Industry support

Northern Territory company Maitec was awarded a $63,650 grant to use earth observation (EO) data to map pastures and measure grass biomass over the Northern Territory’s savanna region.

Maitec specialises in the development, implementation and operation of remote sensing systems for environmental monitoring. Its main focus is on automatic and continuously operating systems using on-ground, airborne (manned and unmanned aerial vehicles) and satellite sensors.

The project will develop a system to more accurately measure vegetation biomass which plays an important role in land management. Traditionally, satellite EO has been used to make biomass observations which is more affective across Southern regions of Australia. In these areas, tree coverage is minimal so the satellite signal stems only from the grass layer. However, in the tropical savannas in Northern Australia, satellite sensors see the combined signal of the two-layer vegetation system consisting of understory and tree canopy.

Instead of providing total biomass measures like conventional EO based methods, Maitec’s system will provide grass biomass measures separated from the tree biomass component to enable better informed land management decisions, particularly for grazing and fire management.

The system will be developed in collaboration with end-users from the pastoral and bushfire management agencies to ensure it meets their needs. It will be delivered either through a dedicated user web interface or through existing services.

The EO4NT grant program supports the development of an operational map product covering all of Northern Australia. The end product will have a number of potential pathways to commercialisation, largely due to the flexibility of the grant program, enabling our organisation to make the most suitable decisions following finalisation of the project and end-user consultation.
Maitec extends its thanks to the NTG for offering the EO4NT grant program in the innovative and important field of earth observation. The tool to be developed with this funding will provide pastoralists and other land managers with essential information to enable informed decisions to optimise pasture management, maximise sustainability and minimise fire risk and land degradation.

Dr Stefan Maier, Director, Maitec Pty Ltd.

Charles Darwin University’s North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) was awarded a $97,000 grant under the EO4NT program. The NAFI service uses information from satellites to produce maps that display hotspots and fire scars to support the needs of north Australian and remote area fire managers.

The EO4NT funding will be used to create a commercially viable EO product that will generate high-resolution burnt area maps in the Darwin and Katherine regions throughout the fire season. Burnt area maps use satellite imagery to classify areas that have been burnt to determine total burnt area and fire frequency for a particular landscape.

The project will build on NAFI’s existing burnt area mapping system to include three unique qualities: high resolution, high frequency and operator verification to ensure consistent accuracy. The upgraded service will be more user friendly with enhanced automation and access to historical data. Clear images from a historical database can be used when persistent cloud over the current image sequences prevents burnt areas from being mapped.

The economic scale of this industry is expected to grow substantially over the coming years and this project will allow NAFI to respond to an increasing number of requests for regular, high resolution mapping products across a range of land management sectors.

The maps will be displayed on the NAFI website to improve planning and operational risk assessments for bushfires. The project will build local capacity and resilience to enhance bushfire management across the Territory in both the public and private sectors.

The EO4NT grant program will support NAFI to focus on the production of high-resolution mapping of large areas of land for fire management purposes; a solution that has strong market prospects for our existing clients and potential new clients.
Our solution offers benefits that standard centralised data sources cannot and this project has been made possible by the support of the NTG through the innovative and forward-thinking EO4NT grant program.
Our clients are wide-ranging and work in industries including agriculture, horticulture, mining, Defence, fire agencies, Aboriginal rangers, carbon abatement proponents, land trusts and government services. The end product of this grant will likely attract new clients.

Dr Peter Jacklyn, NAFI Service Manager, Faculty of Science and Technology, Charles Darwin University.

Victorian company, Office of Planetary Observations (OPO) received a $63,890 grant under the EO4NT program. The company aims to use environmental satellite data to create a healthy ecosystem for all living things.

The EO4NT funding will be used to develop three core deliverables:

• EO Dashboard: a bespoke dashboard displaying urban greening insights
• Easy ordering: the automation of market specific EO data pathways
• Novel insights: the analysis and fusion of EO data sets for urban greening

As urbanisation continues, we are seeing a loss of green infrastructure which causes the temperature in cities to rise. This puts additional pressure on traditional assets and critical infrastructure and significantly impacts vulnerable communities. City planners have limited technical expertise and access to EO data which provides critical insights to combat rising temperatures. The lack of access to data means that planning and maintenance decisions in the Territory do not apply green infrastructure data which restricts the ability to cool the cities.

The EO dashboard will provide urban greening insights to enhance city and urban planning and provide actionable insights to support climate mitigation efforts. The project will deliver insights specific to the Territory including seasonal characteristics of green spaces, tree health and changes to tree canopy, land surface temperature and optimised cooling. The outcomes of this project will support the delivery of the Greening Darwin Strategy, Climate Emergency Strategy and wider NT policy objectives.

The EO4NT grant program will enable OPO to provide ongoing monitoring of green infrastructure and urban heat island effects, including near-real time impacts of cooling strategies and efficient irrigation and tree maintenance activities.
This grant will help OPO to continue its transition from start-up to established company and will support its efforts to continue pursuing business in the NT.

Thomas Gooch, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Planetary Observations Pty Ltd