[SatNews] The ESA App Camp is inviting developers to Barcelona from February 25 to March 3, 2015, for an event set to culminate in an awards ceremony at the Mobile World Congress—the participants will be selected at six simultaneous Appathons across Europe from January 24 through 25, 2015.
From space, our planet's atmosphere, land, and water can be monitored for multiple application fields. This is where the ESA App Camp comes in: The App Camp challenges developers to create innovative applications that will make Earth Observation (EO) data accessible to a broad audience and create value in the process. Participants in Barcelona will have access to the SAP HANA Cloud Platform that enables developers to build, extend, and run applications on SAP HANA in the cloud. With its unmatched capability to process big data in high speed and its built-in geospatial functionality, it is the natural choice for running EO applications. Experience in integrating such data or using the SAP HANA Cloud Platform is not required to participate in the preceding Appathons.
Step one—Join Appathons across Europe
Anyone who is up for the challenge and wants to win an invitation to the ESA App Camp Barcelona is welcome to attend one of the six Appathons. These events, which will be held at ESA Business Incubation Centers (ESA BICs) and partner locations, will offer developers the chance to meet with like-minded people and tackle some of the world's greatest challenges. In short workshops, participants will gain insights into the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, the Earth observation program Copernicus, and a dedicated map API. They will also have the opportunity to obtain business support from the ESA BICs and the SAP Startup Focus Program.
Meanwhile, five challenges will inspire the participants to create the solutions of tomorrow. They will be organised into teams tasked with devising innovative application ideas and viable business cases in one of the following topic areas: Big Geo Data, Crowdsourcing Solutions, Environmental Protection, Food Security, or the Internet of Things. A welcome package, food, and beverages will be provided. From students and professionals to company founders and freelancers, people of all skill levels are invited to participate. All developers need to bring along is a laptop and their next big idea. The Appathons are free to attend, but participants must register on a first come, first served basis at https://www.app-camp.eu.
Step two—Work hard and impress the jury
After spending two days on development, each team will pitch its own innovative concept to a jury of experts. The winning team of each Appathon will then be invited to the ESA App Camp Barcelona (with all costs covered) to compete for the grand prize, which will be awarded at the Mobile World Congress 2015.
Step three – Get invited to the ESA App Camp Barcelona
In vying against one another for five days in the Catalan capital, the Appathon-winning teams are sure to have plenty of fun while learning a lot. Two cash prizes worth 5,000 euros each are waiting to be presented directly at the Mobile World Congress, which all ESA App Camp participants will receive tickets to attend.
The Appathons are being hosted by the excellent partners from the ESA Space Solutions network. The ESA App Camp Barcelona is being organised by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) on behalf of the European Space Agency and sponsored by SAP University Alliances.
