Italian Chapter of EUROGI Awards Geospatial Innovation at ASITA 2024
The Italian Chapter of EUROGI Women in Geospatial marked an important milestone during the ASITA 2024 Conference held in Padua from 9 to 13 December 2024. On Wednesday 11 December, the chapter dedicated a special session to promoting gender balance and innovation in geospatial technologies, culminating in the presentation of the “I Would Like an App for…” award.
Promoting Innovation Through Geospatial Applications
The “Mi piacerebbe un’app per..” (“I Would Like an App for…”) initiative, launched by the Italian Chapter of EUROGI’s Women in Geospatial Focus Group, aims to stimulate the development of innovative applications that leverage geospatial data to improve security, protection, and inclusivity for women. The competition invited participants to design mobile applications capable of addressing real-world challenges using geospatial technologies.
Finalists and Winners
During the special session organized by the Italian Chapter of the Women in Geospatial Focus Group, the finalists presented their projects to a panel of judges. The jury included representatives from the four associations federated in ASITA and the sponsoring companies Almaviva and ArcSystem. The following finalists were selected for the final round:
• Federica Russo – EcoLife
• Francesca Matrone – RESCYOU
• Antonella Ambrosino – Take your Time
• Nadia Poles – Coordinate Donna
• Elisabetta Colucci – Condivisione Invisibile
• Luigina Costante and Annalaura Miglino – TraverlHer
• Nicole Pascucci, Maria Alicandro, and Sara Zollini – SaFem
After the finalists’ presentations, the jury awarded prizes to:
– Francesca Matrone – First Prize
– Antonella Ambrosino – Special Mention
– Elisabetta Colucci – Best Proposal in the “Other” Category
– Federica Russo – Innovation Award
“RESCYOU” – Winner of the First Prize
Developed by Francesca Matrone, a researcher at the Department of Environmental, Territorial, and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI) at the Polytechnic of Turin,“RESCYOU” is a safety app designed for women in indoor environments where GPS-based positioning is not possible, such as subway stations, underground parking lots, and railway stations.
“RESCYOU” proposes the use of alternative positioning technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms trained on RGB-D images, crowdsourced smartphone data, and Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS). This innovative approach allows women in distress to quickly share their location with emergency services, improving response times and enhancing personal safety in complex, closed environments.
Key features include:
• AI-based positioning without relying on GPS.
• One-click activation of emergency services.
• Intuitive and stress-resistant interface designed for use in high-pressure situations.
“RESCYOU” represents a significant step forward in personal safety, offering a reliable solution where traditional positioning systems fall short.
A Day of Collaboration and Exchange
In addition to the award ceremony, the Italian Chapter organized several initiatives to promote the Women in Geospatial Manifesto. A dedicated space in the conference’s agorà allowed participants to add comments and take part in a survey, the results of which will be shared with other European Women in Geospatial chapters.
Short videos featuring female professionals from different geospatial fields were screened throughout the day, offering insights into diverse career paths and encouraging more women to enter the industry.
