Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OVERWATCH (Integrated holographic management map for safety and crisis events)
Période du rapport: 2022-11-01 au 2024-04-30
Climate change is escalating natural hazards, leading to increased death, displacement, destruction, and economic loss. In the European Union (EU) Member States, forest fires and floods pose significant threats. The project aims to develop a more user-friendly, decentralized, informed, and precise tool for various types of disasters, which can be deployed in different phases of a natural disaster.
The OVERWATCH project focuses on creating an Integrated Holographic Crisis Management Map, supported by the European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) and Copernicus Emergency Management and Security (EMS) services. It aims to enhance communication, information gathering, and coordination among disaster response teams. Utilizing digital technologies like artificial intelligence, drones, and augmented reality, the system will provide accurate data and improve performance.
The project will integrate various services offered by EGNSS and Copernicus EMS with digital technologies, providing essential data and performance capabilities to protect the environment, citizens, and infrastructure. OVERWATCH aims to develop a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 prototype, which will be validated through two demonstrations in different countries.
The OVERWATCH project focuses on creating an Integrated Holographic Crisis Management Map, supported by the European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) and Copernicus Emergency Management and Security (EMS) services. It aims to enhance communication, information gathering, and coordination among disaster response teams. Utilizing digital technologies like artificial intelligence, drones, and augmented reality, the system will provide accurate data and improve performance.
The project will integrate various services offered by EGNSS and Copernicus EMS with digital technologies, providing essential data and performance capabilities to protect the environment, citizens, and infrastructure. OVERWATCH aims to develop a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 prototype, which will be validated through two demonstrations in different countries.
Focusing only on technical and scientific activities, only the related WPs are reported.
WP1 - End user requirements, is now closed and the objectives have been fully achieved. Activities started at M1 and the first effort was to synchronize project participants, the first actions were taken during the kick off meeting. Due to the broad scope of the work, the project's activities involved the entire consortium members; to ensure the pace of work, weekly remote meetings were established, and networks of practitioners were reached out to gathered around the two partners responsible for each of the project's overarching scenarios: flood (leading partner: CBK) and wildfire (leading partner: CINAMIL). Main achievements of this WP are the advisory board creation, composed by 8 international experts in the sector, and the creation of the end-users board composed by 36 pratictioners that were involved in several workshops and meetings devoted to collect their needs and requirements. These achievements are described in deliverables D1.1 and D1.2.
WP2 - In-field technologies empowered by EGNSS and AI, started at M6, with the discussion of service requirements, and the mapping of existing end-user requirements onto reachable objectives of this WP. Bi-weekly meetings were kickstarted to discuss progress and coordination, later merged with WP3 to synchronize activities, particularly focusing on interfaces and component definitions based on the architectural framework established in WP1. All tasks of WP2 are active and will end at M28.
Main achievements of WP2 are related to the creation of the EO service that will be part of the OVERWATCH system, and that developed already the following technological components/parts: AI algorithms for event delineations over EO images, integration of EGNSS signals (Galileo HAS) on drones, drone assembly and testing for mapping, fallback connectivity development and testing. Deliverables for WP2 are expected at M28.
WP3 - Geospatial AR Decision Support System, started at M8 with bi-weekly teleconferences in tandem with WP2 given the strong connection between the OVERWATCH services and the infrastructure, and the major overlap in the involved technical partners between both WPs. The focus of activities was mainly on the harmonization of the objectives of each task of WP3 with the system, functional and user requirements defined in WP1. At current stage, main achievements of WP3 are the system architecture definition, and the definition of the technological stack to be adopted for the implementation of the entire architecture was consequently defined. For each component involved in the architecture, the basic flows of interaction have been defined and designed in relation to delineated use case scenarios. WP3 has already delivered a prototype of the OVERWATCH dashboard. relative deliverables (D3.1 “AR Geospatial holographic map”, D3.2 “Management system and AI decision support” and D3.3 “Geospatial repository & mapper”) are foreseen to be delivered at M29.
WP4 - System integration, validation and fine-tuning has only Task 4.1 is active and ongoing, while the other 3 tasks of this WP will start at M22 (T4.2 Iterative system integration and fine-tunings), M24 (T4.2 Iterative system integration and fine-tunings) and M27 (T4.3 End-user training). For T4.1 bi-monthly meetings with all the partners were performed to have a space for discussion to reach relevant integration and validation tests. Main achievements of WP4 is the definition and redaction of the Integration & validation methodology and plan, contained in D4.1 and delivered at M11. In the next active period (M22-M36), the set of tests will be fine-tuned according to the last developments and will also include user training and field demonstration.
WP1 - End user requirements, is now closed and the objectives have been fully achieved. Activities started at M1 and the first effort was to synchronize project participants, the first actions were taken during the kick off meeting. Due to the broad scope of the work, the project's activities involved the entire consortium members; to ensure the pace of work, weekly remote meetings were established, and networks of practitioners were reached out to gathered around the two partners responsible for each of the project's overarching scenarios: flood (leading partner: CBK) and wildfire (leading partner: CINAMIL). Main achievements of this WP are the advisory board creation, composed by 8 international experts in the sector, and the creation of the end-users board composed by 36 pratictioners that were involved in several workshops and meetings devoted to collect their needs and requirements. These achievements are described in deliverables D1.1 and D1.2.
