EDI researchers at LACISE STEM Day in Cēsis show what a drone sees and how to forecast solar energy

On 22 October, researchers from the Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (EDI), together with LACISE project partners from the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia and Riga Technical University, held a STEM activity day at the Cēsis Cosmos Discovery Centre. Pupils, families and other visitors could meet researchers, take part in experiments and learn how scientific ideas become technologies that shape our everyday lives.
EDI researchers introduced visitors to Earth observation technologies. In the activity “What Does a Drone See?”, participants learned how hyperspectral cameras help analyse the environment and how different objects look in different parts of the light spectrum. In a second EDI demonstration, visitors explored fisheye sky cameras, cloud segmentation and solar energy forecasting, discovering how artificial intelligence and image analysis help make more efficient use of renewable energy.

A particularly heart-warming moment was the visit of a group of seniors from the nearby Cīrulīši care home. They listened to the researchers with great interest, watched the demonstrations and asked questions about modern technologies, showing that science can captivate at any stage of life.

The researchers also shared their experience of working in the lab and the everyday life of a scientist. It is often exactly these informal conversations that inspire young people to see science as a real and achievable career path.

The LACISE team thanks all visitors for their curiosity and active participation, and the Cēsis Cosmos Discovery Centre for the cooperation in promoting STEM.

LACISE project is supported by the Swiss Contribution to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU. It is carried out within the Swiss-Latvian Cooperation Programme ‘Partnership in Applied Research,’ under Grant Agreement No. LZP/LV CH-RESEARCH/PC2, implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Latvian Council of Science. The total funding of the programme is 12,352,941 EUR, of which Swiss co financing is 85% or 10,500,000 EUR and Latvian state budget co financing is 15% or 1,852,941 EUR.

The LACISE project in the areas of ICT and Smart Energy is implemented by the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia (Latvia) in cooperation with the Institute of Electronics and Computer Science (Latvia), Riga Technical University (Latvia), Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland), and Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (Switzerland).