One of the many ways Leonardo’s technology and capability continues to provide support for the Covid-19 emergency is through e-GEOS (80% Telespazio / 20% Italian Space Agency), which is keeping space infrastructure operational and providing valuable information to aid the vital work of Italian Civil Protection and health authorities.
The very first satellite maps used during the Coronavirus emergency, to track the rapidly changing situation on the ground and the potential virus hotspots, were those provided by an international consortium managed by e-GEOS as part of the European Commission's Copernicus Emergency Management Service "Rapid Mapping".
These maps are now providing support to the Civil Protection that operates in the Municipality of Turin, but the service is potentially extendible to the other regions of Italy.
Given the lockdown imposed by the Italian Government to limit social activities and contain the epidemic, it is essential that the Civil Protection has a constantly updated picture of the situation on the ground and especially public spaces during the second phase of the emergency.
Using satellite imagery, the maps identify areas of interest such as hospitals and their temporary outside structures, open-air neighbourhood markets, parks and adjacent areas.
The combination of these images, together with pre-existing data, provide maps that allow the health and Civil Protection authorities to register the different types of temporary set-ups around hospitals and the potentially larger influx of people, in order to flag possible situations of overcrowding and other potential dangerous situations.
As for the open-air markets, the imagery and data make it possible to identify access roads and adjacent areas, free areas and the maximum amount of access to citizens. The gradual reopening of outdoor markets, as well as indoor ones, indicated by the local authorities, can therefore be managed objectively and consistently by the authorities themselves. The same type of data will be used for mapping parks and villas.
Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to stay updated on the initiatives that Leonardo is putting in place in support of those who are working to contain the contagion from Covid-19.