Introduction
EO-based open landscape trafficability monitoring is vital for national security applications, helping to enhance operational planning, ensure efficient resource allocation, support emergency and disaster response, improve coordination with military operations, and help protect critical infrastructure. In addition, trafficability maps contribute to national emergency preparedness by identifying potential bottlenecks and vulnerabilities in the transportation network and enable authorities to develop contingency plans for maintaining mobility and access during crises.
Furthermore, trafficability maps are also a key component of precision agriculture. They provide detailed, field-specific information that helps farmers make data-driven decisions about where and when to apply inputs such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides. This precision leads to more efficient use of resources, reducing waste and environmental impact. Trafficability monitoring helps farmers understand soil conditions, particularly soil moisture levels, which impact the ability of agricultural machinery to operate effectively without getting stuck or causing soil compaction. This knowledge enables better planning and timing of field operations, such as planting, harvesting, and fertilizing, leading to more efficient use of machinery. By avoiding operations on overly wet or dry soils, farmers can prevent soil compaction, which degrades soil structure and reduces its ability to hold water and nutrients. Maintaining optimal soil conditions helps preserve soil health, enhancing long-term productivity and sustainability. Timely field operations are critical for maximizing crop yields.
Trafficability maps also allow farmers to schedule activities when soil conditions are favorable, ensuring that crops are planted and harvested at the best times, which can lead to better growth and higher yields. In addition, the information also helps in adopting conservation tillage practices by indicating areas where reduced tillage is feasible, thereby minimizing soil erosion and promoting carbon sequestration.
The project is funded by the European Space Agency.
Project’s goals
1. Evaluate the feasibility of detecting open landscape trafficability for machinery using soil moisture from satellite data and ancillary information.
2. Develop pre-processing chain for active and passive remote sensing sensors and ancillary data such as cumulative precipitation, cumulative sum of temperature, soil type, slope of the terrain, wide water bodies.
3. Develop AI-based models for landscape trafficability estimation.
4. Establish a daily trafficability service with OGC standard interface.
Project timeline
For more information, contact catherine.odera@kappazeta.ee.