In the context of climate change, major cities are increasingly facing new and unforeseen challenges. Rising summer temperatures pose serious public health risks, particularly for young children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-existing conditions.
Deploying large numbers of sensors is essential to identify areas most affected by overheating, monitor real-time changes, and better understand how urban form, materials, vegetation, and local climate interact. This knowledge enables the development of practical strategies and tools to design cities that are more resilient, inclusive, and livable in the face of climate challenges.
Space Communications Supporting Sustainable Urban Planning
In France, the Centre-Val de Loire Region and Orléans Métropole are pioneering the use of space communications to support sustainable urban planning on Earth.
TERNWAVES is proud to contribute by providing direct sensor-to-satellite connectivity through its unique Golden Modulation™ technology for 3ZA ENGINEERING’s connected temperature sensors, while leveraging Eutelsat’s satellite infrastructure.
An Innovative Experiment During the Summer Heatwave
This summer, 3ZA, in partnership with the CEDETE laboratory at the University of Orléans, carried out an innovative experiment as part of the research project “CHOISIR“, funded by the Centre-Val de Loire Region and Orléans Métropole.
Around fifty environmental sensors developed by TERNWAVES were deployed in schoolyards and other strategic locations across Orléans to analyze urban heat islands — a key issue in adapting cities to climate change.
This experiment marks a world first: the massive deployment of TERNWAVES’ Golden Modulation™ radio communication technology for environmental monitoring applications.
Integrated directly into the sensors, this breakthrough innovation enabled reliable, high-performance data transmission, even in complex urban environments and in areas without terrestrial network coverage.
Eutelsat provided a low-Earth orbit telecommunications satellite, ELO-2, made available on an experimental basis within the framework of the TEMIS project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). Throughout the summer period, ELO-2 collected real-time data transmitted by the sensors.
Towards Greener and Smarter Cities
The results of this experiment will contribute to the research conducted under the “CHOISIR” project and will help Orléans Métropole develop concrete strategies to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands.
This world first also paves the way for new applications of Golden Modulation™ technology in the Direct-to-Device Satellite (D2DS) communications, enabling large-scale environmental and urban projects.
About 3ZA
3ZA is an engineering and consulting company specializing in innovative connected solutions — from sensor design to qualified data delivery — serving sectors such as defense, safety and risk prevention, Industry 4.0, smart cities, and the environment.
About CEDETE
The CEDETE laboratory (Centre for the Study of Territorial and Environmental Development) at the University of Orléans conducts multidisciplinary research on territorial and environmental dynamics.
