Let’s Earth and Right Rider headed to ESA BIC Prague

•   the AMMA application from Let’s Earth advises property owners on how to effectively use renewable sources of energy

•   Right Rider’s NaviRider application offers motorcyclists navigation, connection with other users and tips on interesting routes and safer riding

•   approximately two-year incubation: technical support and development of business activities, financial support of up to EUR 50,000

The European Space Agency has selected two more start-ups, which will be incubated over the next two years at the ESA Business Incubation Centre in Prague (ESA BIC Prague). The companies Let’s Earth and Right Rider will thus join the first sextet of start-ups selected at the end of last year. CzechInvest, the operator of the ESA BIC Prague programme, officially introduced the companies today at Palác Žofín on the occasion of the annual announcement of the results of the Investor and Business Property of the Year competition.

“In the incubator, the firms will get access to European Space Agency resources – satellite and terrestrial data, technologies and so on. However, support is mainly focused on helping them to succeed with their products on the market, thus on marketing, sales and support for entry into foreign markets, as well as contact with business partners and investors,” says Karel Kučera, CEO of CzechInvest. “Financial support is worth up to EUR 50,000, though the most valuable aspect is the ESA brand and resources.”

By means of its AMMA application, Let’s Earth offers property owners, whether individuals, firms or government institutions,  a tool for evaluating the potential of a given property to generate energy from renewable sources using remote Earth observation data in combination with effective purchasing of the relevant equipment. The application provides property owners with personalised recommendations on the economically most advantageous possibilities of saving and, based on the cost-effectiveness-return ratio, it recommends the most suitable equipment for generating energy and water from renewable sources. [TR NOTE: generující energie a vodu z obnovitelných zdrojů. GENERATING WATER? SHOULD THIS RATHER BE “CISTICI VODU”, THUS “GENERATING ENERGY AND TREATING WATER?]

Right Rider’s NaviRider application (www.navirider.com) for motorcyclists has a social dimension in addition to the standard navigation functionality. The application puts users in contact with each other and allows them to share interesting routes and destinations. Based on riding analyses, NaviRider recommends safer riding behaviour and warns against potential risks. In future, the company wants the application to be able to help in the event of an accident by, for example, sending a notification on the location and time of an accident to friends or relatives of the rider and triggering a distress call. Users have been testing the beta version of the application since February this year.

At ESA BIC Prague (www.esa-bic.cz), the selected start-ups can receive financial support of up EUR 50,000 for completing their products and introducing them to the market. Besides the European Space Agency, the programme is also financially underpinned by the City of Prague; in total, nearly CZK 45 million has been allocated for the programme. In the incubator, which is located at Palác Adria in Prague, the start-ups will have access to consulting and advisory services of a technological and business nature, marketing support and contacts to potential partners and investors. ESA BIC Prague intends to support up to 25 selected start-ups over the course of five years. Project resources and facilities are provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with CzechInvest. The Ministry of Transport and Komerční banka are also partners of ESA BIC Prague. Six firms - Festka, NG Aviation, Triphood, TuddyTuddy, Big Terra and InsightART – have been undergoing incubation at ESA BIC Prague since December 2016.