Fondazione LINKS Leading Innovation & Knowledge for Society (LINKS)
The LINKS Foundation – Leading Innovation & Knowledge for Society- is a non-profit private Foundation founded in 2018 with the aim to boost the interaction between research and the business world towards the internationalization of the local socio-economic system. LINKS promotes, conducts, and strengthens innovation and research projects processes, improving products implementation as well as the study of new approaches and models. LINKS is the result of the merge of two distinguished research and innovation institutions: ISMB (Istituto Superiore Mario Boella), focusing on ICT, and SiTI (Istituto Superiore sui Sistemi Territoriali per l’Innovazione), focusing on Territorial Systems and Smart Cities. Similarly, to ISMB and SITI, this Foundation has been founded by Compagnia di San Paolo and Politecnico di Torino, inheriting the existing background of ISMB and SiTI in term of personnel-knowledge, facilities, goods and premises.
Role in SAFERS:
LINKS is the project coordinator (WP1) and leader of the development of ‘Intelligent services from EO and in-field data’ (WP3). LINKS also leads several tasks related to the technical requirements and the big data system architecture, development of solutions with a Map Server for supplying geolocated information as well as the development of the chatbot.
Centro Internazionale in Monitoraggio Ambientale - Fondazione CIMA (CIMA)
The Research Foundation, named CIMA - Centro Internazionale in Monitoraggio Ambientale (CIMA-International Centre on Environmental Monitoring), is a non-profit private research institution. Its research aims at improving the knowledge in the field of natural hazards and unnatural disasters to answer the request of security and safety of the modern society, both in developed and in developing countries. CIMA is active in promoting and supporting training, research and technological development in the fields of hydro-geological risk reduction, forest fires and monitoring of the marine environment. The Foundation researchers have a long record in defining procedures and models in order to assess flood risk in the territory. This expertise grew exploiting the direct contact with institutions operating on the territory and has been always characterized using the state-of-the-art technologies in order to improve the detail of flood hazard mapping as well as of flood vulnerability assessment.
Role in SAFERS:
CIMA is the leader of the ‘field validation with end-users and citizens’ (WP5). It also leads the task related to the definition of a set of tools to provide input data to existing models for the prediction of wildfire behaviour in case of fire ignition.
Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (CERTH)
The Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), founded in 2000, is the only research centre in Northern Greece and one of the largest in the country. CERTH has important scientific and technological achievements in many areas including: Energy, Environment, Industry, Mechatronics, Information & Communication, Transportation & Sustainable Mobility, Health, Agro-biotechnology, Smart farming, Safety & Security, as well as several cross-disciplinary scientific areas. Today CERTH includes the following five institutes: (a) Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), (b) Information Technologies Institute (ITI), (c) Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT), (d) Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB), (e) Institute for Research and Technology Thessaly (IRETETH). Out of those, CERTH participates in this project through ITI.
Role in SAFERS:
CERTH is the leader of several tasks within SAFERS: ‘Knowledge base and best practice definition for citizens & responders’ and developing ‘Reasoning module for Decision Support’. It is also leading the scientific dissemination of the project.
Ilmatieen Laitos - Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is a research and service agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. FMI performs advanced scientific research and provides a wide variety of information services relating to weather, climate, marine and air quality. The Institute has around 700 employees, with more than half working in research. FMI participates actively in national and international collaborative projects. The SAFERS project commitments will be mostly performed by FMI’s Meteorological Research unit, which has its main research areas in atmospheric modelling, extreme weather event analysis and forecasting as well as in diverse meteorological end-user focused applications. The unit also provides its meteorological expertise to serve safety issues and, consequently, acts in close co-operation with operators producing weather services to stakeholders and end-users. The Meteorological Research unit maintains and operates a state-of-the-art regional high-resolution numerical ensemble weather prediction (NWP) system (MEPS-HarmonEPS) in a collaborative effort together with other Nordic countries.
Role in SAFERS:
FMI is the leader of the task “Sub-seasonal deterministic and probabilistic weather forecasts” developing a research-based processing chain providing the forecasted occurrence risk of high-impact weather variables relevant for wild/forest fires to the SAFERS platform
Riscognition GmbH (RISC)
Riscognition is a German SME focusing on data driven information for better risk intelligence by providing novel access to EO based information through industry standard APIs. The target customers are insurance companies, banks, investors, and associated industries. Big data and AI are the technologies that are applied to disrupt today's business processes. Riscognition is a geospatial data technology company specialising in the processing of Earth Observation (EO) imagery, the application of big data processes to location-based information and the transformation of datasets into actionable information for the risk management market.
