News

19 March 2023, 5th VERDE.TEC FORUM 2023 in Athens, Greece

EYDAP R&D invited by Aerata Aerial Assessment Solutions at 5^th Verde.tec Environmental Technologies Exhibition 2023 to present the valuable cooperation between two H2020 projects, INTCATCH and MONOCLE, highlighting the importance of Monitoring water quality via Unmanned Surface (USV) and Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

The top meeting point for environmental technologies, circular economy and smart cities held in Athens from 17 – 19 March 2023 and raised the standards even higher. More than 500 attenders participated, representatives from Municipalities, Regions, Regional Municipal Associations, Development Associations, as well as companies with activities in the following sectors: Environmental restoration – State-of-the-art technologies & Energy savings, Renewable energy sources, Building construction and repairs, Product and material recycling, “Green” Industry, machinery, tools & equipment, Logistics Management Services & Technologies, Motorized vehicles & machinery, Academic Community (NTUA, NKUA) and Research Centers (NCSR Demokritos).

The Case Study in Lake Marathon proved that the real-time airborne and surface drone data are in accordance and can contribute to traditional monitoring programs of inland waters. Researcher Dr. Katsouras represented EYDAP R&D and Aerata B.V. at the Exhibition in Athens, for a step forward to learn and network with other professionals working in environmental protection and urban resilience projects. His presentation gave a glimpse into the progress and the needs arising in this field. During the Workshop, the Unmanned Surface (USV) and Aerial Vehicles (UAV) introduced to more than 100 participants (in person) with an oral presentation entitled "Innovative surface water control technologies as a complementary tool for water quality of Reservoirs” emphasizing on the innovative monitoring of EYDAP’s Lake Marathon Reservoir in 2022. EYDAP SA had the opportunity to introduce AERATA (Directors Mr. Spyros Konstantinopoulos and Panagiotis Hatzikonstantinou) as a valuable partner for a sustainable future for the environment.

AERATA is a leading provider of aerial surveying and digital mapping, assessment and inspection solutions specializing in industries such as the environment, telecommunications, construction, and renewable energy. Using manned and unmanned aircraft, offer a comprehensive range of services to optimize return on investment (ROI) and reduce operating costs. By choosing a combination of optical and thermal imaging, video and artificial intelligence technology, their solutions are the most innovative and efficient way to evaluate, digitize and archive data. AERATA provides reliable services that help professionals and companies to make informed decisions about their activities based on accurate data.

During the Exhibition established a partnership with Nature Conservation Consultants (NCC) Ltd, an ecological consultancy focusing on the conservation of nature and biodiversity. It was founded in July 2010 by a group of experienced scientists specialized in nature conservation. The consultancy is active in a variety of fields related to the study and protection of natural environment, extending from the implementation of conservation actions for the improvement of protected species state within or outside Natura 2000 network sites in the framework of projects such as the European LIFE projects and the implementation of biodiversity monitoring projects in protected areas, to the development of Appropriate Assessments for the environmental licensing of small and major infrastructure, such as the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), and the preparation of management plans for protected areas.

Following the presentation an open discussion took place and all the participants expressed their interest to the innovative MONOCLE and INTCATCH monitoring strategy. The more valuable perspectives that highlighted were:

• they can support monitoring projects of large water bodies
• they offer quick and flexible data collection, which can be easily and safely transferred and saved online
• they can cover a greater part of the area under study in minimum time, compared to standard field data collection methods