April 22-24, 2016, the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, an app-creation competition sponsored by space agencies including NASA and the European Space Agency, took place in 170 cities around the world.
Paola Belingheri, a LUISS PhD candidate in Management currently researching entrepreneurship in patent licensing and tech markets in collaboration with Professor Maria Isabella Leone, was part of the world champion team in the Galactic Impact category.
“I have worked in the aerospace sector and I am part of Women in Aerospace Europe, the association that the American embassy turned to in order to involve more girls in the hackathon,” explains Belingheri. “Among the themes of the contest, we were interested in developing smart cities and environmental impact. During the inaugural pitch we joined forces with a group of engineers from Sapienza and a web designer who cofounded a startup at LUISS EnLabs. After a few hours of brainstorming, we found an idea that responded to the Earth Live challenge, as well as a way to put it in practice and make it a sustainable business.
Alongside six other team members (Martina Di Rita, Marco Di Tullio, Gabriele Mamoli, Fabiana Milza, Andrea Nascetti and Roberta Ravanelli), the LUISS PhD candidate started the IceCREAM group, developing a project to utilize open source satellite data from the European Space Agency to monitor the status of glaciers and provide useful information to tourists. “According to our different skills, we split into two groups: programmers worked on the satellite images to create L.I.V.E Glacier while we worked on the visual aspects and storytelling to explain how glaciers are among the most representative elements of climate change.”
“Analysis of satellite images shows how fast glaciers are moving, allowing us to calculate how quickly they are melting and how much water is being released,” continues Belingheri. “However, our intention was to also use field images to develop even more accurate models. So, we also devised an app called GLANCY that would provide both scientific and touristic information for glacier visitors. In exchange for the service, we would ask tourists to send us their georeferenced photos to make them available for scientific use.”
The idea of combining crowdsourcing principles with the benefits of a glacier tourism guide won over the jury, made up of members of space agencies, the American embassy and incubator financers. “You only have five minutes to present your prototype, and the jury rewards originality. Our success demonstrates that you don’t need a lot of time to work on the idea, and that you can create a doable solution within 48 hours, as the marathon challenged us to do.”
Their victory in Rome advanced the team to the international competition during which they had to do a short presentation on their research and a 30-second video. The jury, including NASA managers, evaluated 125 ideas from around the world and chose IceCREAM as the world champion in the Galactic Impact category. As a prize they won a trip to Cape Canaveral where they will watch a rocket launch and present their idea to NASA.