by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 29, 2021 | Awards and Competitions
Two teams from the Philippines, GiveSight and World MAQI, are selected by the United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as global finalists for the all-virtual Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon held last June 23-29. With 4,300+ participants from 132 countries and territories, the week-long event featured 233 projects to solve challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the Earth Observing (EO) Dashboard, an interactive data resource giving policymakers and the public a unique tool to probe the impacts of pandemic-related restrictions implemented around the world through the lens of Earth observation satellites.
GiveSight
The Geo-Intelligent Visualization of Earth Systems in Graphical and Historical Timelines (GiveSIGHT) seeks to improve the current EO dashboard by highlighting significant changes of the COVID-19 pandemic through visualizations and guided insight for prospective users. The proposed dashboard is intended to visualize economic proxies through night lights, economic activities, and a lock-down timeline in the Philippines.
The team is led by Gabriel Kristopher “Cricket” Soong, an electrical engineer and emerging technologies consultant, and members include software engineer Mark Barretto and Adamson University computer engineering students Angelica Mhay Salazar, Karl Adrian de Guzman, and Joshua Bungcaras.
Mobility over Air Quality Index
The Mobility over Air Quality Index (MAQI) is derived from the fusion of mobility statistics provided by Google with air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from Earth observations. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially led to decreased mobility and improved air quality, countries around the world have begun to lift their quarantine restrictions, triggering air pollution once again. Through MAQI areas and communities with improved mobility and air quality may be identified and recognized.
The team is composed of space data researchers and hackathon veterans. Data analyst Dominic Vincent “Doc” Ligot and data engineer Mark Neil Pascual led the conceptualization and prototype development, while Michael Lance M. Domagas, a computer science master’s student, reunited with his undergraduate thesis adviser, Arturo “Art” Caronongan III, an assistant professorial lecturer from De La Salle University, to do research and concept validation for MAQI.
Pinoy pride and ingenuity
In 2020, Art Caronongan’s team placed as a global finalist in the NASA Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge for Snail Space, an app giving a “safe space” by providing mental care and comfort during times of social isolation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, Doc’s team developed Advanced Early Dengue Prediction and Exploration Service (Project AEDES) which used Earth observations for data-driven dengue detection and nowcasting, bagging the global award for the best use of data in the prestigious NASA International Space Apps Challenge. Since then, the initiative has garnered more accolades: recognized in 2020 by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) for applying Earth observations towards the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and more recently last May 2021, vetted and approved by the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as a Digital Public Good (DPG), putting the Philippines on the map as a DPG pathfinding pilot country.
A team from CirroLytix Research Services, a Philippine-based startup leading the charge in using big data for social impact founded by Doc, developed Global Impact Detection from Emitted Light, Onset of COVID-19, and Nitrogen Dioxide (GIDEON), a data portal that used satellite data and news feeds to measure economic and social impacts of lockdowns and pandemic interventions. In 2020, GIDEON also won the best use of data global award in the NASA Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge.
Cricket Soong and Mark Pascual are also from CirroLytix, and in late 2020 were Space Apps global nominees for Global Hazard Exposure and Resiliency Trends by Earth observation and Analysis Tools (Global HEARTBEAT), an interactive tool providing geo-located information on natural and human hazards surrounding communities within the Philippines and Canada.
Winners of both space hackathons are invited to visit NASA and partner agencies’ facilities but are responsible for covering their own costs. Although travel has been on hold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, invitations shall resume once travel is deemed safe.
Michael Lance, a lead local organizer of Space Apps, appeals for support in recognizing these global winners and finalists, “Having both led and participated in these hackathons, I can attest to the world-class quality of our local innovators but sadly support for these innovators has been minimal. In the same way, we Filipinos love to cheer our athletes and beauty queens who represent our country, I hope we can find value in supporting our Philippine technologists, who also bring our country pride through their innovation.”
EO dashboard hackathon winners shall be announced in early August 2021.
