Local Perth Team makes NASA International Space Apps Challenge Global Final
Created in 2012 to raise awareness of NASA’s trove of open-access data, the International Space Apps Challenge has grown to be the largest global hackathon in the world, with over 28,000 registrants from 162 countries participating in the 2021 event.
Of the 37 Global finalists announced last week, Perth Team, Landslide Detection Squad was named for their work on identifying risk with science and communities. Landslides often interfere with the economic development of rural communities. NASA posed the challenge to develop a tool that uses data from NASA satellites and ground-based sources to determine the risk of landslides in rural communities and share the results with local communities and governments.
Knowing that on forested slopes the tilting of trees and changes in canopy structure can indicate soil and rock movement which can be precursors to critical landslide events, Landslide Detection Squad members including Khan Mohammed Sazzadur Rahman, Rocio Peyronnet, John Duncan and Jared Rolt proposed and prototyped a method that can detect canopy movement on slopes that’s indicative of landslide risk.
By taking advantage of new sensors providing high-resolution images and deep learning technologies for tree movement detection, the proposed solution provides an enhancement to existing landslide risk models and is embedded within a system that generates dynamic risk maps, publishes alerts when situations are critical, ultimately providing additional support to government agencies to plan.
“The NASA International Space Apps Challenge was an amazing experience we were lucky enough to be a part of. We are really thrilled to have been nominated as one of the projects in the global top 37. We’re excited to see how the next stage unfolds. Thank you to the Space Hub Perth team for organizing this.”
Global finalists projects will now be judged by some of the worlds leading space agencies including; the Australian Space Agency, Brazilian Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, National Space Activities Commission of Argentina, National Space Science Agency of Bahrain, Paraguayan Space Agency, and South African National Space Agency.
About the NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2021
Participants worldwide come together in teams during an intense 48-hour hackathon to offer solutions to challenges NASA poses about some of the world’s toughest problems on Earth and in space.
Hosted in Perth by CORE Innovation Hub for the 6th consecutive year, participants have access to a wealth of space agency data but bring their own creativity, technical skills, and teamwork to the mix.