During the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), held last week in Geneva, the winners of the GEO Appathon 2014 were announced.
The initiative emphasizes the power of Earth observation data through the creation of easy-to-use “apps” developed from the 80 million-plus resources available on GEO’s signature Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) data platform.
The GEO-Apps were elaborated during a six-month competitive process that involved 250 individuals from 50 countries. This year's prizes were delivered to a location, soil and climate-specific guide for farmers to identify the best crops to grow (Growers Nation App, 1st Prize), a real time flood and landslide warning system for El Salvador (Weather Hazard, 2nd Prize), and a localized information system on weather, vegetation, elevation, soil moisture, land cover, atmosphere and precipitation for developing countries (Geofairy, 3rd Prize).
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded USD 20,000 to the winning GEO-Apps, which are already available on the Google Play Store and Apple Store. More details about the competition and the winning GEO-Apps is available at www.geoappathon.org
