Space agencies from UAE and UK cooperate to develop mapping applications

Deimos Space UK and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the UAE have joined in a year-long project to get more valuable data from their satellites DubaiSat and Deimos.

As an article on Arabian Aerospace online news service reported, the “Smart Application for Feature extraction and 3D modelling using high resolution satellite Imagery” (SAFIY) project will use Earth observation (EO) data to monitor, and detect changes in vegetation, water, road networks and buildings in support of Dubai's “smart government” initiative.

Another objective expected from the cooperation is the development and melioration of mapping applications. Typical applications include products and services for agriculture, forestry, disaster monitoring, land use, surveillance and intelligence.

Philip Davies, managing director of Elecnor Deimos, said: “DubaiSat's data is very similar to our own from the Deimos satellite, which makes it ideal for processing. We hope for more such cooperation in future.”