The Center for Satellite based Crisis Information (ZKI) is an institution of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen.

At ZKI Earth Observation data such as satellite or aerial imagery as well as geo data is acquired and analysed in order to generate up-to-date situational awareness information before, during or after a disaster situation or in case of major events. All crisis information is produced according to the ZKI users’ requirements and provided for instance as maps, geo-pdf, web services or text dossiers. Main national and international user groups are political decision makers, situation centers and relief organisations. Many ZKI products are published at the website. In addition, consultancy, technology transfer as well as trainings and exercises are provided. The close interlocking between research, development and service is an enormous strength of the ZKI.

The ZKI cooperates in the national and international context with various partners from research and industry and is closely networked with official partners and non-governmental organisations. It is mainly based on the national framework contract IF-BUND as well as the international services Copernicus EMS and International Charter "Space and Major Disasters".

“Forest Fire 2021” drill and devising new products with the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) 17 May 2021 On May 17, 2021 a joint “Forest Fire 2021” drill took place involving the Schweinfurt Integrated Control Centre of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) and ZKI. Using various real-world response scenarios relating to the “forest fire” issue, staff of the Integrated BRK Control Centre in Schweinfurt underwent training in assessing the need for remote-sensing-based disaster information and subsequent activation procedures. More

Earth observation data for the federal administration 05 May 2021 Earth observation data are used in many areas of public administration - for example in traffic analysis, environmental monitoring or crisis management. The importance of these data is increasing, and at the same time, remote sensing results from space or from the air become more accurate and are available more quickly. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Home Affairs (BMI) has now concluded the IF-Bund framework agreement with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is open to all federal authorities. This enables research results from remote sensing to be identified for use in administration and quickly applied in practice. More

Nationales Forum für Fernerkundung und Copernicus und Digitaler Katastrophenschutzkongress: ZKI participated 19 April 2021 From 23 to 24 March 2021, the "National Forum for Remote Sensing and Copernicus" took place virtually for the first time under the leitmotif "Copernicus: New Dimensions". The ZKI participated with a keynote speech "Remote sensing products as a service for security authorities" together with the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) in the specialist session "Big Brother is watching you? What security authorities can (not) do with remote sensing data". More

Stau am Suezkanal 26. März 2021 Seit Dienstag, dem 23.3.2021, blockiert das 400 Meter lange Containerschiff "Ever Given" den Suezkanal, eine der wichtigsten Wasserstraßen der Welt. Die Schifffahrt auf dem Kanal musste eingestellt werden. Wahrscheinlich wird die Bergung noch länger dauern, was weitreichende Folgen für die Wirtschaft hat. Laut Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie sind bereits internationale Logistik-Turbulenzen zu spüren. Zentrale Lieferketten drohen demnach aufgrund fehlender Container, unpünktlicher Schiffe und fehlender Transportkapazität ins Stocken zu geraten. More

Projektstart: AIFER - Künstliche Intelligenz zur Analyse und Fusion von Erdbeobachtungs- und Internetdaten zur Unterstützung bei der Lageerfassung und -einschätzung (02/2021 - 01/2023) Häufigkeit und Intensität von Naturkatastrophen nehmen stetig zu und stellen Behörden und Organisationen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben (BOS) vor zunehmend größere Herausforderungen in Bezug auf die Verfügbarkeit und Nutzung von echtzeitnahen und großflächigen Informationen zur Erfassung und Bewertung der Lage. Zudem gibt es bisher keine Lösungen, heterogene Massendaten, wie Erdbeobachtungs- und Internetdaten, automatisiert auszuwerten und so zu fusionieren, dass ein gesamtheitliches und dynamisch aktualisiertes Lagebild entsteht. AIFER entwickelt Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI), um Informationen aus Satelliten-, Luftbild und Drohnendaten sowie aus Geo-sozialen Medien und Nachrichten automatisiert zu extrahieren und intelligent zu fusionieren. More