Articoli

Visibility trials for drone detection

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GEO-K, collaborating with the RADARLab of the Electronic Department of the “Tor Vergata” University, is performing drone’s visibility trials making use of its exa-rotor high-quality carbon fiber frame drone, an X-band radar and a corner reflector with known RCS. These tests are going to show the detection capability of Radar Systems, retrieving also the radiometric characterization of commercial drones.

The term “drone” is commonly used to indicate an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or an aircraft which is remotely controlled by a ground-based operator. During the last years, drones have increasingly captured the interest of entrepreneurs and investors alike as a means to take over certain tasks, such as commercial, scientific, recreational and agricultural applications, surveillance services, product deliveries and aerial photography. Recently, the growing use of drones also among common people is due to the possibility of purchasing them at a lower price, increasing concerns about their use. Last year, in fact, more than 3456 incidents involving drones were recorded, compared with only 1237 in 2015, PA news agency reported. Moreover, drones have been reported to be used for criminal purposes and illegal actions. The problem of how drones can be detected and controlled over a limited area is directly rising up. Radar sensors are suitable to detect big objects, but drones may also be seen.

 

GEO-K meets the IEEE President, Barry L. Shoop

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An interesting appointment together with other interesting enterprises: that’s what had occurred at GEO-K, September, 27th, participating in a workshop with Barry L. Shoop, IEEE president, at the Faculty of Engineer at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

The IEEE vision: “To be essential to the global technical community and to technical professionals everywhere, and to be universally recognized for the contributions of technology and of technical professionals in improving global conditions”. For this, in addition to a good turnout of students and researchers, Shoop had accepted to meet the innovation groups and people of the Faculty: GEO-K, the first spin-off of Tor Vergata, is between them.

Speaker: Daniele Latini, Ph.D. and pilot of GEO-K’s drones.

(photo by Simona Ranieri)

FabSpace 2.0 in Universities 2.0

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FabSpace 2.0 is the open-innovation network for geodata-driven innovation by leveraging Space data in Universities 2.0. Its Work programme topic addressed INSO-4-2015: Innovative schemes for open innovation and science 2.0 (b) Academia- Business/Public/CSO knowledge co-creation Coordination and support action.

The FabSpace 2.0 project aims at making universities open innovation centres for their region and improving their contribution to the socio-economic and environmental performance of societies. To achieve these general objectives, the FabSpace 2.0 project offers to concentrate on one research area with high expected socio-economic impact: data-driven innovation, with particular attention to Earth observation data.

In the six European regions covered by the consortium, partner universities work together with co-located Business Incubation Centres of the European Space Agency (ESA BICs). ESA BICs aim at inspiring entrepreneurs to turn space-connected business ideas into commercial companies and provide technical expertise and business-development support.

This project began on March 1st 2016 and will last 3 years. It is under the lead of Univ. Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier (UPS).

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the FabSpace 2.0 project are to:

  • Set up and operate at University a free-access place & service where students, researchers and external users can make use of a data platform and design and test their own applications.
  • Train the users to improve their capacity to process data and develop new applications.
  • Network students, researchers, entrepreneurs, project managers in industry and public authorities, civil society organisations and other representatives of civilians, consolidate user needs and industry requirements, foster the co-creation of new innovative solutions, support further business development.
  • Exploit, sustain and disseminate the concept.
ACTIVITIES

The Work Plan will be implemented within 6 Work Packages:

  • WP1 – Setting up and operating regional FabSpace services
  • WP2 – Enhancing human capital among the targeted groups of users
  • WP3 – Animation and Networking for innovation and entrepreneurial discovery
  • WP4 – Exploitation and dissemination
  • WP5 – Communication
  • WP6 – Management
RESULTS

The major impacts of the project can be summarised as follows:

  • Make universities & research organisations more involved in innovation activities, through the development of interactions with innovators in industry and the public sector, with an increasing socio-economic impact
  • Boost innovation skills in public administration
  • Equip researchers with innovation leadership knowledge
  • Raise awareness of the potential of co-creation of new solutions and other open innovation activities.
 https://www.irit.fr/FabSpace/
Click here for more information about the ESA BICs.
[posted by ebn innovate network website]

GEO-K 10th Anniversary!

