Catapult hosting UK part of ESA Appathon
Marketing
The Satellite Applications Catapult is hosting the UK leg of the European Space Agency (ESA) Appathon taking place across Europe on 24-25 January 2015. The UK event is also being supported by ESA Business Incubator Centre (BIC), Innovate UK, and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).
The Appathon is one of six simultaneous app events providing access to the latest space data and the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, as well as the opportunity for participants to meet like-minded people to tackle some great challenges relating to ‘Supporting Food Security from Space’. Participants will have access to Earth observation data provided by Copernicus – ESA’s ambitious Earth observation programme – which supports the forecasting and identification of food security crises from space. Other countries taking part include Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Portugal.
Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “Events such as ESA’s Appathon offer rare opportunities for participants to access Earth observation data, and combine it with their creativity and vision to develop outstanding solutions to particular challenges. We’re excited to see how the teams respond to the food security challenge, since it’s an important focus area for the Catapult and the agri-tech sector.”
In total, 21 teams have registered for the UK’s ESA Appathon. Winning teams from each country will be invited to an all-expenses paid trip to ESA’s week-long App Camp in Barcelona at the end of February. The overall winners from App Camp will be rewarded with a trip to Mobile World Congress 2015 and a cash prize of £5,000.
