The EO4SECURITY project. Photo: Telespazio

A new European Space Agency (ESA) project to fight environmental crime and monitor illegal activities is now fully operational. The project, EO4Security, is dedicated to developing algorithms and application platforms designed to provide tools capable of delivering timely geoinformation on noncompliance with environmental regulations, such as illegal mining and irregular trafficking. e-GEOS, a joint venture between ASI and Telespazio, and part of Leonardo Group, and the primary contractor on the project, announced the project had gone live, Jan. 9.

EO4Security pools together on a single screen analyses and information concerning environmental crimes obtained from different high-resolution data sources, using daily satellite observations and multi-year analyses relating to specific areas. The project will rely on the complementarity of data from Earth Observation satellites with so-called open source intelligence (OSINT) data taken from the social media and other channels. All this data will be embedded within the operational workflows of end users.

Industrial subcontractors collaborating with e-GEOS on the project will include GAF (a company fully owned by e-GEOS), Hensoldt Analytics, Janes and Dhiria (a spin-off of the Politecnico di Milano).

By combining cutting-edge technology with advanced data analysis and cross-source integration, ESA and e-GEOS, along with the e-GEOS consortia, aim to pioneer an approach that promises to support investigative activities and enhances the management and protection of the planet.