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On April 11th of 10 years ago GEO-K, the first spin-off of the University of Roma Tor Vergata, was founded. Merging academic background with trade necessities and dynamics had never been easy but we still are here, gained 10-years-standing experience and ready to afford the next 10-years adventure with the same excited enthusiasm as we started.

Happy Anniversary GEO-K!

 

GEO-K takes part to the study for super-classification of multispectral data

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GEO-K participates to the study for the super-classification of Landsat Multispectral products. The study will be published on the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observation and Remote Sensing in the next period.

What is super-classification?

With it, we consider the ability to discriminate the different “materials” that form a single pixel signal. Often these materials are different and composite on the Earth’s surface. With this approach, we can ultimately increase the capability of satellite instruments in terms of spatial resolution.

The methodology proposed by GEO-K and the Earth Observation Laboratory of the University of Rome Tor Vergata is based on advanced techniques exploiting Neural Networks.

The first results obtained by the team were presented at the URBAN 2015 Remote Sensing Joint Event in Losanna, Switzerland.

EO Lab in Tor Vergata and ESA Bic Lazio will create the Italian FabSpace

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The Fab Space 2.0 project (led by the French university Toulouse III Paul Sabatier) was approved under the Horizon 2020 program: 3,5 million euros to create innovative and space-oriented fab labs in 6 European countries.

Universities are the protagonists and in particular those of France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Greece. They will become (even more) centers for innovation. According to the project partners, Fab Space 2.0 will concentrate in a single territorial area of ​​research and innovation also the decisive contributions for a strong socio-economic and environmental effect: innovation guided by geo-information data, mainly derived from Earth observation space missions.

Universities must adopt the new role of innovation co-creators in the context of Science 2.0. They must realize the future scenario in which open data come into play in a creative environment: there, the developers who come from civil society, industry and academic research, public and territorial administrators can meet, work together and co-create new tools and new business applications.
So here is the new type of fab lab: the FabSpaces. They will be a key point in which to find large varieties of data (including ‘spatial’ data) and free tools for data processing and software, all for designing new applications. A real innovation realized thanks to the knowledge of data. The link between universities, industries, public administration and civil society will be reinforced by local and European initiatives for application development. Around 1,500 European students and researchers are expected to use FabSpaces.

 

 

In Italy, the protagonists are the ESA BIC Lazio incubator and the EO LAB – the Tor Vergata Earth Observation Laboratory.
The laboratory of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, with the coordination of Professor Fabio Del Frate of DICII – Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Engineering, will be responsible for the creation of real and virtual laboratories that will use the latest web technologies for both training and technology transfer in the fields of geoinformation and Earth Observation, all in close connection with the progress of scientific research.

“The financing of the project (356 thousand € will go to Tor Vergata / EO Lab) – says Fabio Del Frate – is a source of great satisfaction because it enhances the activities of our University and our Department especially in the field of Earth Observation“. “At the same time – continues Del Frate – the utmost effort will be needed to achieve, in collaboration with the other organizations, the objectives presented in the proposal. In particular, as a university, the ability to significantly strengthen the role of meeting point between training, research and technology transfer in the aerospace and geo-information sectors, focusing on the new generations of students and the requests coming from society civil“.

 

Some useful links:

Fabspace 2.0 website
Tor Vergata Computer Science, Control and GeoInformation Doctorate

 

 

University of Rome Tor Vergata is the only Italian University in the QS Top 50 Under 50

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Over the years, the University of Tor Vergata has continually improved its position in the international rankings: in the recently published QS World University Top 50 Under 50 2014 ranking (less than 50 years old universities), Tor Vergata risen yet again advancing by 5 positions, more precisely from 38th to 33rd in the world. This result is even more significant considering that it is the only Italian university present in this ranking.

The position is established after considering 6 indicators: the academic reputation, the number of quotes, the level of preparation of the students, the quality of the teaching and international activities, and the employment opportunities.

According to the QS research, 20% of the best young universities in the world are in Australia that accounts for the highest number of universities among all 25 countries present in the ranking, followed by Spain with 5. Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have 4, whilst Germany has 3. Korea, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America all have 2.