Last month I attended the EAASI Summit in Athens as a Young Ambassador. Over the course of the three-day event, I participated in discussions about the future of the aerial surveying industry, connected with professionals from across Europe, and had the opportunity to speak on a panel detailing my journey into the industry.
Young Ambassador Programme
The EAASI Young Ambassador programme was launched earlier this year as an initiative to promote the aerial surveying industry to the next generation. As one of the inaugural ambassadors, I was excited to represent the programme and share my perspectives alongside Charlène, another young ambassador, as part of a panel discussion on the opening day.
During the panel, we shared our personal journeys into the industry, highlighting what excites us about the future of aerial surveying. It was great to see the interest and encouragement from the audience.
Event highlights
The event was a mix of keynote speeches, panel discussions, sponsor presentations, and networking opportunities. It opened with a keynote speech from Alessandro Annoni, President of the International Society for Digital Earth. His talk, ‘Opportunity and innovation in aerial surveying for a connected future’ explored the role of digital transformation and the future of aerial surveying including Alessandro’s vision of an integrated geospatial ecosystem by 2030.
Another highlight was the sponsor presentations across the 2 days. These presentations focussed on showcasing applications of aerial data to solve real-world problems rather than purely technical talks. These three stood out to me:
1. Esri
Arkadiusz Szadkowski and Konstantin Hoppe presented ‘Reality mapping – the gateway for imagery-based content delivered to GIS users’. One example was the application of 5cm data captured by Flycom Technologies for the Surveying and Mapping Authority, Slovenia. This data was used to create a dynamic flood analysis showcasing the benefits of aerial data for reality mapping of real-world situations.
2. Teledyne
This talk titled ‘Topo bathymetry in Action: An Intriguing Project by Field and an overview of the BRAND-NEW Fathom Topo Bathy Lidar Solution’ focussed on mapping the coastal zone of Northern Ireland. It was interesting to hear about an application of Lidar data that I had not previously come across and to learn about the unique challenges faced with capturing bathymetric data.
3. Phase One
‘A sustainable solution for detecting forest tree diseases’ was particularly interesting as it directly relates to my role as product specialist at Bluesky. It was great to see how other organisations elsewhere in Europe are focussing on trees and tree health.
Another memorable moment was the announcement of the Outstanding Thesis Award, a new initiative from EAASI recognising innovative academic contributions to the industry. The winner was Quddus Busari whose Master’s thesis is titled “Building and Validating AI Machine Learning Algorithms for Tree Structure Characterisation from High-Resolution Aerial Images and LiDAR Data”. Having briefly worked with Quddus at Bluesky last year, it was great to see him recognised for his work.
Collaborative discussions
On day two of the summit there was an opportunity for collaborative discussions about the next steps for the EAASI committees including the university committee, new business committee, ATC committee and standardisations committee. Charlène and I joined the discussions for the university committee to brainstorm how we can expand the reach of the Young Ambassador’s programme. We’re both passionate about creating opportunities for more young professionals to discover this industry. It was fantastic to see other attendees interested in engaging with the next generation and sharing ideas on how to do this.
Another opportunity for collaboration was a panel discussion on value generation, which brought together four industry experts. It was great to hear their perspectives on the future of the industry and ideas for driving value creation. A key takeaway for me was the focus on the importance in adding value to data captured by providing insights and solutions rather than simply providing raw data. The shift towards value-added services is essential for addressing real-world problems effectively.
Personal reflections
As someone relatively new to the industry, the event was an incredible learning opportunity. I gained valuable insights into the differences between the UK market and the European market. The technical presentations introduced me to new sensors I wasn’t aware of such as bathymetric Lidar and developments in technology such as hybrid sensors.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the event was the chance to meet and connect with people during the sessions and social events – including networking whilst walking around the Acropolis in Athens! The chance to exchange ideas and have discussions with multiple people from diverse backgrounds added to my understanding of the industry across Europe.
Being a part of the EAASI Summit as a Young Ambassador was a rewarding experience where I gained a deeper understanding of the aerial surveying industry. It was great to see sustainability, technological innovation and collaboration standing out as key themes of the event. I look forward to continuing to work with Charlène and members of the university committee to spread the word about the aerial surveying industry to more young professionals!
