#6/10 In brief: LIST RA17 – View from above

Over the summer, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is publishing a series of bite-sized highlights from “New Horizons”, the Institute’s Annual Report 2017.

The latest remote sensing technologies, which enable the acquisition of information on a specific object, even without coming into contact with it, are developing rapidly. They offer perspectives for the analysis and comprehension of natural phenomena that have never previously been achieved. Aerial images, from drones or aeroplanes, or from even further away from us, i.e. taken by satellites or hyperspectral cameras, offer enormous potential for monitoring and managing the environment, agriculture and natural risks. 

As part of the MOSQUITO project, we are using new satellite observation technologies to improve flood management in urban areas. Heavy rain, melting snow, overflowing rivers or bursting dams and dykes are all potential causes of flooding, which, along with growing urbanization, are weakening urban zones, their inhabitants and their structures. We are therefore committed to developing new methods allowing the precise, systematic and automated monitoring of flooding in urban areas. We hope that tomorrow, public powers will have the necessary data to better identify vulnerable areas, better anticipate the onset of floods and better prepare searches, assistance, medical help, evacuations and managing population movement. 

We also use aerial and satellite imaging in order to transmit crucial information to actors in the agricultural sector on the state of their crops. With PLANTSENS, we hope that farmers and horticulturalists will be able to take the necessary measures to guarantee a constant supply of water for their crops and plantations and thus avoid drought and dehydration. With BIOSCOPE, we hope that farmers will be able to accurately identify the problems with their crops and only use crop protection products where necessary, and not on all of their crops, as is currently the case. Our ambition is that tomorrow, the growth, yield and quality of the plants and crops, as well as agricultural operating costs, will be optimized, and at the same time, that consumers will find high-quality products available with a reduced environmental impact.

> This article originally featured in “Create an economic impact with new technologies”  section of LIST's Annual Report 2017.

> The Institute invites you to read the report in full online. The next article to be published on list.lu will be “Learn to see”.