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LONDON, Feb. 22, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB)
(TSX: GIB.A) was awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA) a
contract to develop a new wildfire mapping service that combines
recent advances in Earth Observation (EO), Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to help better map and
monitor the impact of wildfires.
CGI and its project partner, the University of Leicester, is
working with nationally mandated user organisations from
Australia (Geoscience Australia)
and France (ONF France) to
implement and demonstrate EO services based on their requirements
for improved wildfire risk management. The consortium will evaluate
a variety of AI algorithms that could help meet these requirements.
It is expected that combining the machine learning capabilities of
these AI algorithms with the increased availability of frequent,
high quality satellite observations will allow better burnt area
mapping products to be generated where and when users want
them.
The resulting AI-enabled wildfire mapping service will be made
available to Geoscience Australia and ONF France, as well as the
wider environmental community, through the EO4SD Lab portal. This
online data portal, which has been developed by CGI for ESA,
utilises cloud computing to provide free access to a range of EO
data, tools and services to the sustainable development and wider
environmental community.
The recent extensive fire disasters in the USA, Southern
Europe and Australia have
shown both the environmental and human cost of wildfires. Climate
change is contributing to more frequent wildfires, with
studies finding a 19% increase in global mean fire weather
season length between 1979 to 2013. Better monitoring and analysing
of burnt areas is important to improve land management and help
mitigate the impact.
Tara McGeehan, President at CGI
in UK & Australia said: "We
are excited to be part of this cutting edge project that brings to
bear the potential of AI to help the scientific and environmental
community to better understand the extent and impact of damaging
wildfires throughout the world. Our ongoing partnership with ESA
for EO and Thematic Exploitation Platforms is enabling rapid
progress in monitoring the Earth's environment to support
scientific research and government policy."
Kevin Tansey, Professor of Remote
Sensing and Principal Investigator at the University of Leicester
said: "After 20 years of research into the use of satellite data to
measure burned area and severity from local to global scales, the
opportunity to work with CGI and agency partners to develop new
wildfire services is very exciting. I am further delighted that
this project will be one of the first to be delivered out
of Space Park Leicester, our
new state-of-the-art, high-tech facility for research, development
and manufacturing.".
CGI has been delivering complex, mission-critical
space software systems for clients across Europe, Australia, Asia and North
America for over 40 years, supporting satellite navigation,
communications and operations, to space enabled applications. CGI's
partner, the University of Leicester, have a wealth of experience
within EO domain and are one of the leading academic institutions
with the UK. CGI is a partner in the Manufacturing,
Engineering, Technology and Earth Observation Centre (METEOR) at
Space Park Leicester.
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest
independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world.
With 76,000 consultants and other professionals across the globe,
CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from
strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration,
managed IT and business process services and intellectual property
solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship
model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients
digitally transform their organizations and accelerate
results. CGI Fiscal 2020 reported revenue is C$12.16 billion and CGI shares are listed on the
TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/european-space-agency-selects-cgi-to-develop-services-combining-artificial-intelligence-and-earth-observation-for-wildfire-mapping-301232154.html
SOURCE CGI Inc.