The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) has announced the launch of the Remote Sensing Applications Competition 2014 (RSAC 2014). The competition, which is open for all governmental sectors, educational and research institutes in the UAE, will be to conduct scientific research and comprehensive studies in designing and implementing state-of-the-art applications for the use of Earth Observation images acquired by DubaiSat-2.

The competition aims at promoting the utilization of the DubaiSat-2 mission data, which is expected to be used for a wide range of disciplines including land use, land cover, topography, geology, terrestrial (vegetation) ecosystem, agriculture and forestry, hydrology and climate.

The data, rich in its content and depth, will also cover areas such as oceanography and coastal zones, disaster (forest fires, flooding, landslide, earthquakes, etc.), natural hazards, resource exploration and development of spatial data infrastructure research.

The importance of the data will benefit the UAE environment in that it will include climate systems, hydrological processes, water resources, pollution monitoring (oil spill, red tide, etc.), and basic studies for measuring accuracy by optical sensors, all relevant for vital educational and research and development purposes.

Commenting on the RSAC announcement, H.E. Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of EIAST said, "This competition is open for all governmental sectors, educational and research institutes in the UAE,. It is open to all students, researchers, innovators and engineers, in the UAE. We specifically solicit research that uses DubaiSat-2 data alone or in conjunction with other datasets in the category of scientific research".

Applicants are required to define objectives, methods, and implementation plans for their projects as precisely as possible, and their plan should indicate the means, the feasibility of realization, and the anticipated economic effects gained by achieving the objectives.

The term 'data' refers to the data products produced at DubaiSat-2 Ground station and all DubaiSat-2 products will be distributed by EIAST. DubaiSat-2 data will be provided to the participants after filling out the 'Image Ordering form' that will be available in the website.

The data sets required for executing the RSAC projects shall be provided to the selected participants at no cost. Data will be gathered and integrated into regular mission planning of the satellite.

The review and evaluation process of submitted proposals will be completed by experts based on strict evaluation criteria. All teams taking part in the competition will receive a participation certificate with the final 5 winning teams receiving medals and cash prizes as well.

"This competition is a further step taken by EIAST to promote modern knowledge and advanced scientific techniques and is considered a valuable contribution from EIAST to educational institutions and minds in the UAE. It is also part of a long term plan by the wise leadership of the UAE to encourage the continuous growth and development of scientific and technical skills of Emiratis in a new age of science and advancement", stated Al Shaibani.

Participants have to fill in the registration form provided in the website and submit a research proposal before 15th October, 2014 and are accepted either individually or in a group of maximum of 5 members.

All documents and inquiries should be e-mailed to the Remote Sensing Applications Competition email: [email protected]. Once the registration form is submitted, the participants will receive a confirmation email within a week that contains their Team ID.