide urban farming solutions
- Propose sustainable fishing solutions

Biodiversity, i.a.:
- Detect negative deforestation trends
- Measure coral bleaching and its impact on ecosystem services
- Understand the impact of heat and drought stress on habitats

Submissions are not limited to the above mentioned areas and can address all potential aspects linked to the European Green Deal and the SDG. The most compelling solutions should have a strong technical underpinning, be feasible and achievable.

Prizes 2020

Planet will provide the winner with an opportunity to finalise their solution and bring it to market. This includes the following prize details:

6 MONTHS FREE DATA

Free Planet data for non-commercial purposes: 6 months' free access to Planet’s data with a value of EUR 125,000 over relevant areas of land for PlanetScope and SkySat imagery products for non-commercial/demo purposes. The winner can choose between the split of the Monitoring, Basemaps and Archive data required.

CONSULTING

Technical and business consulting from Planet during the 6-month period.

PLANET IMAGERY

A commercial contract for Planet imagery once the first customer is identified.

TRIP TO PLANET'S EXPLORE CONFERENCE

Trip to San Francisco to Planet’s Explore Conference: Fully paid (flights, hotel, conference fee) trip for two to Planet’s customer conference in 2021, providing the winner with a world class opportunity to network with thought leaders in the geospatial industry.

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)

Extra EUR 10,000 Cash Prize if your concept gets selected as Copernicus Masters 2020 Overall Winner

Additional Prize

Criteria

Submissions to Planet “See Change, Change the World” Challenge will be assessed against the following criteria:

Climate and Environmental Impact

Does this solution contribute toward solving climate and environmental challenges?

Creativity

Is the solution a novel and ground-breaking application of Planet data?

Commercial Viability

Does the solution present a viable business model that considers the cost of operations and Planet imagery?

Planet and Copernicus Connection

Does the solution use both Planet data and Copernicus data to create added value?

Get Inspired

Hear from the 2019 Planet Challenge and Overall winner Green City Watch about their mission and how Planet’s data supported them to build greener and smarter cities:

About Planet

Founded in 2010 by a team of ex-NASA scientists, Planet is driven by a mission to image the entire Earth every day, and make Earth’s changes visible, accessible and actionable. Planet started as a small team of physicists, aerospace and mechanical engineers in a garage, using the CubeSat form-factor to inform the first designs of the Dove satellite. Just six years after their first satellite entered space, Planet now operates the largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites ever. Their satellites are collecting a radical new data set with endless, real-world applications. Whether one is measuring agricultural yields, monitoring natural resources, or aiding first responders after natural disasters, Planet’s data is here to lend businesses and humanitarian organisations a helping hand. Planet believes timely, global imagery will empower informed, deliberate and meaningful stewardship of our planet.