Image source: ESA
INNOVATION
We consider research as a fundamental activity that allows us to offer cutting-edge solutions. We are actively involved in research projects and our team develops new algorithms in data science, efficient, automated services and modern information products that supports positive environmental change.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Although RSS is a commercial enterprise, research and innovation is a fundamental part of our work. Satellite technology is evolving rapidly and continuously offers new monitoring capabilities. Through our research activities in cooperation with leading research institutions, we are able to offer innovative mapping and monitoring solutions. We have published more than 150 research papers in renowned scientific journals and led numerous studies concerning the latest satellite instruments.
Featured research projects
RESEARCH TOPICS
ALL RESEARCH
News
August 5, 2020
ESA selected RSS’ marine plastic idea on the Open Space Innovation Platform and kicked-off an Early Technology Development project
Last year, ESA asked via the Open Space Innovation Platform for innovative ideas to detect and track marine plastic litter using satellites. Marine litter is one of the most pressing environmental problems and tackling the issue is gaining momentum at all levels, from political bodies to forward-thinking companies. “Following the promising results of previous ESA ...read moreNews
July 22, 2020
New publication on SDG reporting in Remote Sensing of Environment
Wetland extent tools for SDG 6.6.1 reporting from the Satellite-based Wetland Observation Serviceread moreNews
June 5, 2020
Two new publications on food security in Africa
Two new publications on food security in Africaread moreENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
March 31, 2020
New Striga weed mapping mechanism developed for Africa
In collaboration with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Nairobi (Kenya) and within a BIOVISION funded project, RSS has developed a satellite-based mechanism and data set on Striga weed (Striga asiatica) spread in Zimbabwe. The damage caused annually by Striga in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at US$ 1 billion, affecting the ...read moreENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
January 10, 2020
New, spatially transferable method to map drought using remote sensing
A new study published in collaboration with ICIPE this May looks at the effect of agro-ecological landscape fragmentation and its effect on honey bee habitats in Eastern Kenya.read moreResearch
September 22, 2019
Evaluating the impacts of Payment for Ecosystem Services interventions
The IMPACTED project aims to understand how agro-forestry systems capture carbon stocks. Project related agro-forestry sites were established as part of a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) project incentive scheme in the Sofala Province in Mozambique. PES is an asset-building landscape conservation and climate mitigation strategy that is being increasingly seen as a viable land use option in rural Africa.read moreResearch
May 6, 2019
Earth Observation can support public health
Climate change has emerged as a major risk factor for global public health acting on its own or modifying the effect of the wide array of the well-studied immediate and intermediate determinants of health. A DFG-funded Research Unit in Public Health studies how weather variability influences three major climate-sensitive health outcomes: (i) childhood undernutrition, (ii) malaria and (iii) heat stress.read moreResearch
June 6, 2018
GlobeDrought – large-scale identification of drought hazard, vulnerability and risk
Drought events pose a threat to crop productivity, can cause socioeconomic impacts such as decreased farmer income, and may even result in the need for international food aid. GlobeDrought combines spatially explicit, historical information on drought hazard, exposure and vulnerability from meteorological, agricultural, hydrological and socioeconomic sources to provide reliable and comprehensive information on drought risk at a global level.read moreResearch
April 25, 2018
Burned area mapping using Sentinel-1 SAR time series
The ESA Fire CCI project focuses on the development of long time series of burned area constructed from multi sensor satellite data. It is part of the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) of the European Space Agency (ESA). As a project partner, RSS produced the first spatial estimates of burned area for the fire prone year 2015 using on high-resolution Sentinel-1 SAR imagery.read more
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