ARLAS-EO at
"Eureka Meets the Atlantic"

EUREKA MEETS THE ATLANTIC focuses on the promotion of entities which bring about disruptive innovation aligned with the sustainable development goals.

March 29, 2022

Massive Earth Observation (EO) data that is not fully harnessed

The Earth Observation (EO) industry was set off with the upstream sector with deployment of satellites. The numerous constellations that have been orbiting the Earth to send back products continue to expand. This is great news for data generation because, the more diverse and massive the data, the higher the likelihood to get valuable insights.

But most of the EO data generated is not fully harnessed.
This challenge is posed by the massive nature of the EO data and the technical capacity to easily distribute it.

There are numerous societal benefits from Earth observation data; change detection, situational analysis and predictions. The faster more people can access the data, the easier it will be to put it to use. Gisaïa leverages its expertise in geo big data analytics to accelerate the promotion and valorisation of EO data.

Eureka Meets the Atlantic for wider Copernicus data applications

The “Eureka meets the Atlantic” seeks to advance the European Commission agreement to promote the use of Copernicus images and products generated, for positive impact in various sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, resource optimisation or infrastructure management.

At Gisaïa we have shown diverse use of Copernicus data using our ARLAS framework, a solution that facilitates rapid development of geoanalytics platforms for various use cases.

So, when the Portugal Space Agency put out a call for applications for Startup and SMEs to be part of the entourage going to Rio de Janeiro for the third round of Eureka Meets the Atlantic, we were excited to apply and be chosen among the ten companies on this mission. We will be among Spotlite, Agroinsider, Eyecon Group, Bold Robotics and Spin Works (Portugal), Sentinel Hub (Austria), World From Space (Czech Republic), Lelieur BV (Belgium) and Terradue (Italy) and Gisaia from France.

We use this opportunity to advance our goal to make the massive EO data, including Copernicus data; reachable, exporable and valued. The third Eureka meets the Atlantic will focus on how innovation based on Earth Observation (EO) can be disruptive in the current status quo of the blue economy.

Brazil Earth observation data industry

Brazil is an Earth Observation innovation leader in Latin America. In over 50 years of Earth observation activities, it has shown positive growth in both technological advancement and the societal benefits derived from EO investments. Also, Brazil evolving space governance measures and policies for revamping the country’s space program fosters confidence in their long-term investment in Earth Observation innovations.

Our solutions align with Brazil’s Earth observation sector’s quest to accelerate the EO downstream market for societal benefits, evidenced in their high investment in EO educational programs and innovation like the recent launch of AMAZONIA-1. The EO downstream ecosystem top drivers in Brazil are environmental and resources monitoring, change detection among others.

Brazilian EO sector players thus require solutions that easily facilitate multi-data sources for analytics which we provide. They need to consult data or diverse dimensions and from different sources for deeper insights. ARLAS framework eliminates any challenges linked to silos by merging the data regardless of their dimensions. This provides a powerful tool that will help the Brazilian EO stakeholders to quickly explore Copernicus data and others.

Eureka is the world’s biggest public network for international cooperation in R&D and innovation, present in over 45 countries.

If you are part of the Brazil Earth Observation sector, you can register here to attend the event where our representative will be happy to meet you.

Our team is also available to provide a demonstration of how our solutions can help you go further, faster.

USING DATA TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN AFRICA

Gisaia proposes HAKIKA, a systematic solution to build public transport data banks and geoanalytics for effective public transit planning and management.

May, 19th 2022

UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORK IN PLACE

In many cities in Africa, public transportation is only licenced by public authorities then run independently by private entities. This means that often, authorities cannot ensure effective services to travellers. Private owners, while providing a valuable service, tend to prioritise their business interests first. However, they would all benefit from an optimised and well managed transport network .

Authorities want to ensure fair mobility with services reaching as many travellers as possible, while service providers seek fast routes and filling times to optimise their fuel and expenses for positive returns.Therefore, although travellers in Africa want to go far, and fast, like everywhere in the world, they are stuck in the middle with uncertainties at many levels: they cannot confidently say how far they have to walk to catch a bus, when it will show up or how long the journey will take to their destination.

However, these challenges have solutions: Public transport authorities, when equipped with the right tools, can ensure reliable services for the travellers.

They can act as bridges between the service providers and the users to ensure equitable distribution of services.

Among the many indicators on public transport efficiency, there are three key ones. Frequency. Accessibility. Reliability. How can authorities assess and gauge them especially in a complex public transport network: many routes, many operators with diverse transport modes?

Gisaïa developed arlas.city to help address this very challenge. arlas.city is a timely solution which offers public transport decision-makers the opportunity to get a global view of the system in place. It merges, realigns and visualises public transport data that is often in silos, over time and space.

