Bringing Africa to the desktop: the ARTEMIS Charting Applet

by Fred Snijders
Roberto Giaccio
Jeroen Ticheler
and Yota Nicolarea

The ARTEMIS Charting Applet represents a new way of bringing satellite derived information to the user. Enclosed in a small webpage is a complete charting programme, together with 20-years of satellite derived statistics covering Africa. Using a simple web browser, the data provided, which is derived from the METEOSAT and NOAA satellites, can be visualized in many different charts or graphs, on the desktop computer of the user. The various droughts that have occurred in Africa can be analyzed interactively and very fast as all charts are produced locally, on the computer itself, and not obtained from the web server.

As both data and programme are contained within the webpage, it is possible to use it in combination with new technologies, such as digital radio, to transmit up-to-date information to remote locations in Africa, as currently done by ARTEMIS as part of the RANET initiative. In this way, the capabilities of the local users to better monitor the crop growing conditions and to identify potential drought situations is strengthened, thereby contributing to increased food security.

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