What would it cost to use these tools?+
All software deliverables are released as open-source under GNU licence, so there is no licensing fee. Your costs would be integration, customization, and the computing infrastructure to run the processing pipelines. The satellite data from Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 is freely available from ESA and NASA.
Can these tools work at industrial scale across large territories?+
The project specifically developed statistical methods for upscaling from plot-level to landscape-level using multi-satellite data assimilation. The tools are designed to process time series at daily, seasonal, and interannual scales. However, scaling to continent-wide operations would require significant computing resources and validation for your specific geography.
Who owns the intellectual property and can I build commercial products on top?+
The software is published under GNU licence, which means you can use, modify, and distribute it. However, GNU GPL requires that derivative works also be open-source, so if you want to build proprietary products, you would need to verify the specific GNU variant used and potentially negotiate with the coordinating university (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca).
How accurate are the vegetation health measurements?+
Based on available project data, the project systematically compared different measurement modes — ground-based spectrometers, UAV-mounted instruments, and airborne hyperspectral imagers — to quantify accuracy across scales. The fluorescence datasets were validated across plots with different water and nutrient conditions. Specific accuracy percentages are not stated in the available deliverable descriptions.
What satellite systems does this work with?+
The tools are built for ESA Sentinel 2, Landsat 8, and are designed to exploit upcoming missions including ESA-FLEX, additional ESA-Sentinels, and NASA-GEDI. The multi-source data integration approach means adding new satellite feeds is part of the architecture.
Is there ongoing support or is this a finished research project?+
The project closed in September 2020, so there is no active funded support. However, the open-source repositories remain available, and the 13-partner consortium across 7 countries trained a generation of researchers now working in this field. The coordinator at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca may be able to direct you to follow-up projects.
How long would integration into our existing platform take?+
Based on available project data, the tools were developed as standalone open-source packages, not plug-and-play commercial products. Integration would depend on your existing tech stack. The UAV flight planning procedures and standardized data acquisition protocols are operational and documented, which should reduce setup time for the drone-based components.
