SMART-CONNECT

Advancing Crisis Communication

The SMART-CONNECT project marks a significant leap forward in crisis data exchange capabilities, ensuring swift and resilient handling of information during emergencies. This groundbreaking middleware solution guarantees failsafe transmission capacity, delivering actionable insights to first responders and disaster control centers, thereby ushering in a new era of efficiency in crisis response.

Objective

SMART-CONNECT aims to address the documented open gaps of the civil security sector by providing an easy-to-use solution allowing uninterrupted transmission and reception of critical situational awareness globally. The middleware solution facilitates secure end-to-end data interconnectivity among citizens, first responders, disaster management centers, and situational awareness EO service providers.

Impact

The project epitomizes true cross-disciplinary collaboration, integrating EO, navigation, and satcom into the next generation of information services. By leveraging state-of-the-art satcom and sophisticated software, SMART-CONNECT establishes ‘local’ ground stations enabling ultra-low latency access to geospatial and drone information. This marks the beginning of end-to-end satcom, from space to people in the field.

About ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) serves as Europe’s gateway to space. Established in 1975, ESA is an intergovernmental organization with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. The Civil Security from Space program (CSS) aims to foster the use of space-based solutions during civil security events and crisis response, ultimately saving lives and livelihoods.

About GeoVille

GeoVille, headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria, is a key partner in the SMART-CONNECT initiative. With its expertise in Earth observation, GeoVille plays a critical role in providing essential geospatial information and insights to support crisis management efforts. The collaboration between GeoVille and other consortium members strengthens the project’s ability to deliver innovative solutions for effective crisis communication and response.