Last week, the Ukrainian team of the US company EOS Data Analytics, which specializes in processing and analyzing GIS data in large amounts, was selected to receive a €308,000 grant from the European Commission as part of a Horizon 2020 consortium.
This EU project, dubbed ‘Goldeneye,’ aims to “implement a unique combination of remote sensing and positioning technologies, exploiting Earth observation and Earth GNSS data, together with data fusion and processing powered by data analytics and machine-learning algorithms.”
Such a platform will “allow satellites, drones and in-situ sensors to collect high-resolution data of the entire mine, which can be processed and converted into actionable intelligence for safety, environmental monitoring and overall productivity, allowing more efficient exploration, extraction and closure.”
Supported by an advisory board of experts in geosciences, the project has a duration of three years with an EU funding of €8.36 million in total. In addition to a large industrial partner, the consortium includes seven SMEs, four academic/research centres and four end-users.
In an exchange with Ukrainian tech blog AIN.UA, EOS Data Analytics representatives specified the role of their Ukrainian team in this consortium. This team will develop a system to analyze satellite data on mining in Europe – aiming to improve safety and reduce the impact of mining on the environment, as well as to increase the efficiency of mines and quarries through combined monitoring from space and on the ground.
“We are pleased with the synergistic cooperation with the European Commission and are convinced that this analysis will be another technological step towards the conservation and optimization of natural resources,” commented Max Polyakov, founder of EOS and Noosphere Ventures, a California-based venture fund with Ukrainian connections.