Role in SAFERS:
RISC will lead the two tasks ‘Wildfire Hazard & Risk for operational early warnings’ and the ‘EO-based post-wildfire habitat recovery monitoring’.
Stevenson Astrosat Limited (ASTROSAT) (Participation ended in August 2023)
Headquartered in Musselburgh, Scotland, Astrosat is a Space Technology and Earth Observation (EO) services company which employs 30 highly skilled scientists and engineers worldwide. By turning satellite-driven data into easily understandable visuals and combining it with data gathered on Earth, Astrosat is able to create innovative space solutions that deliver vital, accessible information for a wide variety of global challenges. As a start-up, Astrosat was involved in several exciting research and development projects, many of which form the foundations to the products and service offerings for our customers today.
Astrosat is currently involved in technology rollout and operations in the UK, Central America and Asia. Through their business development activities, supported strongly by a reputation within the space industry, they are currently in the process of expanding their network and knowledge of stakeholders within the space community overseas, beyond those which have already been fostered through existing projects across a wide variety of markets; energy, healthcare, agri/aquaculture, forestry, land development and construction.
Role in SAFERS:
Astrosat is leading the development of the ‘web-based platform for decision support’ (WP4) of SAFERS. They are also leading the task related to ‘Early marketing & business development’.
WaterView S.r.l. (WV)
Founded in February 2015, WaterView is a limited company and a spinoff of the Politecnico di Torino. Its founders developed and patented a novel technology to measure weather variables from images, aiming at collecting and commercialising global weather Big Data.
WaterView introduces a pervasive solution for abating the costs and improving the quality of weather mapping. The solution is built around WaterView’s patented technology that uses artificial intelligence and computer vision techniques to transform imaging devices like surveillance IP cameras into “eyes” for seeing, gauging and returning weather measures in real time. By augmenting the potential of non-dedicated, existing hardware, WaterView integrates traditional monitoring networks (which are sparse and expensive) with cheaper, denser and smarter networks of new unconventional sensors, thus disrupting the current panorama of weather sensing.
Role in SAFERS:
WV is the leader of the task regarding the development of a feature for detecting the presence of smoke and fire through the analysis of images shot by in-situ non dedicated optical video surveillance cameras
ALPHA Consultants (UK) Ltd. (ALPHA)
ALPHA Consultants (UK) Ltd (ALPHA) is a newly formed UK consultancy, affiliated to ALPHA Consultants srl, a leading European management and technology consultancy supporting businesses, regulators and European institutions.
ALPHA is recognized as one of the leading independent experts in Satellite Navigation (GNSS), Earth Observation (EO), Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); and is increasingly active across other supporting and related markets (chiefly Aerospace, Transportation, Agribusiness, Emergency response and management, and Climate Change).
Role in SAFERS:
ALPHA is the exploitation manager and the coordinator of the impact maximization strategies (WP). It also leads the task regarding the analysis of privacy, data management, security and ethics as well as the task regarding the definition of novel EO services and new commercial products.
Unite Technique du SEMIDE Geie (SEM)
SEMIDE is a strategic tool for exchanging information on the water sector among the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership countries. It focuses on assisting the Mediterranean Partner Countries to develop their own water intranets and to allow more coherent water planning. SEMIDE aims at collecting and facilitating the sharing of information and experiences, as well as the development of common tools and cooperation programmes in the water sector. It provides members with a means to collect exchange and disseminate such information particularly regarding water stress issues in the Mediterranean region. In addition, SEMIDE has being translating EU Water Frame Directive principles and the European Union Water Initiative lessons as well as European water innovation practices to the southern Mediterranean countries (Northern Africa), and SEMIDE has been contributing significantly to the Mediterranean Water Strategy and the Strategy for Water in the Western Mediterranean (WSWM) which among other priorities includes: Fostering research and innovation.
Role in SAFERS:
SEMIDE is the dissemination and communication manager of SAFERS. It also leads the task related to Stakeholder Management & EuroGEOSS support.
Fundacio d’Ecologia del Foc i Gestio d’Incendias Pau Costa Alcubierre - Pau Costa Foundation (PCF)
The Pau Costa Foundation (PCF) is a leading organisation advocating a profound change in the concept of fire prevention towards a concept of fire resilient landscapes. For this purpose, the Foundation develops a large range of actions from local to international scales.
OCF ambitions to fill the gap between the fire community, research and society. Along these lines, PCF serves as a coordination platform and contact point for knowledge exchange and transference in the field of fire ecology research and operational fire management for training and for wildfire management. The foci of the Foundation is placed on fire operations, including the support of applied research, promoting landscape management planning and certification of landscape quality assisting with landscape management for climate change interventions. All these actions are done under an effective dissemination strategy that helps transferring the expertise and knowledge to the interested actors.
