RSAC has provided services to the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) since 1996 and to the Welsh Government (WG) since 2006 for the Remote Sensing Control of European Area-based Agricultural Subsidies. It also has a long history of providing scientific, technical and secretarial support to various groups within ESA. In addition to these major undertakings, the company participates in a wide range of other project work relating to new applications of remote sensing.

Examples of activities in which the company has recently been engaged are presented below.

CROPINS

CROPINS

for agricultural land monitoring and management

The operational use of remote sensing data often demands a system that presents the analyst with multi-temporal imagery and interactive access to a database containing non-image information. The RSAC CROPINS system has been under continual development since 1996. The system has been used by RSAC since 1999 for an EU-wide programme that utilizes remote sensing to monitor farm subsidies paid under the Common Agricultural Policy. This programme represents one of the largest operational uses of remote sensing today.

CROPINS has also been used in the Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) project to create a land parcel database of farm land in England.

Other variations have been developed for precision farming, forestry and land use mapping applications.


PROBA

CHRIS

for environmental monitoring

Since 2002, RSAC has been providing, on behalf of ESA, mission planning support for the CHRIS instrument onboard the PROBA satellite.

CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) produces optical earth observation imagery in a variety of modes that comprise up to 36 discrete bandwidths.

Although only intended as a one year mission, there is now a very active CHRIS user group involving in the order of 100 scientists and 230 study sites located across 40 countries. A wide variety of applications - land, sea and atmosphere - are supported.

The PROBA mission objectives are primarily for in-orbit demonstration and evaluation of new technologies. The CHRIS instrument has a relatively modest imaging capacity which, at best, amounts to three image acquisitions across the globe per day. RSAC has the task of matching the high demand for CHRIS data with the limited supply. In order to maximise image quality, RSAC has developed an effective cloud cover prediction routine that helps to deliver a high proportion of cloud-free datasets.


REDD-FLAME

REDD Fast Logging Assessment & Monitoring Environment

The REDD-FLAME project will design and implement a system capable of monitoring tropical and sub-tropical forests using high-resolution radar (and optical) imagery acquired by Earth Observation satellites. By focussing on early detection of logging activities, the system will provide the means to quickly identify the first signs of deforestation and thus act as a tool to control resource use and sustainable development within these fragile and valuable environments. The system will form a high-resolution add-on for existing (semi-) operational low- to mid-resolution systems, providing hot-spot monitoring for areas at highest risk of deforestation. As such, it could be integrated into national or regional forest monitoring centres and provide inputs for large-scale carbon emission assessments in the context of the UN-REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Programme.

RSAC is Coordinator of a team of eight partners, including investigators from developing countries on three continents. Test sites in Indonesia, Brazil and Mozambique have been chosen to represent a variety of forest types and deforestation issues, and thus to prove the system’s versatility.




Windows on the World, UK and Universe

educational CD-ROMs distributed with the Sunday Times Magazine

RSAC was responsible for the technical development and management of three multimedia educational CD-ROMs (Window on the World, Window on the UK 2000 and Window on the Universe) funded through the British National Space Centre and distributed with the Sunday Times Magazine (over 1.6 million copies each) and online, to international acclaim. The CDs sought to introduce students and the general public to the benefits of Earth Observation and Space Science technology.

RSAC made significant contributions throughout each project, not only submitting material, but also providing technical guidance on a variety of IT issues, and taking responsibility for product development and conversion of all content to web format.

More information can be found here.


China

ESA-MOST Cooperation Projects

stimulating ERS data applications in China

Staff from RSAC acted as scientific consultants working closely with Chinese investigators on pilot projects to develop the use of SAR data in the fields of forestry, agriculture and flood monitoring. Specialised SAR image analysis and interferometric techniques were used. The project utilised China's good remote sensing, reception and satellite processing facilities, which were previously under-used.


Summary of activities

RSAC Ltd's activities can be summarised into the following categories:

For more details, contact RSAC Ltd.