- July 8, 2007
- Posted by: EARSC
- Category: Members News
The Remote Sensing Applications Center (ReSAC) was established with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN in 1998 through the project TCP/BUL/8922. Till the end of 2004 ReSAC was a structure of Bulgarian Aerospace Agency ?± BASA, after that proceeded as a specialize Center to the Agency for Sustainable Development and Eurointegration ?± ASDE. At the end of 2005 ReSAC is registered as a separate juridical body, non-profit organization. The main goal of ReSAC is to facilitate local, national and international authorities, as well as private enterprises, to introduce RS&GIS products into agricultural and environmental management, land cover/land use, soil and forest inventory, water resources, environmental hazards, disaster management and urban planning, infrastructure, etc. As a Center for Excellence ReSAC promotes:
- Research & Development, New Technologies, Methodologies, Innovations
- Distribution of EURIMAGE, European Space Imaging, SPOT Image, GEOSYS products and services
- Education and Training
ReSAC offer value added services as:
Distribution of Satellite Data
One of the main services provided by ReSAC is the distribution of various types of satellite images. ReSAC is a distributor of almost all of the available European satellite data providers. ReSAC has Distribution Agreements with European Space Imaging, Inc. for distribution of Ikonos, IRS; EURIMAGE S.p.A for distribution of QuickBird, Landsat, ERS 1-2 SAR, ENVISAT ASAR, ASTER, JERS 1, NOAA; Spot Image S.A. for distribution of Spot and FORMOSAT imagies
Image Processing
ReSAC is the leading organisation in Bulgaria in the area of satellite and aerophoto image processing. Processing techniques which are applied to satellite images or aerophotos include processes as image compression, image restoration, image enhancement, preprocessing, quantization, spatial filtering, 3D modeling and other image pattern recognition techniques. ReSAC staff has an experience not only with different techniques but also with variety of satellite image types starting from very high resolution data – QuickBird, Ikonos, through medium resolution – Landsat, Spot to low resolution satellites.
GIS Data Services
ReSAC offers GIS services which cover activities from entry and capture of data, conversion of formats, scanning, digitizing up to specific GIS database creation, analyses and modeling. Data capture could be done from paper or scanned maps with preliminary geocoding of the source, tabular data, auxiliary information etc. The software available at ReSAC disposal could work with various formats as well as to export the results in formats required by the customer. ReSAC has hardware for large format scanning and digitizing – on tablet or on-screen. The produced vector/raster files are checked topologically and GIS database could be assembled. If required by the customer ReSAC could perform analyses or run different types of models on the base of the GIS database assembled.
Photogrammetric Services
ReSAC offers different photogrammetric services such as photogrammetric mapping from aerial photography, ground control survey, photogrammetric processing and production of orthophotomaps, digital terrain models, etc.
Fast Track Services
ReSAC offers Fast-Track Services on the emergency response and land monitoring. In demand we could provide on a regular basis land cover/land use data and update of this information at national regional and local level. In case of natural disasters we have the necessary infrastructure and equipment to order satellite data from different sensors, to acquire in-situ and ancillary data, to process the satellite information in due time and to provide up-to-date information, maps and analyses for the affected areas.
Consultancy and Training
ReSAC staff with its long and varied experience in remote sensing and GIS is able to offer it in a variety of consultancy services. We already shared our experience and knowledge to different governmental institutions, local authorities, scientific organisations, universities and private companies. ReSAC maintains a qualified specialists covering a wide range of RS/GIS applications, who benefited between 1998-2006 a training organised by FAO/UN and GTOS/FAO, training sessions in ESA/ESRIN/ESTEC, JRC and on job training in Bulgaria, organized by JRC, FAO, AED SICAD experts. ReSAC staff has certificates for successfully finished training courses in RS/GIS lead by FAO/UN, AED SICAD, JRC, MapMedia, etc. ReSAC organises training courses in RS/GIS for students and decision-makers.
For the 9 years starting from the establishment of ReSAC, it has fulfilled and participated in about 30 projects both local and international. Programs as 7FP, GMES, INSPIRE, LPIS, GAEC, GEOSS are also of ReSAC high priority.
ReSAC is representative for Bulgaria of the AgriQuest Service of GEOSYS which is the service you need to monitor agricultural potential production during the crop growing season through daily satellite information and weather data.
The most important ReSAC projects in the area of Land cover/Land Use, Control of Agrosubsidies with Remote Sensing /CwRS/, Establishment of Land Parcel Identification System /LPIS/, Digital orthoimage preparation /DOP/, Fast Track Survice /FTC/, Voice Technology Development are funded by FAO/UN, DG JRC, EC/FP6 and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Bulgaria.