About EO dashboard hackathon
From June 23- 29, coders, scientists, entrepreneurs, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, technologists, and space enthusiasts from around the world joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the all-virtual, global Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon.
During this week-long event, participants will create virtual teams and solve one of 10 challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the Earth Observing Dashboard (the “EO Dashboard” for short). The EO Dashboard is an interactive data resource that gives the public and policymakers a unique tool to probe the short-term and long-term impacts of pandemic-related restrictions implemented around the world through the lens of Earth observation satellites.
During the hackathon, participants will have the opportunity to form virtual teams, interact with experts from NASA, ESA, and JAXA in our chat channels, and submit projects. The winning teams will have the opportunity to incorporate their solutions into the EO Dashboard – making a lasting impact on its long-term legacy!
The EO Dashboard Hackathon celebrates the one-year anniversary of the EO Dashboard’s launch and builds on the success of the Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge.
About CirroLytix
CirroLytix Research Services is a social impact data analytics company. Its mission is to help governments, non-profits, researchers, international and local organizations succeed at addressing collective social problems around the world by harnessing the full power of their data. CirroLytix strives to enable social impact professionals and entities to make a positive data-driven change in the lives they seek to uplift.
About Dominic Vincent “Doc” Ligot
Dominic Vincent “Doc” Ligot is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of CirroLytix Research Services. A former bank risk manager and technology executive turned data scientist and researcher, Ligot has made it his life’s mission to push data-driven innovation for the Philippines and apply data to social development areas such as public health, human rights, education, and fighting disinformation.
A co-founder of the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP), and co-developer and active faculty of the Master in Applied Business Analytics (MABA) program of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), Doc envisages the Philippines as a global talent pool for data science and artificial intelligence. According to him, “What we’ve always tried to do, ever since we started our work at CirroLytix, is show that social problems are data problems, and our local talent is up to the task in solving these data problems. Data science and AI are great equalizers, and the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is the glaring opportunity for the Philippines to flex its muscles in STEM and we should make a massive effort to push data education and literacy for all.”
Doc is also a key resource of Smarter Philippines through Analytics R&D Training and Adoption (Project SPARTA), a nationwide initiative to train 30,000 Filipinos in Data Science and Analytics funded by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCIEERD), and implemented by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), the Analytics Association of the Philippines (AAP), and Coursebank with key partnerships in the national government and local government units.
About Michael Lance M. Domagas
Michael Lance Domagas
He is a freelance software developer, digital marketer, events host, and community leader, organizing events and activities supporting the technology and developer community in the Philippines. He is the lead organizer of NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge and a participant in the EO dashboard hackathon.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 28, 2021 | Art and Science
Encounters with family and friends, peppered with lovely conversations about everything and nothing, are some of the things we sorely miss in our isolation due to the pandemic. Now that restrictions are beginning to loosen up, and everyone is in the mood to catch up and be in the company of good friends, it would be nice to go back to the old rituals of casual get-togethers where engaging conversations can last up to the wee hours of the night.
Evocative paintings, rare furniture, and art pieces at Casa de Memoria’s Tercero auction make great conversation starters
There is no reason to run out of things to talk about, especially if your home is decorated with art pieces that are sure to catch the eye of raconteurs and amateur critics. At Casa de Memoria’s Tercero auction, ongoing until July 31, bidders can look forward to an amazing selection of paintings, iconic furniture, and art pieces that can serve as conversation starters to get everyone in a jovial mood.
The Lhuillier-managed auction house has once again outdone itself in putting together an exquisite showcase of decorative vintage items that can spark riveting stories and serve their purpose of elevating the overall décor and ambiance of one’s home.
Paintings
Lithography by the renowned artist Fernando Zobel
Untitled hyperrealist empty rocks glass oil painting by Portuguese artist Teresa Dias Coelho
For instance, the untitled hyperrealist oil painting on canvas depicting an empty rocks glass by Portuguese artist Teresa Dias Coelho (Lot 90, starting price ₱80,000) can trigger the discussion: what could have inspired this artist to spend hours recreating an empty glass against a monochrome yellow background? The piece simply screams emptiness and nostalgia – two interesting subjects guests can endlessly discuss.
