How satellites should support insured persons

In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), SAP presented the first "Earth Observation Analysis Service" at the beginning of November 2016. ESA and SAP have been working on this cloud technology since the beginning of 2016. Together, they aim to develop new business in the field of Earth observation by combining the power of SAP HANA with ESA's seemingly easily accessible satellite data - primarily from the Copernicus program.

However, ESA Sentinel 1A showed a sudden drop in performance on 23 August 2016 at 17:07 GMT (source: Wikipedia). A change in the solar cells and a slight change in the satellite's orientation was observed via on-board cameras. Apparently, the satellite was hit by a piece only a few millimeters in size. Whether it was a small meteorite or space debris remains hazy to this day.

Always redundant satellites?

Currently, about 250 privately owned satellites orbit the Earth in geostationary orbit (usually circling above the equator). "The insured value of the satellites is well over $20 billion. Industry leaders such as Intelsat, SES and Eutelsat make billions in revenue annually and each have dozens of satellites in space. They cost up to 400 million dollars each and are responsible for supplying millions of people with TV programs, radio and data traffic ", says a report in the newspaper "Die Welt" ("The great weakness of global communication", published on 25.11.2015).

Alongside underwater fibre-optic cables, Earth satellites form the backbone of international data, voice and image channels. So how productive is the ESA/ SAP "Earth Observation Analysis Service" if a satellite were to fail? "In the event of a satellite failure, an identical satellite can continue to generate data from the same orbit, although the speed of data availability would be reduced," discusses Dr. Carsten Linz, business development officer and global head of the SAP Center for Digital Leadership. In an operational system, Copernicus satellites are operated in pairs in orbit. The main reason, says Carsten Linz, is the greater regional coverage provided by the satellites, also called sentinels. "Data transmission via two Sentinels is not only faster, the two-satellite constellation also serves as redundancy," assures the SAP spokesperson.

The operational yield of the new SAP service would also be given if a sentinel were to fail. There would perhaps be "a time latency of a few hours", whereby the data volumes to be transmitted would be forwarded precisely. In addition, Copernicus data managers would have back-ups from commercial satellite operators ready to cover and compensate for important data streams "for the most part".

However, this is very much dependent on the type and target region of the data, comments Carsten Linz on previous "contributing missions" by satellite operators.

Natural events and new services

Example: Earth tremors in Italy. The outcome of the recent earthquake in Abruzzo is devastating. As recently as August 2016, a tectonic shift had shaken the region around the Gran Sasso massif. In the process, 300 people died. Most of the victims were in the mountain town of Amatrice. One natural event follows the next: at the end of October 2016, there was another tremor in central Italian villages. Around 33,000 people were left homeless.

The last quake was as strong as any since 1980, but earthquake events and natural disasters in Italy are becoming more frequent. - In the meantime, earthquake measurement has become more precise. Earth satellites can compare emitted radar waves. For example, radar measurements registered before and after the quake in Amatrice were superimposed. Significant changes in the height of the earth's crust became apparent.

Earth observations from space combine ever more precisely the changes and seismic indications, both underground and at sea level using active radar waves. This makes it possible to forecast earthquake series.

"The European Sentinel satellites are the most important supplier of Earth observation analysis worldwide," Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director of Earth Observation in elaborates, "although it is complex to turn this data into customer-specific information. "However, the comprehensive hosted interpretation of satellite data is still a major challenge.

Aschbacher: "Ultimately, it's about finding the right users to the relevant data." Currently, only specialists such as geophysicists can interpret satellite images.

Nevertheless, ESA employees also benefit from the new, so-called "in-memory platform" from SAP HANA, in order to be able to read in data from earth observation. The "in-memory platform" not only helps professional earth observation, it should also serve as a service in areas of urban planning, in the assessment of damage buildings, generally sustainable large-scale projects - see also "Disaster Recovery " of sensitive data hoarded over two data centers, see further developments such as "Smart Cities" or "Digital Farming".

Risk and cost minimization

With increasingly precise radar measurements of small changes in altitude, one would not only like to forecast earthquakes. Houses are also very good radar reflectors, Potsdam seismologist Monika Sobiesiak is quoted in Der Spiegel. "That's why people are also trying to use the satellite method to determine damage to buildings."

With continuous Big Data access to historical and real-time satellite data, city planners and investors are now in

The satellite method aims to detect building damage.

able to make better risk assessments and business decisions on the most fundamental issues, such as the laying of new electricity lines or the use of the right fertiliser for agricultural land in mountainous areas.

"Our partnership with ESA paves the way for a new breed of geospatial business applications that can bridge the gap between traditional Earth observation and a digitized business world," said Dr. Carsten Linz, business development officer and global head of the SAP Center for Digital Leadership. "This creates bright future prospects for space-based applications, such as pipeline management."

At the SAP TechEd technology conference in Barcelona, reinsurer Munich Re recently presented how the "Earth Observation Analysis Service" is used in their company to isolate potential future developments of forest fires.

Reinsurance companies rely on clouds

"Every year, nature, people, homes and businesses fall victim to forest fires," explains Andreas Siebert, Head of Geospatial Solutions, Munich Re. "How a fire will develop is difficult to predict, but with this new service from SAP, which harnesses satellite data from ESA, we can more accurately calculate the costs and risks of wildfires, even determine how likely wildfires are to occur and where."

Current damage balance

In this way, Munich Re aims to keep costs low for insured clients. Risk managers are certainly also in favour of this corporate approach. After all, behind astonishing indices and figures there are usually also high property and personal losses. - In the past 20 years (1996 to 2015), extreme natural events such as floods and windstorms have destroyed more than €2.78 trillion in property and killed more than 528,000 people worldwide, according to the Climate Risk Index (KRI).

Unfortunately, natural disasters like the one in Italy come out of nowhere. Such events are difficult to comprehend for those affected and those not affected. At least new solutions such as the "Earth Observation Analysis Service ", per se a cloud technology, help to store important information and to bridge regional data failures.

Incidentally, the "Earth Observation Analysis Service" can be tested free of charge "in a non-commercial environment" until December 31, 2016. More at market.yaas.io/beta