EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION Directorate I - Climate Action and Resource Efficiency I.4 - Climate Action and Earth Observation Conclusion of the Workshop EU Research and Innovation in support of the Earth Observation Market Brussels, 21-22 September 2016 Introduction: The European Commission (EC) held a 2 day workshop in September 2016. This workshop was one of a series of workshops focused on commercial sector in an Earth Observation (EO) context. It was organised by DG RTD and held in collaboration with DG GROW, DG CNECT, DG JRC, DG ENV, Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME), European Association of Remote Sensing Companies – EARSC, Geospatial Media, and HCP International. The aim was to explore Research and Innovation (R&I) actions needed for the development of an EO market in Europe in relation to the Copernicus programme and GEO initiative (Group on Earth Observations). This workshop was held in the context of the new emerging landscape comprising: The continued deployment, operation and development of the Copernicus programme The recent developments within GEO, particularly with the renewal of the initiative for another decade up to 2025. A stronger collaboration need with the commercial sector in Europe This workshop shall be seen as an integral part of the stakeholder consultation process in view of the preparation of Horizon 2020 research and innovation calls in the period 2018-2020. The aims of the workshop were three fold (agenda in annex): 1. Review EO market trends and evolution 2. Explore R&I areas of critical importance for the development of future EO markets in Europe a. Take stock of R&I success stories in support of EO services and products development for Business to Citizens (B2C), Business to Government (B2G), Business to Business (B2B) b. Exchange best practices across the EU regarding EO alliances, fora and other public private partnerships with the Commercial sector 3. Review possible options for optimal engagement of the Commercial sector in the GEO initiative and the EU Copernicus programme. This workshop was aimed at commercial actors, research organisations, and users interested in accessing and developing geospatial / EO services and products. Workshop Outline: The event was attended by circa 110 participants including representatives from over 80 companies and representative bodies such as e.g. the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC). A number of American companies were also represented including Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Amazon, and Planet. A participants list can be found in the annex. The workshop comprised an opening sessions, four plenary sessions and six breakout discussion sessions. The agenda can be found in the annex. The workshop raised a lot of interest in the Commercial sector regarding three key sectors of the 'EO market': 1. The EO data providers 2. The geospatial industrial sector 3. The Information and Communication Technologies sector The workshop presentations are accessible at: http://bit.ly/2dQOFjE The Workshop Objectives The three workshop objectives were: 1) To characterise the EO market and its evolution 2) To identify priority areas for R&I to support the development of this market 3) To discuss with the commercial sector the arrangement needed between the Commercial sector and initiatives/programmes such as the GEO and Copernicus This report is structured around these three objectives. A summary of the workshop outcomes in line with these objectives is provided along with identified key messages. Objective 1: EO Market Characterisation and its evolution There were a number of presentations addressing this objective. An overview of the key messages from these presentations and associated discussions can be seen below. Examples of EO Market Enabling Elements Copernicus provides long term, sustainable and reliable remote sensing data sets into the late 2020's. This long term vision lays the foundation for the sustainable development of a European EO market based on where EO data can be treated as a commodity. Technological advances in areas such as miniaturisation and processing speeds (per unit volume) have meant that remote sensing capability (space borne, airborne and in-situ) can be realised on smaller platforms with enhanced performance leading to much improved cost to data quality ratios. Constellations of smaller satellites with much improved performance are potentially beginning to address near real time applications leading to new EO products and services on a global scale. Coupled to these developments is the improvement of robust networking topologies enabling improved connectivity e.g. availability of internet capability and enhancements in sensor networking capabilities leading to multi-sensor EO solutions and 'big data' system of systems architectures. Existing legal and regulatory frameworks including e.g. the INSPIRE directives and the European Interoperability Framework can be used to support the development of an EO market. Examples of Current Trends towards EO Market Evolution The demand for EO data is expanding rapidly as technology develops (sensors, algorithms) coupled to technology development in ICT as developing capabilities such as cloud computing, mobility and social media sharing tools change the way that data can be stored, combined, processed, accessed and shared. These systems aim to deliver new and enhanced geospatial data streams and enable new analytical techniques to exploit EO data further downstream. In the last few years there has been a noticeable shift from standalone space borne information to integrated information services. Fusion and integration of data and models are seen as a strong component of future developments. It is anticipated that automation and integrated web based services will become more wide spread. R&I activities relating to data fusion, integration and interoperability are still relativity immature and support to develop these areas was highlighted. Accessing and integrating data from multiple sources and of various types is a trend which implies a strong role for R&I including investment in data fusion methods, integration techniques and strengthening knowledge of dataset interoperability concepts. More satellites are being launched and these satellites are also generating increased volumes of data. As more sensors are connected together in a coordinated way (space borne, airborne and in-situ) then big data management will become increasingly important. For example the estimate for the Copernicus dedicated space segment (Sentinel only) is around 50 PB by 2024. There are a number of initiatives which address the challenges of big data. One example is the EU Big Data Private Public Partnership (PPP). This is a partnership between the EC and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), the association of the European Big Data community which includes data providers, data users, data analysts and research organisations. Efforts are presently focused in a subgroup of the BDVA to define a clear and coherent strategy to address big data from space related issues, including EO big data related issues in different projects funded within ICT PPP calls, complementing the activities funded in DG GROW, DG RTD, and ESA. New companies mainly in the US are planning / starting to launch large constellations focussing on near real time and EO data products updated on a daily basis. Improving the temporal component of the EO data products opens up new possibilities for EO applications which are not achievable by a single satellite. Market Evolution Possibilities There is an opportunity for the EO market to evolve into an application driven ecosystem based on information comprising data from multiple sources (in-situ, air borne and space borne) which is combined and fused in a meaningful way. The EO data generated by such an ecosystem can be seen as a commodity. Historically, space-borne EO systems have been designed as individual self-standing elements coupled with a corresponding ground segment. One possible EO data market evolution would be collaborative business models comprising service oriented value chains. These types of frameworks would comprise integrated data sensors from different sources (space borne, airborne and in-situ) and cloud based information platforms with information distribution to the citizen. Different kinds of models can be explored including integrated solution provision with public and private entities taking on different roles e.g. public bodies can act as stable anchor tenants underpinning the conditions for a sustainable market to develop. This kind of architecture could be enabled (particularly in the early stages of development) by cooperation arrangements such as PPP. Exploring PPP is also in line with the new European Space Strategy1.Using a system of systems approach (including space borne, air borne and in-situ information) has the capacity to provide near real time solutions which would further support enhanced service provision in areas such as EO phenomena prediction and forecasting services. EO information and data are starting to be used in a wide range of non-space sectors such as oil and gas, mining, infrastructure monitoring e.g. pipelines, agriculture, environmental protection and pollution protection, water resources management and sustainable development. A long term EO data strategy in Europe requires a more overarching and inclusive approach which ensures alignment between different elements including