Another interesting artwork that can spark a lively interaction is a similarly untitled artwork, this time lithography by the renowned artist Fernando Zobel (Lot 52, ₱40,000).
A 20th-century oil-on-canvas depiction of floating lemons by the sea titled “Bodegón Onírico Junto al Mar” by Spanish painter Martin Zerolo
A surrealist still life of lemons floating in mid-air by the sea is likewise an unlikely subject that’s depicted in “Bodegón Onírico Junto al Mar,” a 20th century oil-on-canvas piece by Spanish painter Martin Zerolo (1928-2003).
Furniture
A 19th-century Portuguese mahogany fauteuil in Louis XV style upholstered by stylist Monchet Olives
An early 20th-century Spanish barber’s armchair by Daniel Acha
A mid-20th century European pop “lips” style chair
From paintings, the conversation can easily move on to interesting furniture pieces. And what could be more interesting than a bloody-red lip-shaped chair? Tercero’s mid-20th century European pop “lips” style chair (Lot 61, ₱15,000) is most likely inspired by the inimitable Salvador Dali’s sensational 1938 “Mae West Lips Sofa” and will certainly make guests wonder whether one could/should actually sit on such a fascinating piece of furniture.
The stories can take a “kwentong barbero” turn with a fascinating pair of early 20th century Spanish barber’s armchairs by Daniel Acha (Lot 1, ₱160,000) which feature reclining seats made of cast iron, wood, and white porcelain, with soliya seats and backrests.
Meanwhile, a piece of furniture that guests can ‘critique’ while reposing, perhaps with a drink in hand, is the stylish pair of 19th-century Portuguese mahogany fauteuils in Louis XV style(Lot 63, ₱40,000) upholstered with toile settees by stylist Monchet Olives. This is surely an inviting space for you and your friends to settle in and catch up.
Ceramics
A 20th-century Italian gilt-ceramic lamp with Peony Motif refreshed by Michelle Lao of Solano
A 20th-century Italian gilt-ceramic lamp with Oriental Male Figure refreshed by Michelle Lao of Solano
A late 20th-century Portuguese porcelain octagonal armorial plates by Vista Alegre Royal Factory
One can literally light up the room with the enchanting 20th-century Italian gilt-ceramic lamps by Artepiu Ceramiche d’Este that have been refreshed by Michelle Lao of Solano, such as “Artepiu Este” Gilt Ceramic Lamps with Peony Motif (Lot 34, ₱25,000) and an Oriental Male Figure (Lot 36, ₱20,000). The magical glow cast by these pieces can make for mesmerizing late-night conversations.
Are your guests fans of antique Chinese porcelains, the reign of emperors, and courtly splendors? A pair of late 20th century Portuguese porcelain octagonal armorial plates (Lot 79, ₱40,000) by Vista Alegre Royal Factory will most probably spark their interest. The twin plates, market “Mottahedeh,” depict coats of arms from the Ch’ien Lung period.
There are more fascinating and splendid pieces aside from the above — from chandeliers and porcelains to artworks and antique colorful fabrics — that will be up for auction. The other good news is, if you take home an auction piece from Tercero, you will be supporting a worthwhile cause as Casa de Memoria will donate part of the auction proceeds to a local charitable institution to help those badly affected by the pandemic.
The auction preview is ongoing until July 30, 2021. You may set an appointment to view the items in person at he***@***********ia.com. To explore the auction pieces online, visit bit.ly/CasaDeMemoriaOnline. For more information, visit www.casadememoria.com, call 8253-3994 or e-mail he***@***********ia.com.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 17, 2021 | Health and Wellness
The sweltering summer days are over as the country’s weather bureau declared the start of the wet season. During this season, we need to keep our guards up because many illnesses emerge. These include diarrhea, caused by viral or bacterial infection; waterborne illnesses like typhoid fever, cholera, and leptospirosis; and vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue.
