Copernicus App Lab · Project

Satellite Data Made App-Ready: Open Tools That Turn Earth Observation Into Mobile Services

environmentTestedTRL 5

Europe's Copernicus satellites collect mountains of environmental data — ocean temperatures, air quality, land cover — but it's locked in formats that only scientists can use. Imagine if Google Maps data was only available as raw radar files. This project built open-source tools that convert that satellite data into web-friendly formats (like how a restaurant menu gets turned into a food delivery app). The result: mobile developers can now plug satellite data into their apps the same way they'd plug in a weather API.

By the numbers

Partner countries in the consortium

Copernicus services made accessible (Land, Marine, Atmosphere)

60%

Industry partner ratio in the consortium

Total deliverables produced

Data model dimensions (x, y, z, time, forecast time)

SMEs in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies in agriculture, insurance, logistics, and environmental services increasingly need satellite data for operational decisions — but Copernicus Earth observation data comes in scientific formats that require specialized expertise to access and process. Most mobile and web developers cannot work with these formats, creating a bottleneck between valuable public satellite data and the commercial applications that could use it.

The solution

What was built

The project built open-source tools for converting Copernicus satellite data into linked open data: publishing tools that transform EO data into RDF format, interlinking tools for connecting EO data with other geospatial datasets, query tools for searching RDF data graphs, and visualization tools. A working demonstrator was deployed with full access to the PROBA-V and Copernicus Global Land Service data archive on a Hadoop processing environment, plus a customized Data Access Protocol for handling gridded data in a common 5D model.

Audience

Who needs this

AgTech companies building crop monitoring or precision farming appsEnvironmental consulting firms needing satellite data for compliance reportingInsurance companies assessing climate and natural disaster riskSmart city platform developers integrating environmental monitoringMaritime logistics companies tracking ocean and weather conditions

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Agriculture & Precision Farming

SME

Target: AgTech companies building crop monitoring or irrigation planning apps

If you are an AgTech startup struggling to integrate satellite land-cover data into your crop monitoring app — this project developed open-source tools that transform Copernicus Global Land Service data into linked open data formats that mobile developers already know how to use. Instead of hiring a remote sensing PhD, your developers can query satellite data using standard web tools. The project delivered a working demonstrator with access to the complete PROBA-V and Copernicus Global Land Service data archive.

Environmental Consulting

mid-size

Target: Environmental monitoring and compliance firms

If you are an environmental consultancy needing real-time satellite data for pollution tracking or land-use assessments — this project created tools for publishing, interlinking, querying, and visualizing Earth observation data as linked open data. Your analysts can combine satellite imagery with other geospatial datasets without custom data pipelines. The tools handle the 5D data model covering spatial coordinates, altitude, time, and forecast time.

Insurance & Risk Assessment

enterprise

Target: Insurers and reinsurers offering climate or natural disaster coverage

If you are an insurance company that needs to assess flood, drought, or wildfire risk but finds satellite data too complex to operationalize — this project built a Data Access Protocol customized for gridded data holdings in native file formats, eliminating unnecessary overhead like format conversions. Your risk modelers can access Copernicus Marine, Land, and Atmosphere monitoring data through standard query interfaces used across 5 partner countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these tools?

The tools developed by Copernicus App Lab are available as open source, meaning there are no licensing fees. Your costs would be integration effort — developer time to connect the RDF publishing, querying, and visualization tools to your existing systems. Based on available project data, no commercial pricing model was established.

Can these tools handle industrial-scale data volumes?

The project delivered a demonstrator with access to the complete data archive from PROBA-V and the Copernicus Global Land Service using a Hadoop processing environment. This suggests the tools were tested against large-scale satellite data archives. The Data Access Protocol was specifically designed to handle gridded data in native file formats to avoid unnecessary overhead.

Who owns the intellectual property?

All tools developed in the project are available as open source. This means any company can use, modify, and deploy them without IP restrictions. The consortium of 5 partners across 5 countries contributed to development, with the German SME Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen coordinating.

What data formats and standards does this support?

The tools convert Earth observation data into RDF (Resource Description Framework), the standard format for linked open data on the web. They also implemented a customized Data Access Protocol mapping data into a common 5D data model covering x, y, z, time, and forecast time dimensions. This makes satellite data queryable using standard web technologies.

Which Copernicus services are covered?

The project provides access to data from three Copernicus services: Land Monitoring, Marine Environment Monitoring, and Atmosphere Monitoring. A working demonstrator specifically covers the Copernicus Global Land Service and PROBA-V satellite data archive.

Is this still maintained after the project ended in 2019?

The project closed in March 2019. Based on available project data, there is no information about ongoing maintenance or updates. Since the tools are open source, any organization can fork and maintain them independently. Companies should evaluate the current state of the code repositories before committing to integration.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium is compact and industry-heavy: 5 partners across 5 countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands) with a 60% industry ratio and 3 SMEs. The coordinator, Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, is a German SME located near the DLR aerospace center — a strong indicator of operational proximity to the European space and EO community. With 3 industry partners, 1 university, and 1 research organization, the consortium was designed for tool-building rather than pure research. VITO (Belgium) contributed the satellite data infrastructure including the PROBA-V archive and Hadoop environment, while Terradue handled platform connectivity. This mix suggests the tools were built by teams that understand both the technology and market sides of Earth observation.

ANWENDUNGSZENTRUM GMBH OBERPFAFFENHOFENCoordinator · DE
VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V.participant · BE
RAMANI B.V.participant · NL
ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINONparticipant · EL
TERRADUE SRLparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany) — SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the development team.

Order a report on this consortium See ANWENDUNGSZENTRUM GMBH OBERPFAFFENHOFEN profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to integrate Copernicus satellite data into your products without building a remote sensing team? SciTransfer can connect you with the teams who built these open-source tools and help you evaluate which components fit your use case.

Order a report on this topic More in Environment & Climate