Migrants, the Polytechnic: “A software for monitoring routes … – The Republic

One way to save lives. And to dramatically reduce the costs of the rescue operation. Are two of the practical effects that the Politecnico di Milano in presenting highlights ‘Space Shepherd’, sofware developed in its laboratories that monitors the presence of unauthorized boats in international waters and allows the reconstruction of the routes, tracing the migration flows in the Mediterranean. As? The software uses and processes the use of civilian satellites already in orbit by integrating the monitoring systems ‘ground’ with the radar signals and optical satellites. According to the Polytechnic, if European governments, through the agencies that control the flow of data, would allow the use, ‘Space Shepherd’ could be immediately operational as a pilot project.

“The system has an estimated cost of 1 million one-off EUR – said Francesco Topputo, project leader – compared to 10 million a month spent on the operations of Mare Nostrum “. But beyond cost, Topputo emphasizes the surge of efficiency that the system would ensure operations monitoring, tracking of migration routes and rescue. This would allow an intelligent patrolling the coast, drastically limiting false alarms and unnecessary surveys that require a huge deployment of personnel and equipment. “

The platform allows you to process and integrate optical and radar signals sent by several satellites orbit, capturing the data processed in the course of their passage over the Mediterranean and combining them to reconstruct the presence of unauthorized boats. The system initially identifies the wakes left by boats and, thanks to subsequent processing, is able to ‘see’ even boats only five meters. The identification is not immediate, however. The satellites, during their passage, analyze limited parts of the territory, increasing the area in subsequent crossings: strips photographed in

Over the many steps will make up the ‘ full image. To speed up the time, the gaps are being closed by scanning territorial ‘Space Shepherd’ by combining data from several satellites.

The use of the system can be either active, why those operating signal the presence of boats to the competent authorities, or passive when the call for greater detail comes directly from the Coast Guard or other agencies.

Arguments:

Polytechnic

universities milan

migrants

refugees

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