A fricities presents us with the possibility to meet the relevant public transport stakeholders: authorities, operators and researchers who can take advantage of our project HAKIKA, to develop a robust public transport data bank and explore these data for decision making. HAKIKA is a word in Kiswahili that means: ‘to be sure’.

THE VALUE OF A PUBLIC TRANSPORT DATA BANK

In the era of big data, Africa is not left behind. From health to education and even technology, in both public and private sectors, Africa is not shy to build digital knowledge bases and consult them for decision making.

But only a few African cities have a public transport data bank, and in fact most cities lack it. This rich resource would not only inform authorities in African cities of their public mobility situation, but it could also allow them to proactively avoid errors made in western countries before they started consulting data ( underserved areas, long waiting times, poor connection between intermode changes, among others) when designing their networks and services.

Most African cities are young and currently experiencing rapid growth in population, And in Africa, more than anywhere else, city travellers rely on public transportation to meet their social and economic needs. A trend that should be encouraged because shared transportation is shown to have many benefits for both travellers and the environment. The global push to get more people to use shared transportation can be guided in Africa, as it is in other places, by data-based analytics.

The HAKIKA project proposed by Gisaia offers:

A systematic approach to generate data.
A reliable system to transform the data to global standards
A scalable solution, arlas.city, to put this data insights into the hands of decision makers

To generate the data, HAKIKA relies on a robust device developed by CLS.

CLS is a company that provides tracking technology for various uses: animals, ships, road vehicles and more. Their solution is based on satellite technology to guarantee systematic and uninterrupted data collection.

To transform the data, Gisaia leverages its data engineering and data scientists team : they use machine learning to produce algorithms to standardise the data. This step gives the data points generated the capacity to be extensively analysed and to provide valuable insights on the service offer.

But data banks are only useful when exploited.

DATA-BACKED DECISION MAKING

The value of generating and maintaining a public transport data bank is to use it for service optimisation for effective public mobility.

HAKIKA’s third axis is based on arlas.city, a powerful geoanalytics cloud solution built on the latest big data technologies.

This allows arlas.city users anywhere, anytime to explore, visualise and analyse massive and diverse public transit data. Authorities can, for instance, use it to quickly identify bottlenecks. They can also identify underserved, or overserviced areas, and take action to ensure more efficient and equitable services.

Contact us to book a demo in advance

arlas.city

FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT DATA ANALYTICS

Gisaia was at Autonomy Paris presenting arlas.city to authorities, operators and researchers for public transport data-backed decision making.

March 24, 2022

Unlocking data silos for a global viewPublic Transport Optimisation Grounded on Data

All the investment that has been made in public transportation can only be maximised if residents believe that they can rely on the system. But how can authorities and operators measure this? Gisaïa developed arlas.city to help address this very challenge.

arlas.city is a timely solution which presents public transport decision-makers with the opportunity to not only study current network challenges but to also go back in time and learn from service gaps. arlas.city merges, realigns and visualises public transport data that is often in silos, over time and space for a global view of the entire network.

Autonomy Paris presented us with the possibility to meet the relevant public transport stakeholders: authorities, operators and researchers.

Responding to Travellers Needs

COVID-19 triggered many questions on the future of public mobility. While we are witnessing changes in lifestyle that also impact mass transit, we know that the surest way to understand these changes lies in rigorous monitoring and analysis. This is where data plays a key role. Now more than ever, public transport decision makers need data-backed decisions.

Effective public transportation is marked by user appreciation which is indicated by; increased uptake, service endorsement and reduced personal vehicles use. This is easily achieved once flow bottlenecks are eliminated and access is promoted.

Shared mass transportation is of course one of the sustainable means of travelling. When it works well, everyone benefits. We know that we are offering an important piece of the puzzle to present a global view of the data, leading to tangible solutions.

arlas.city is built upon open-source technology making it easily customisable and extendable. It does not come with fixed analytics dashboards. Users can create new indicators based on their needs. In France, it is UGAP certified for easier acquisition.

Public Transport Optimisation Grounded on Data

arlas.city can be used anywhere in the world where public transport data lies in silos to support data-backed decisions for optimised public transport services.

So, Autonomy Paris, an international mobility event, was not only a place to showcase our solution, we also wanted to use this opportunity to learn about public transport needs and trends. The event allowed us to contribute to the big picture, addressing effective public transportation for travellers of diverse needs.

The future of efficient, reliable and appreciated public transportation lies in harnessing the power at hand; looking deeply at the information nested in the voluminous data generated everyday, in the public transport sector.

If you stopped by our booth, you probably had a chance to exchange with the team and get a live demo of arlas.city. If you did not and would love to, get in touch and we will give a demonstration of how you can make the most of your data to optimise public transportation.