SEO-DWARF · Project

Smart Search Engine That Finds Satellite Images Using Plain-Language Questions

environmentTestedTRL 5

Imagine you have millions of satellite photos but no way to search them with normal questions like "Show me where algae is growing near this coastline." Right now, finding the right satellite image is like searching a library with no catalogue — you have to know exactly which shelf to look at. This project built a search engine that understands what you mean when you ask a question in everyday language, then finds the matching satellite images automatically. It was tested on marine and coastal monitoring using data from European Sentinel satellites.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries in consortium

industry partners (including 6 SMEs)

60%

industry ratio in consortium

EUR 1,584,000

EU contribution

Sentinel satellites supported (1, 2, 3, ENVISAT)

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies and agencies that rely on satellite imagery waste significant time manually searching through massive image archives. They know what environmental change they want to detect — like algal blooms or chlorophyll shifts — but current tools force them to search by technical parameters (dates, coordinates, bands) instead of by what they actually need to know. This gap between what users want to ask and what systems can answer is a daily bottleneck for anyone working with Earth Observation data.

The solution

What was built

The project built a web-based platform for semantic search and alerting over satellite image archives, with a working pilot service for marine applications. It included ontology-based query processing, metadata extraction algorithms for Earth Observation images, and an alert system that notifies users when specific environmental phenomena are detected in Sentinel satellite data.

Audience

Who needs this

Maritime monitoring and surveillance companiesEnvironmental consultancies tracking coastal and marine changesAquaculture operators monitoring water quality conditionsPort authorities and coastal zone management agenciesEarth Observation data service providers looking to add smart search capabilities

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Maritime & Coastal Monitoring

SME

Target: Companies providing ocean monitoring, port surveillance, or coastal zone management services

If you are a maritime monitoring company dealing with massive satellite image archives and struggling to find the right data for each client request — this project developed a semantic search platform that lets users type questions like 'Show chlorophyll increase in this protected area' and automatically retrieves matching Sentinel satellite images. With 10 partners across 7 countries testing this on marine data, the system was demonstrated as a pilot service.

Environmental Consulting

any

Target: Environmental consultancies tracking pollution, land-use change, or biodiversity in protected areas

If you are an environmental consultancy spending hours manually browsing satellite archives to find evidence of ecological change — this project built a web-based platform that connects plain-language queries to Earth Observation image databases. Instead of filtering by date and coordinates, your analysts can ask semantic questions and get alerts when specific phenomena occur, such as changes in water quality in NATURA protected zones.

Fisheries & Aquaculture

SME

Target: Aquaculture operators and fisheries management organizations monitoring water conditions

If you are an aquaculture company that needs to track ocean conditions like chlorophyll levels, water temperature, or algal blooms near your farms — this project created an alert system that monitors Sentinel 1, 2, and 3 satellite data and notifies you when relevant changes occur. The platform was built with 6 industry partners, including the coordinator Planetek Italia, an SME specialized in Earth Observation services.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to use this technology?

The project was funded with EUR 1,584,000 under the MSCA-RISE programme, which focused on research exchange and development. Pricing for commercial use would need to be discussed directly with the coordinator Planetek Italia SRL, an Italian SME specializing in geospatial services. Based on available project data, no commercial pricing model was published.

Can this work at industrial scale with large satellite archives?

The system was designed specifically to handle big archives of Earth Observation data from multiple Sentinel satellites (1, 2, 3) and ENVISAT. The architecture includes metadata extraction, storage, and management components built to support large-scale image retrieval. A pilot service was launched as a demonstrator.

What is the IP situation — can I license this?

The project was funded under MSCA-RISE, a staff exchange programme involving 10 partners across 7 countries. IP arrangements would depend on the consortium agreement between these partners. Planetek Italia SRL, as coordinator and an SME, is the primary contact for licensing discussions.

Which satellite data does it support?

The platform was built to work with Sentinel 1, 2, and 3 data as well as ENVISAT imagery. These are freely available European satellite data sources, meaning users would not face additional data acquisition costs for these inputs.

Is this ready to deploy or still a research tool?

A pilot service was launched and demonstrated during the project. The platform includes a web-based interface for semantic image retrieval and alert registration. However, as an MSCA-RISE project ending in 2019, further development status should be confirmed with the consortium.

Does it work only for marine applications?

The marine domain was the primary test case, with queries like calculating chlorophyll rates in NATURA areas. However, the underlying semantic search and ontology approach was designed to be extended to other Earth Observation application domains. Based on available project data, marine was the only domain fully implemented.

Consortium

Who built it

The SEO-DWARF consortium of 10 partners across 7 countries (Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, France, Italy) has a strong industry orientation with 60% industry participation and 6 SMEs involved. The coordinator, Planetek Italia SRL, is an established Italian SME in the geospatial sector, which adds commercial credibility. With 4 academic and 6 industrial partners, the project balanced research depth with practical application development. However, the MSCA-RISE funding scheme is primarily designed for staff exchange rather than product development, which may mean the technology needs further engineering to reach market readiness.

PLANETEK ITALIA SRLCoordinator · IT
TECHNOLOGIKO PANEPISTIMIO KYPROUparticipant · CY
CLOUDSIGMA AGparticipant · CH
ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNIONparticipant · EL
TWT GMBH SCIENCE & INNOVATIONparticipant · DE
PLANETEK HELLAS ETAIREIA PERIORISMENIS EFTHYNIS YPIRESIES CHARTOGRAFISIS MESO DORYFOROUparticipant · EL
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI BARI ALDO MOROparticipant · IT
PANEPISTIMIO AIGAIOUparticipant · EL

How to reach the team

Planetek Italia SRL — Italian SME specializing in Earth Observation and geospatial solutions. Use Google to find their contact page or look up their team on LinkedIn.

Order a report on this consortium See PLANETEK ITALIA SRL profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how semantic satellite search could solve your monitoring challenges? SciTransfer can connect you with the SEO-DWARF team and help assess fit for your specific use case.

Order a report on this topic More in Environment & Climate