31. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
331
require substantial new developments. The relevance of robust
algorithms stretches beyond being scientifically correct. It is unlikely
that an efficient market will select the most effective applications when
the latter rely on empirical, qualitative approaches which mean different
thing to different individuals.
The long term maintenance and growth of this economic sector can only
be sustained if the information generated is really worth the efforts and
costs. This implies carefully calibrated data, availability of extensive
ancillary data sets, as well as availability of a panoply of efficient,
accurate and reliable tools to analyze these data and generate
information. A high priority should thus be given to the design,
implementation, evaluation and delivery of accurate and reliable
algorithms to derive useful information from EO data. The scope and
difficulty of the tasks, as well as the cost of the required research and
development programs necessitate a significant involvement of the
European Commission, to stimulate creative initiatives, to maintain and
enhance the position of European industries in this highly competitive
field, and to guarantee the performance and quality of the products and
services to the ultimate users of the information.
By contrast, those fields of application where the objectives and
methodology have been established and properly validated should be
encouraged to develop into more operational schemes. Thus, some 40%
or more of the total 5FP budget devoted to EO could be allocated to
methodological research to ensure the optimal exploitation of the new
sensors and the exploration of new ideas and applications, while the
remaining 60% could be used to promote the operationalization of
existing applications.
European dimension: Many of the critical R&D issues that affect the
long term prospects for a commercial exploitation of Earth Observation
from space require sizeable human, data processing and financial
resources and can only be entertained at the European level. These
include the creation, maintenance and continuous improvement of large
scale facilities such as R&D institutions to generate and evaluate
algorithms, to conduct research on synergy, or to implement approaches
requiring the merging of multiple data streams from both space and non
space data. The role of national initiatives was recognized as valuable,
especially for specific applications mostly relevant to particular
geographical areas. Nevertheless, integrated European programs of
focused methodological research are highly desirable to permit an
optimal use of available resources, to avoid duplication of investigations,
and to ensure the wide distribution of advanced tools and techniques of
data interpretation.
331
require substantial new developments. The relevance of robust
algorithms stretches beyond being scientifically correct. It is unlikely
that an efficient market will select the most effective applications when
the latter rely on empirical, qualitative approaches which mean different
thing to different individuals.
The long term maintenance and growth of this economic sector can only
be sustained if the information generated is really worth the efforts and
costs. This implies carefully calibrated data, availability of extensive
ancillary data sets, as well as availability of a panoply of efficient,
accurate and reliable tools to analyze these data and generate
information. A high priority should thus be given to the design,
implementation, evaluation and delivery of accurate and reliable
algorithms to derive useful information from EO data. The scope and
difficulty of the tasks, as well as the cost of the required research and
development programs necessitate a significant involvement of the
European Commission, to stimulate creative initiatives, to maintain and
enhance the position of European industries in this highly competitive
field, and to guarantee the performance and quality of the products and
services to the ultimate users of the information.
By contrast, those fields of application where the objectives and
methodology have been established and properly validated should be
encouraged to develop into more operational schemes. Thus, some 40%
or more of the total 5FP budget devoted to EO could be allocated to
methodological research to ensure the optimal exploitation of the new
sensors and the exploration of new ideas and applications, while the
remaining 60% could be used to promote the operationalization of
existing applications.
European dimension: Many of the critical R&D issues that affect the
long term prospects for a commercial exploitation of Earth Observation
from space require sizeable human, data processing and financial
resources and can only be entertained at the European level. These
include the creation, maintenance and continuous improvement of large
scale facilities such as R&D institutions to generate and evaluate
algorithms, to conduct research on synergy, or to implement approaches
requiring the merging of multiple data streams from both space and non
space data. The role of national initiatives was recognized as valuable,
especially for specific applications mostly relevant to particular
geographical areas. Nevertheless, integrated European programs of
focused methodological research are highly desirable to permit an
optimal use of available resources, to avoid duplication of investigations,
and to ensure the wide distribution of advanced tools and techniques of
data interpretation.