WHAT IS ENVISYS?
What
is ENVISYS?
- ENVISYS is a CEC R&D project within the Telematics Applications Programme's sector for environment.
- ENVISYS' purpose was to develop a demonstrator prototype for the detection of marine oil spill in radar satellite images.
- ENVISYS demonstrator software was the first system in the world to detect oil spill completely automatically.
- ENVISYS provides efficient tools for managing oil spill accidents.
- ENVISYS was demonstrated in the Mediterranean coastal regions in Spain and Greece.
- ENVISYS, intended to be operational in 2000, will protect the Mediterranean environment against intentional oil spills, which today amount to an equivalent of about 10 Exxon Valdez accidents.
- ENVISYS may be extended to other emergency situations (floods, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, ...) to provide monitoring of the environment, early detection of emergency situations, warning to authorities and decision support during the management of the accident.
- ENVISYS is based upon the integration of existing remote sensing, communication and software intensive technologies, as well as existing public infrastructure
- ENVISYS was developed by a team of Greek, Norwegian and Spanish companies and institutes.
- To integrate existing remote sensing, communication and software intensive technologies, as well as existing public infrastructure into a fully operational system for sea monitoring, detection of oil spills due to human activities, warning to responsible public authorities, and decision support to the said authorities during clean up operations. To detect a very high percentage of slicks created during demonstration time, constrained only by satellite coverage of the area in question (in terms of time). Achievement of these results with current satellite coverage, implies the systems viability as a very powerful tool for public agencies responsible for such disasters, on a day by day basis, as daily coverage from satellites is anticipated in the imminent future.
- To investigate the cost effectiveness of similar techniques in other disaster areas, most notably forest fires and floods.
- To demonstrate the applicability of concepts and technology to the potential user organisations as well the cost effectiveness of chosen solutions at two distinct sites.