Space lawyer Ioana Bratu from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam receives funding of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) for the research project EO-TRUST: Towards Open, Robust, and Trustworthy AI-enabled Infrastructure for Sovereign Earth Observations.
Together with academics from VU Amsterdam, the University of Twente, and societal partners, the 1 million Euro project will develop a secure, reliable, and independent European infrastructure for earth observation."
Earth observation data plays an increasingly important role in major societal challenges, such as climate monitoring, disaster response, and national security. At the same time, dependence on digital infrastructures outside Europe is growing. EO-TRUST aims to ensure that the Netherlands and the European Union can continue to use satellite information securely even in the event of disruptions.
More reliable, transparent, and explainable satellite data
As part of the project, the academics are developing new AI methods that make satellite data more reliable, transparent, and explainable, even when the available information is uncertain or incomplete. In addition, legal and ethical safeguards are incorporated into the technology’s design from the outset. In this way, the research contributes to the responsible use of artificial intelligence and more well-founded decision-making by governments and other organizations.
As Principal Investigator Ioana Bratu leads the consortium and coordinates its interdisciplinary research across artificial intelligence, Earth Observation, infrastructure resilience, law, and ethics. She also leads the integration of legal and ethical requirements throughout the project, ensuring that the technical solutions are developed in line with European rules and societal values
Academics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Faculty of Law and Faculty of Sciences) (Arno Lodder, Shujian Yu, Balakrishnan Chandrasekaran, and Mark Hoogendoorn) and the University of Twente (F.D.V. Dadrass Javan, and M.K. Kuffer) are working on the project, together with partners from the private and public sectors, including Caeli BV, the Ministry of Defense, the Space Court Foundation, and Black Holes B.V.
NWO-KIC call “Robust and Resilient Space Infrastructure for a Safe Netherlands”
EO-TRUST is one of four projects funded under the NWO-KICcall “Robust and Resilient Space Infrastructure for a Safe Netherlands.” NWO is providing a total of over 5.3 million euros to these four consortia, supplemented by 1.5 million euros in co-funding from companies and other organizations.
Through the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC) programs, NWO invests in research that develops solutions to societal challenges. A key feature of these programs is the collaboration between research institutions, government agencies, and companies, enabling scientific knowledge to be translated more quickly into innovations with societal and economic impact.