Following the success of the previous innovation competitions, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) announced the opening of #myEUSpace competition.
The EUSPA competition appeals to entrepreneurs, startuppers and college students who want to develop and commercialise innovative solutions that leverage EU space data and services.How can space benefit smart mobility, agriculture and geomatics?What’s the role of quantum technologies?These are the questions that the competition aspires to answer through the suggested ideas.
As the hosts of the competition note in their announcement, free and easy access to EU Space data have allowed the creation of innovative projects and services in sectors such as IoT, precision farming, robotics and drones. Accurate positioning offered by Galileo in combination with data and high-resolution images from Copernicus with the use of quantum technology is expected to set European innovation on a new trajectory.
With prizes of 1 million euros, #myEUspace competition, part of the European Commission Cassini initiative, aims to leverage data and services offered by EU’s space program in order to develop disruptive commercial solutions and applications that will help the management of emerging social challenges and serve different fields, such as smart mobility and agriculture, sustainable production and consumption, health and leisure time.
”Over the last few years, EUSPA has managed to create a powerful ecosystem of space start-ups and small and medium sized companies that offer innovative ideas such as autonomous lane marking solutions or atmosphere monitoring applications with drones, most of which are now scaling up rapidly.With initiatives such as #myEUspace competition, we are supporting space entrepreneurship and contributing to the Union’s digitization efforts and the implementation of the ambitious European Green Deal’’, stated EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa.
#myEUspace competition promotes entrepreneurship
“EUSPA’s #MyGalileoSolution competition has given our product a significant boost and helped us open new roads. Competitions like this are ideal for startups. Participating and winning MyGalileoSolution offered our solution bigger promotion, expert support and financial means to scale up. Our product is a 10Lines autonomous parking lot marking robot, so GNSS positioning is crucial for us. We encourage all EU startups to leverage #myEUspace competition and scale up their business.”, said Janno Paas, CTO of 10Lines and member of the winning team of the 2020 MyGalileoSolution competition.
With more than 50 awards, #myEUSpace consists of two independent and parallel tracks, each one with a list of goals and deliverables.
Track 1 – From the idea to the prototype aims to convert a theoretical idea to a prototype/beta version of a product.
Track 2 – From the prototype to the product /market entry – aims to develop a prototype or beta idea into a minimum viable product (MVP).
The Competition is seeking solutions where the use and integration of EU Space data and services can disrupt the following six thematic sectors:
Move Me Smart: Smart mobility solutions through all transportation means to improve efficiency and sustainability and increase safety.
Space Up My Life: Consumer solutions such as mobile apps and any other solution that uses space data for health, gambling, sports, leisure time, tourism and everyday life.
Our Green Planet: Innovative solutions regarding environmental challenges, sustainability in our life, consumption and production.
Map My World: Innovative surveying solutions that will shape the future of geomatics, rural planning and smart cities.
Farming by Satellite: Technological solutions to manage agricultural production, improvement of crop yield, reduction of environmental impacts and optimization of the food chain.
Dive in Quantum: Innovative solutions applying quantum technologies (computing, sensing, simulation, encryption etc.) that enhance space downstream applications.
How you can win
Aspiring startups, innovators and experienced entrepreneurs can apply by November 15th 2021 (23:59 CET). The ideas will be assessed according to their EU-space relevance, their innovative approach, their market potentials, their feasibility within the limits of current technology and finally, their operational organization.The competition foresees various prizes and awards at different stages of the competition.
