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European Space Agency

Press Release

Space technology for Alpine activities
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22 October 2002

Locating cracks in tunnel walls, monitoring landslides and providing
high-insulation clothing are just some examples benefiting from space
technology. Many such innovative applications will be discussed by ESA 
and European companies at the workshop 'How space technology can
provide effective solutions for challenges in mountains' in Innsbruck, 
Austria, 28-29 October. 

The Roboclimber, a tele-operated climbing robot for remote
investigation of slope and landslide stability could be particularly
relevant for mountaineers. It can automatically perform geological
surveys by drilling holes 15-20 metres deep, a common practice to
verify and consolidate the stability of rocky walls and slopes. It can 
even work at heights of 80 metres and inclination of 60°-80°. The
application uses know-how gained from ESA missions in the fields of
robotics and satellite attitude control. Roboclimber is not only
faster than conventional manual inspection but more importantly, it
can be sent into unsafe and harsh environments. 

The ground penetrating radar system originally developed by ESA for
planetary rover application on the Moon, has been adapted to assess
the rock mass integrity behind walls such as in mountain tunnels and
in mine shafts. The technology to penetrate ground and produce images
of hidden structures, can locate fine cracks which could lead to
tunnel collapse. Currently the integrity of tunnels and mines have
been verified by visual surface inspection and rely on human
experience and intuition. This new technology can "see" through walls
and roofs to identify cracks from a few millimetres to a depth of more 
than one metre below the surface. In Canada, the Harsh Environments 
Initiative has obtained very successful results as part of the ESA 
Technology Transfer Programme. 

"More than 150 successful transfers of space technology are already
solving problems in non-space fields, and we have a portfolio of
another 450 ready for transfer and licensing," says Dr Pierre Brisson, 
Head of ESA's Technology Transfer and Promotion Office. "We want to 
create a tighter link to industry and to work with them to find 
innovative solutions to their problems profiting from already
available space technologies." 

The workshop is organised by ESA's Technology Transfer and Promotion
Office with the Austrian Space Agency and ENVEO, an Austrian company
in Innsbruck. It is intended to be a creative session between ESA and
industry to identify areas where space technology could provide
effective solutions to challenges faced in Alpine and other mountain
regions. 

Industrial companies and organisations involved in systems for
mountain activity are invited to participate. Firms from Canada,
Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Italy and the
Netherlands have already confirmed their attendance. Suggested topics
include:

    * safety and security for search and rescue operations,
      navigation, avalanche and mudslide warning and prevention.
      Safety in tunnels, on roads and of cable cars 
    * leisure and tourism including necessity for warmth and
      insulation, communication and navigation. Alpine sport safety:
      skiing, rock climbing, hand gliding and trekking 
    * water resources covering water supply, storage and management
      and water quality
    * new materials related to Alpine safety, adventure and extreme
      sports equipment
    * ecology covering animal tracking, forest monitoring and flora
      production

The target of the workshop is to identify a number of new projects
related to Alpine activities and to establish potential partnerships.
Projects initiated as a result of the workshop may be funded from a
variety of sources including ESA's technology transfer programme.

Refer to the ENVEO homepage http://www.enveo.at/workshop for more
information or contact: 

Helmut Rott, Thomas Nagler 
ENVEO 
Exlgasse 39/31, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria 
Tel / Fax: +43 (0)512 937375 
Mobile: +43 (0)676 9361565 
email: office{at}enveo.at 

David Raitt 
Technology Transfer and Promotion Office 
European Space Agency - ESTEC 
Keplerlaan 1, PO Box 299, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands 
email: david.raitt{at}esa.int

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