Role in SAFERS:
PCF is the coordinator of the ‘Innovation Co-Design’ (WP2) and specifically the task related to End-users Requirements & Citizens’ Needs. PCF also leads the task related to the demonstration in Spain, where PCF will provide a real scenario based on a Prescribed Burning training activity, to assess the functionalities of SAFERS services and tools.
CSI Piemonte (CSI)
CSI Piemonte is one of the most important Italian tech companies, with over than 40 years of experience. CSI develops digital services for public administrations, used daily by citizens and businesses. It promotes technological innovation and digital transformation, focusing on advanced technologies, research and experimental projects. CSI has a turnover of about 134 M€, more than 1,000 employees and more than 120 stakeholders among public administration authorities in Italy. It was founded by the Piedmont Region, the University of Turin and the Polytechnic of Turin in 1977 with the aim of promoting the modernisation of local administration by using the most advanced information and IT-based tools to create information services and systems. Nowadays, CSI works to create a digital and connected country and operates in almost all the fields covered by public administration activity, including territory management, environment protection, emergency support, mobility services. CSI delivers more than 1,900 services (320 on institutional portals), with an audience of 4.3 M citizens, 500,000 businesses, over 1,300 PAs and authorities, over 1,000 operational databases and manages a significant amount of geo-referenced and environmental data.
Role in SAFERS:
CSI leads the task related to the analysis of several data sources, such as Copernicus Services, GEOSS and Open & Linked data. It also leads the task of the in-field demonstration that will take place in Italy. A realistic scenario will be identified to test the tools and services of SAFERS.
Service Départemental d'Incendie et de Secours de Haute-Corse (SIS2B)
The Fire and Rescue Department of North Corsica (SIS2B) is responsible for preventing, protecting and fighting fires. SIS2B's main missions include: preventing and assessing civil protection risks, preparing safeguard, lifeguard measures and emergency rescue planning, protecting people and environmental assets, and providing emergency response to victims of accidents, incidents or catastrophes and their evacuation.
In order to successfully perform these missions, SIS2B benefits from 20 fire brigades, geographically spread throughout North Corsica. With a team formed from 1,300 fire-fighters, SIS2B protects a population group varying from 161,000 to approximately 400,000 people in summer.
Role in SAFERS:
SIS2B leads the task of the in-field demonstration that will take place in France. A realistic scenario will be identified to test the tools and services of SAFERS. It will also participate in the identifying the user requirements of SAFERS solutions.
Hellenic Rescue Team /Elliniki Omada Diasosis (HRT)
Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) is a volunteer non-profit Search and Rescue (S&R) organisation, with a human potential of over 2.000 volunteers all over Greece and Headquarters in Thessaloniki. HRT participates in SAR missions in cases of urgent needs and massive disasters, either in Greece or abroad. HRT is certified by the Greek General Secretariat of Civil Protection and cooperates with the United Nations’ INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) since 2005. Currently, it is the only Greek member in the IMRF (International Maritime Rescue Federation) and ICAR (International Commission for Alpine Rescue). HRT’s mission is to offer aid to people, whose lives are in danger, under any conditions, and to provide humanitarian aid, within Greece and abroad. Nevertheless, a major objective (and vital tool to achieve our mission) is Research and Development in the area of S&R, crisis and crowd management, telecommunications, ICT for first responders etc.
Role in SAFERS:
HRT leads the task of the in-field demonstration that will take place in Greece. A realistic scenario will be identified to test the tools and services of SAFERS. It will also participate in the identifying the user requirements of SAFERS solutions.
Ministry of National Defence, Greece (HMOD)
The Hellenic Ministry of Defence (HMOD) applies the Government’s National Defence Policy. HMOD implements interventions focusing on the facilitation of the interaction with citizens like the digitalization of recruitment archives and services, the generation of digital charts and weather reports, and also incorporates departments and units that address social issues like public protection, crisis management, search and rescue (SAR) operations, humanitarian aid, and social and environmental research. Therefore, HMOD today incarnates a very important social role in everyday life of Greek citizens and people. HMOD is a public authority - as of the latest act of Presidential Decree 35/1995- primarily involved in the execution of the maritime surveillance, control and protection functions at national and/or regional level related to defense, while contributing with its personnel and assets in additional tasks, related to accident and disaster response, search and rescue etc.
Role in SAFERS:
HMOD has a supervisor role on some tasks of the SAFERS project, especially it will have a primary role in several tasks in Innovation Co-Design (WP2) related to the gathering of the end-user requirements and the definition of a knowledge base for citizens and first responders. Moreover, it will also be mainly involved in the in-field demonstration which will be held in Greece.