ESA Phi-Lab Finland welcomes two new projects to accelerate space-enabled innovation
In late March, the new projects by Yield Systems and KOKO Forest were introduced to ESA Phi-Lab Finland's partners and funders. The event was opened by Aalto University’s Vice President, Janne Laine, underscoring the ESA Phi-Lab's commitment to accelerating space-enabled innovation across key sectors. His remarks were followed by an introduction from ESA commercialisation officer Andrea Troise.
Yield Systems to build global vegetable production intelligence
Video analytics company Yield Systems Ltd is the third company to receive funding from ESA Phi-Lab Finland. The company leads an international consortium to deliver a commercial Earth observation–based analytics service for open-field vegetable production.
The service blends high-accuracy, smartphone-powered video analytics with multi-constellation satellite data to predict yield and quality - anywhere on Earth.
"We've turned a smartphone into an industrial observation tool that measures plants ten times faster than a human. By combining those precise field measurements with satellite data through ESA Phi-Lab Finland, we can deliver real-time intelligence about crop yield and quality anywhere on Earth," says co-founder and Chair of the Board Jussi Gillberg.
"This ESA collaboration allows us to scale from individual fields to a global intelligence system for vegetable production," adds CEO Sami Semenius. "Growers will gain unprecedented visibility into crop yield and quality before harvest."
Fourth project organised by KOKO Forest
The project "Seeing Biodiversity from Space," funded by ESA Phi-Lab Finland, combines remote sensing technology with ecological expertise to improve the measurement and monitoring of biodiversity.
Biodiversity loss is widely recognized as a systemic risk, but reliable data for measuring and managing it is still limited. Existing biodiversity data is often fragmented and difficult to compare across regions. The project addresses this challenge by combining aerial imagery, very-high-resolution satellite data, laser scanning, and field observations using advanced AI and machine learning models.
“By combining high-resolution imagery, lidar data, field observations and advanced machine learning, we can detect biodiversity at a level of detail and scale that has not been possible before,” says Samuli Junttila from KOKO Forest.
The partnership combines complementary expertise: KOKO Forest specialises in remote sensing data processing and machine learning, while Luontoa contributes expertise in biodiversity metrics, regulation and biodiversity market applications.
“We are seeing a clear shift from commitments to measurable outcomes in biodiversity,” says Inka Musta from Luontoa. “This project focuses on building the data foundation that enables that transition. We are also very pleased to have leading partners involved, including major cities in Finland, large forest owners, investors and the global forest certification system FSC, who will pilot the solution across different use cases.”
The result will enable more accurate and scalable biodiversity monitoring than current remote sensing approaches allow. Although developed in Finland, the methodology is designed to be globally scalable.
From incubation to acceleration
Both Yield Systems and KOKO Forest previously participated in the ESA BIC Finland programme, highlighting a strong pipeline from incubation to ESA-backed innovation projects.
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