WP2 - In-field technologies empowered by EGNSS and AI, started at M6, with the discussion of service requirements, and the mapping of existing end-user requirements onto reachable objectives of this WP. Bi-weekly meetings were kickstarted to discuss progress and coordination, later merged with WP3 to synchronize activities, particularly focusing on interfaces and component definitions based on the architectural framework established in WP1. All tasks of WP2 are active and will end at M28.
Main achievements of WP2 are related to the creation of the EO service that will be part of the OVERWATCH system, and that developed already the following technological components/parts: AI algorithms for event delineations over EO images, integration of EGNSS signals (Galileo HAS) on drones, drone assembly and testing for mapping, fallback connectivity development and testing. Deliverables for WP2 are expected at M28.
WP3 - Geospatial AR Decision Support System, started at M8 with bi-weekly teleconferences in tandem with WP2 given the strong connection between the OVERWATCH services and the infrastructure, and the major overlap in the involved technical partners between both WPs. The focus of activities was mainly on the harmonization of the objectives of each task of WP3 with the system, functional and user requirements defined in WP1. At current stage, main achievements of WP3 are the system architecture definition, and the definition of the technological stack to be adopted for the implementation of the entire architecture was consequently defined. For each component involved in the architecture, the basic flows of interaction have been defined and designed in relation to delineated use case scenarios. WP3 has already delivered a prototype of the OVERWATCH dashboard. relative deliverables (D3.1 “AR Geospatial holographic map”, D3.2 “Management system and AI decision support” and D3.3 “Geospatial repository & mapper”) are foreseen to be delivered at M29.
WP4 - System integration, validation and fine-tuning has only Task 4.1 is active and ongoing, while the other 3 tasks of this WP will start at M22 (T4.2 Iterative system integration and fine-tunings), M24 (T4.2 Iterative system integration and fine-tunings) and M27 (T4.3 End-user training). For T4.1 bi-monthly meetings with all the partners were performed to have a space for discussion to reach relevant integration and validation tests. Main achievements of WP4 is the definition and redaction of the Integration & validation methodology and plan, contained in D4.1 and delivered at M11. In the next active period (M22-M36), the set of tests will be fine-tuned according to the last developments and will also include user training and field demonstration.
At present stage (M18), the OVERWATCH project has achieved several results in term of technological developments. Such achieved results will foresee potential impacts in the emergency management context. Specifically, the emergency management phases now (M18) covered by the OVERWATCH services are 4 (2 services for the emergency response and 2 services for the post event phase). The prototype of the system has been, in fact, developed.
The definition of the system architecture was achieved by multiple iterations with the involved end-users, thus ensuring a user-perspective and that their needs and requirements are fully covered and satisfied. Further iterations through future workshops after the foreseen demonstrations (at year 3) will be done in order to once again fine-tuning the system on their requirements.
Different data coming from diverse sources, such as operative services (CEMS data) and space assets (EO, SatNav), have been integrated, with the aim to develop a final integrated mapping system. Several AI algorithms for event delineation have been developed and refined for both fires and floods, and different data used to feed the mapping system (satellite data, geotiff, shape files, etc…). In the same way, different digital technologies have been set up (mapping provided by Copernicus EMS, mapping by drones, GNSS, backend of the OVERWATCH platform, the OVERWATCH dashboard, the Big data repository for Geo Data, the Geo-importer able to ingest geospatial data and provide generated maps, the AR 3d holographic map user interface, the Drone-based fallback communications).
Next steps to ensure the uptake of the system will be the integration of all these components and the demonstrations of the system functionalities in a real environment, as foreseen for the third year in Poland (for flood) and Portugal (for fires).
The definition of the system architecture was achieved by multiple iterations with the involved end-users, thus ensuring a user-perspective and that their needs and requirements are fully covered and satisfied. Further iterations through future workshops after the foreseen demonstrations (at year 3) will be done in order to once again fine-tuning the system on their requirements.
Different data coming from diverse sources, such as operative services (CEMS data) and space assets (EO, SatNav), have been integrated, with the aim to develop a final integrated mapping system. Several AI algorithms for event delineation have been developed and refined for both fires and floods, and different data used to feed the mapping system (satellite data, geotiff, shape files, etc…). In the same way, different digital technologies have been set up (mapping provided by Copernicus EMS, mapping by drones, GNSS, backend of the OVERWATCH platform, the OVERWATCH dashboard, the Big data repository for Geo Data, the Geo-importer able to ingest geospatial data and provide generated maps, the AR 3d holographic map user interface, the Drone-based fallback communications).
Next steps to ensure the uptake of the system will be the integration of all these components and the demonstrations of the system functionalities in a real environment, as foreseen for the third year in Poland (for flood) and Portugal (for fires).