The “Eye in the Sky” project has recently been recognized as one of the six highlighted projects by the Florestas.pt Platform for its contribution to forest innovation in Portugal during 2023. This recognition confirms the commitment and excellence of the “Eye in the Sky” project in scientific innovation.
More information can be found at [in Portuguese]:
https://florestas.pt/valorizar/6-projetos-que-ilustram-a-inovacao-florestal-em-portugal/
The Final workshop of the Eye in the Sky Project was held on 15 December 2023.
This is the video coverage of that event.
On December 15, 2023, the Final Workshop of the Eye in the Sky Project took place at the Forest Fire Research Laboratory in Lousã.
In addition to a presentation of the main achievements, a live demonstration of the Eye in the Sky solution was conducted. This demonstration involved the preparation of the balloon and its payload, consisting of an RGB camera. The balloon was launched, and the captured images were broadcasted live to monitors installed in the laboratory. Approximately 4 km from the launch site, a bonfire was ignited, duly captured in images that were transmitted to the mentioned monitors.
The event garnered significant attendance, and all participants expressed their interest and satisfaction with the project and the workshop itself.
Below, you will find some photographs from the event. A video covering the various activities will be available in due course.
Thanks to all participants.
On the upcoming 15th of December, in the morning, the final workshop of the “Eye in the Sky” project will take place at the Laboratory for Forest Fire Studies (LEIF), located at the Lousã Aerodrome.
During this event, there will be a presentation of the project and its outcomes, followed by a demonstration session involving the balloon survey, image capture, transmission to a ground station, and verification of SIRESP signal reinforcement for communications.
To conclude, a snack lunch will be served, providing an opportunity to continue discussions among participants.
The event has a maximum capacity of 30 participants, who will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.
The deadline for registration is December 12th, and you can register through the following form: https://forms.gle/9oEtYHdhWPRAHSgH7
On October 18, 2023, the Técnico Innovation Center was presented to the public, a space open to students 24 hours a day, with a large area for events and exhibitions, as well as a fire station.
At the event, which was attended by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, the Minister of Economy, the Mayor of Lisbon and the Rector of the University of Lisbon, several Student Groups’ projects were presented, as well as the research project Eye in the Sky, which also originated in the Balua student project.
On September 8, 2023, the Eye in the Sky project participated in the Naval REX’23 – Naval Robotics Exercise 2023, at the Navy’s Operational Experimentation Center (CEOM) in Tróia.
In this Technological Free Zone, and on board NRP Sines, it was possible to test and demonstrate the ability to launch a flying wing from another aircraft (in this case a multirotor to replace the balloon proposed in the project), as well as the transmission of video acquired throughout the flight in the visible range and in real-time to a control station at the NRP Sines.
This test allowed us to validate the solution once again and demonstrate its potential for use in other scenarios besides forest monitoring, such as ocean surveillance.
A special thanks to the Portuguese Navy, the Naval Academy and NRP Sines for the opportunity.
Watch the video summary of the exercise below.
The Eye in the Sky project was present at the 6th Experiment@ International Conference – Expat’23, which was held in Évora from 5 to 7th June 2023, and where Dário Silva presented the paper “Using high-altitude balloons for decision-support in emergency scenarios – a proof of concept on wildfire detection and monitoring”.
You will find paper HERE
The Eye in the Sky project participated on May 31, 2023 in ARTEX’23 – ARmy Technological EXperimentation 2023, at the Santa Margarida Military Camp, in the municipality of Constância.
In this exercise, organized by the Portuguese Army, it was possible to test and demonstrate the ability to launch a flying wing from another aircraft (in this case a multirotor to replace the balloon proposed in the project), as well as the transmission of video acquired throughout the flight in the range visible in real-time to a ground control station.
This test allowed us to validate for the first time a simplified version of the concept and demonstrate its potential for use in forest monitoring.
A special thank you to the Army Portuguese for the opportunity.
Watch the video summary of the exercise below.
The Eye in the Sky project was present at the 8th International Wildland Fire Conference – IWFC’23, which was held in Porto from 16 to 19th May 2023, and where an e-poster was presented under the title “Use of high-altitude balloons for wildfire management – a dedicated “satellite” for each major fire event”.
