An opensource toolbox to extract valuable insights FuseTS is an open-source toolbox that provides access to different algorithms for data fusion and time series analytics. Based on Python and available on GitHub, the FuseTS library provides a solid foundation for data fusion and time series analytics. It offers essential data fusion and smoothing services, such as Whittaker and Multi-Output Gaussian Process Regression (MOGPR). Moreover, FuseTS offers advanced functionalities to elevate your data fusion pipeline by detecting peaks and valleys or extracting phenology metrics. The FuseTS Python ..read more

Monitoring national efforts to combat land degradation  To strive towards a land degradation-neutral world, countries must report their progress on SDG 15.3 and show their efforts to address the global challenge of land degradation, combat desertification, and restore degraded land and soil. SDG indicator 15.3.1 serves as the primary measure in this process as it quantifies the spatial extent of degraded land, making it a crucial tool for monitoring and assessing efforts to combat land degradation on a national scale. Current monitoring focuses primarily on the use of 3 sub-indicators: l ..read more

Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie Training & capacity building FOR pilots and growers Together with the project partners, VITO has implemented an extensive training program  aimed at instructing pilots and farmers/growers in the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of drone data. Our objective was to provide employees with essential skills, spanning from fundamental principles to advanced applications.   To ensure optimal engagement of employees, pilot projects were executed in close cooperation with potato, strawberry and pear growers, along with dron ..read more

  A customized platform that meets the user needs In the last few years, Vietnam is experiencing difficulties to protect and preserve the biodiversity of their marine and freshwater ecosystems. Increasing temperatures and an excess of nutrients caused by e.g. agricultural runoff can cause out-of-control algal growth in the water leading to potential harmful algal blooms impacting the biodiversity. The Institute of Geography (IG) of the Vietnamese Academy of Science & Technology (VAST) was therefore looking for a service to support water quality monitoring. Together with Nazka mapps, a ..read more

Forest as a natural carbon store To meet the EU's ambitious goals to reduce emissions by 2030 and become climate neutral by 2050, significant societal and economic changes are necessary. Forests play a crucial role in this effort as they absorb carbon naturally and are able to replace emissions-intensive materials. Unfortunately, our forests are also threatened by human activities and climate change. The EU therefore also committed to protect all remaining primary and old-growth forests in Europe (Biodiversity Strategy, new Forest Strategy for 2030), while using and managing natural resources ..read more

Stay tuned for the Dutch version coming soon The need to optimize clean-up interventions  Waste Watchers aims to alleviate the efforts of organizations like River Cleanup, who mobilize millions of volunteers worldwide to clean up waste from rivers and their surroundings. The primary goal of these cleanup activities is to remove litter while it's still accessible, preventing it from ending up in the oceans. To this end it is crucial to optimize clean-up interventions. This was also clearly expressed by citizens in the 2022 Amai! call for ideas. We therefore teamed up with River Cleanup and ..read more

Upscaling CropSAR to generate cloud-free time series at pixel level  In 2019 we released CropSAR, a groundbreaking technology that combines Sentinel-1 radar and Sentinel-2 optical satellite data to generate cloud-free time series of field-based biophysical parameters such as NDVI. CropSAR provides valuable insights into the crop dynamics over time and contributes to both downstream applications as well as individual farmers through platforms such as WatchITgrow. Shortly after the release of CropSAR, we saw the potential to upscale the CropSAR technology from field level to pixel level so ..read more

From field level to plant level delineation Until recently, drone-based phenotyping focused on gathering information at the plot level. By analysing an entire trial area, we gain valuable and objective information of how different plant varieties interact with their surroundings. However, with the advancement of high-resolution drone technology, which is now more accessible and more powerful than ever before, there are numerous scenarios where it has become both feasible and advantageous to examine plant-level data. This approach is interesting for many applications, in the first place for fie ..read more

Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie A climate scan to discover specific climate measures  Precision agriculture, also known as smart farming, involves the use of advanced technologies and data-driven approaches to optimize crop production. For several years, more and more farmers use precision farming techniques such as GPS-guided machinery, remote sensing and data analysis to support and improve their management practices. These technologies allow farmers to integrate climate-robust operations such as applying agri-chemical inputs precisely in order to reduce their environmental im ..read more

Processing Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 yearly archives  The Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites capture our earth's surface with high temporal frequency. Monitoring our globe since 2014 and 2015, they provide several petabytes of images annually. An enormous amount of raw data that can provide insights into the state of Earth's surface and enables research of human impact and climate change at an unprecedented level. But processing this vast volume of raw data into analysis ready data (ARD), suitable for downstream applications, presents significant challenges. Running the pre ..read more