Hackers encouraged to bring their own disaster

Disaster Recovery will be the theme of the latest Inventorthon event being run by the Satellite Applications Catapult this weekend (12-13 September).

With the objective of creating applications or demonstrations focused on how satellites can aid disaster recovery and assistance, participants at the high energy ‘hackathon’-style event will have access to the Catapult’s latest data sets. They will then be able to visualise their solutions on the organisation’s world-class facilities in Harwell, including the 7.2m x 2.3m, 30 megapixel multi-panel video wall, Operations Room, Demo Room and Spark Room.

Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “We’ve seen numerous examples in recent times of the critical impact satellite technology has had in disaster zones, including the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the disaster recovery role of satellites and their downstream applications will only increase.

“Therefore, we hope that tapping into the creativity and innovative thinking of software developers, engineers, technologists, scientists and designers, and providing them with rare access to data sets and facilities, can stimulate ideas for new solutions that will prove invaluable for disaster recovery and assistance in the future.”