Assessing the Promise of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites in Accelerating Rural Connectivity and Closing the Digital Divide

High-level policymakers and experts discussed and explored the exciting potential of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in expanding broadband access, encouraging investment in new broadband technologies, and bringing more users online, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines.

Sol Cummings

Sol Cummings is a Computer Vision Developer at PASCO Corporation’s AI Solutions Department, where he develops solutions that utilize satellite and aerial imageries. He specializes in developing AI that detects and classifies areas that have changed between several images, which has been utilized for many projects for municipal governments and private companies. He is the recipient of the Beyond Fellowship in the AI for Earth Observation Lab at Technical University of Munich. Mr. Cummings holds a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in Physical Geography.

Laura Moreno

Laura holds a Master’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Polytechnic University of Catalonia and La Sapienza, Rome. After +15 years in the space market she founded EarthPulse. She is a problem solver by definition and enjoys fusing all kind of data products to fulfill user needs.

Assessing Groundwater Resource Potential Using GRACE Anomalies in Maharashtra, India

ADB's Sanmugam Prathapar shared how the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite offers an alternative to historic piezometric data to guide groundwater management. A case study on Maharashtra, India analyzed state and regional spatial scales, and correlations between rainfall and storage, and groundwater use patterns was presented as well.