The LEONSEGS project recently had a presence at the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), a key event for the Earth Observation (EO) community, held in Brisbane from 3-8 August. With the theme of One Earth, the event addressed threats to our planet and promoted collaborative global solutions using remote sensing technology. 

On August 7th, Martin Sudmanns from LEONSEGS partner PLUS delivered a presentation on a new method and technology for finding satellite images more quickly and easily, based on their actual content. The presentation, titled “Semantic content-based image retrieval in semantic EO data cubes,” shared the big idea behind a new search engine. 

The system uses semantic analysis to understand what’s in an image and then connect that information to a user’s search criteria. This means a user can find exactly what they’re looking for based on the content of the image, rather than just a file name or simple metadata. It’s like a search engine that truly understands what it’s seeing. The results can be further refined by a specific area and time interval, ensuring they are highly relevant. 

Presenting to a large, international audience was a valuable opportunity. There was a significant exchange of ideas, with discussions on the scientific, technical, and implementation aspects of technology. The strong interest shown in the topic demonstrated a clear need for new, more intelligent ways to interact with the vast amount of available satellite imagery. 

This presence at IGARSS was an important chance to share the work being done within the LEONSEGS project and to build connections with experts from around the world.