A team from Thailand has won an international space business contest, using satellites and mobile networks to pinpoint the location of forest fires and provide support to firefighters in the area.
Dr Damrongrit Niammuad, deputy director of Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), revealed that Team EcoSpace from Thailand won the S-Booster 2021 competition held on December 17 in Japan.
S-Booster is a contest organized by the National Space Policy Secretariat Cabinet Office of the Japanese government, with the aim of creating business ideas using space assets. Participants who advance to the final round receive assistance from professionals in turning their creative ideas into commercial potential. In the final stage, the finalists presented their ideas to investors and business companies. Business matching opportunities will be made available to link individuals and organizations with ideas to investors and firms that can assist with future commercialization.
For this year’s competition, the EcoSpace Team amazed the judges by developing a system to accurately locate forest fires using a Low Power Wide Area Network, combined with data and photos from GISTDA satellites. This technology also reduces communication issues in disaster regions while improving the capabilities of firefighters and volunteers, as well as helping ensure their safety. The system has already been implemented to assist authorities in Chiang Mai province. (NNT)
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