SPIE Unveils Details for Sensing, Security & Defence Symposia

This September, leaders from academia, government, and industry will gather in Berlin, Germany, as SPIE hosts two annual concurrent, co-located events, European Remote Sensing and European Security + Defence. The symposia, held in the city’s ESTREL Congress Center, share a plenary session and industrial exhibition as well as several networking events that will offer attendees dynamic opportunities to mingle and socialize with a diverse technical audience. Together, they highlight the latest in the growing fields of satellite-based imaging systems and the data they generate, as well as optics and photonics technologies for advanced security and defense systems.

A welcome reception on 10 September, invites symposia attendees and participants to a BBQ on the banks of the Spree River; a free industry session on 12 September offers more networking opportunities and valuable technical insight from in-the-field experts on how the latest applications are delivering in the real-world environment; and, later that day, an interactive poster session provides additional time to mingle, enjoy light refreshments, and learn about a comprehensive range of current and ongoing technical projects and programmes.

A joint plenary session will showcase a visionary from the remote-sensing and security and defence communities, pointing to the opportunities and possibilities for collaboration at the dual symposia. Representing the defence community, Jürgen Beyerer of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Optronik, Systemtechnik und Bildauswertung (Germany) will present “Joint Virtual Operational Picture.” This presentation will feature an introduction to the Fraunhofer Institute and show how advanced imaging systems, target detection, and augmented reality can be used on the battlefield to provide a complete real-time picture, and assist in coordination across troops.

Christian Heipke from the Institute of Photogrammetry and GeoInformation at Leibniz Universität Hannover (Germany) will represent the remote-sensing community with his presentation, ”Deep Learning for Remote Sensing Imagery.” This presentation will explain how deep learning is being used in aerial and satellite image analysis, the current limitations of the technology, and the possibilities for future research in the area.

The Symposia: European Remote Sensing
The European Remote Sensing symposium offers scientists, engineers, programme managers, and policy makers access to the latest developments in earth-observing systems, technologies, and the rapidly-growing number of applications covering remote sensing and environmental monitoring. Lidar technologies, GIS applications, sensor systems, CubeSats, ocean monitoring, agriculture applications, image and signal processing, computing and data processing are some of the exciting technologies to be discussed in the conference rooms during the week. Eleven exciting conferences address new findings and research in the following areas:

• Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology
• Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, Coastal Waters, and Large Water Regions
• Sensors, Systems, and Next-generation Satellites
• Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere
• Environmental Effects on Light Propagation and Adaptive Systems
• Active and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring
• Image and Signal Processing for Remote Sensing
• Earth Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing/GIS Applications
• Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing
• High-Performance Computing in Geoscience and Remote Sensing
• Remote Sensing Technologies and Applications in Urban Environments

The Symposia: European Security + Defence
The European Security + Defence symposium offers a focused collection of conferences for engineers, scientists, programme managers and policy makers working in sensing , data and sinal analysis, optronics, quantum science, optical technologies, and funding programmes. Thirteen conferences tracks include two new conferences this year, Unmanned Sensors, and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Micro- and Nanosystems in Security and Defence. Among the other varied conference topics are target detection, infrared systems, high power lasers, terahertz sensors, quantum technologies, and forensics:

• Target and Background Signatures
• Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications
• Electro-Optical Remote Sensing
• Technologies for Optical Countermeasures
• High Power Lasers: Technology and Systems, Platforms, Effects
• Advanced Free-Space Optical Communication Techniques and Applications
• Emerging Technologies
• Millimetre Wave and Terahertz Sensors and Technology
• Optical Materials and Biomaterials in Security and Defence Systems Technology
• Counterterrorism, Crime Fighting, Forensics, and Surveillance
• Quantum Technologies and Quantum Information Science
• NEW! Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Micro- and Nanosystems in Security and Defence
• NEW! Unmanned Sensors

For more information, visit spie.org/ers and spie.org/esd.