To avoid contracting these diseases, Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) — the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the country — reminds the public to keep hydrated, especially that we are in the middle of a global pandemic.
“It is important that we keep our immune system strong. One of the easiest ways to do this is to stay hydrated,” said PCPPI president and chief executive officer Frederick D. Ong.
To stay fit and protect yourself from diseases, here are some healthy habits you may do.
Eat healthily
What you consume today will have a huge impact on your health in the future. A good eating habit is one of the most basic practices to have a robust immune system.
Making a well-balanced meal is simple – just add more fruits and vegetables, choose whole grain food, switch to low or zero fat options, and cut back on sugar.
Exercise regularly
Exercising remains one of the most effective methods to strengthen your body during the rainy season. You do not have to buy expensive machines or pay for gym subscriptions. You only need at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. To safely exercise at home, you may check various workout videos online. If you opt to do an outdoor walk or run, follow social distancing and other safety protocols.
As part of your workout routine, replenish what you lose in sweat with sports drinks like Gatorade. It contains electrolytes that rehydrate your body to avoid dehydration.
Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep is as important as eating healthy and exercising. A study from the Carnegie Mellon University found that people with poor, short sleep have a greater chance of getting sick.
Quality sleep helps uplift your immune system. To get quality sleep, reduce your blue light exposure at night, avoid caffeinated drinks before bedtime, and reduce daytime naps, among others.
Hydrate
Proper hydration is vital in having a strong immune system. It detoxifies and flushes out waste materials from your body. It also helps transport nutrients to our organ systems.
Taking in safe water is a must to avoid infection from water-borne diseases. To have clean drinking water, you need to boil water for at least three minutes or do water chlorination. Or you can drink purified bottled water, like Aquafina and Premiere.
If you’re moving all day and feel sluggish or tired, that’s because you lose more than just water when you sweat. You lose fluids and electrolytes. With this, it’s important for us to stay healthy and hydrated with an Electrolyte Drink like Gatorade Ion.
“Even during the rainy season, we need to hydrate to arm our body from diseases and keep our immunity in top shape. Over the years, PCPPI has been helping Filipinos achieve that with our hydration drinks,” Ong said.
PCPPI is the exclusive manufacturer of well-known beverage brands in the Philippines: Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Tropicana, Lipton, Sting, Premier, Milkis, and Aquafina.
About Pepsi Philippines
Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) is the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the Philippines, with a relationship spanning 70 years. PCPPI’s principal stockholders are Lotte Corporation, Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co. Ltd., and Quaker Global Investments B.V. PCPPI manufactures and sells well-known beverage brands: Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Tropicana, Lipton, Sting, Premier, Milkis, and Aquafina. It has established 14 operations across the country, serving more than 700,000 outlets and providing employment through its extensive distribution network. PCPPI is committed to creating a positive impact on society with programs focused on environmental sustainability, nutrition, education, and livelihood. For more information, visit www.pepsiphilippines.com.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 10, 2021 | Real Estate
Brentville International Community recently celebrated another milestone with the groundbreaking of the second phase of its newest cluster, The Arborage. Developed by Prestige by Filinvest, Brentville International Community is a premium residential enclave that consists of different clusters and diverse living options. Highly accessible from the Mamplasan Exit in Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX), this village offers unique community living like no other with its generous open spaces and well-curated amenities benefitting your family’s lifestyle- all while being secured and safe.
With this recent milestone, Brentville International Community further establishes its commitment to providing its residents and future residents thoughtful Southern living. Gracing the ceremony were Filinvest executives and partners. (L-R) Master planner H1 Architecture principals Arch. Raymond Hernandez and Arch. Juan Seriña, Filinvest Alabang, Inc. (FAI) First Vice President and Prestige Brand Head Mr. Eduardo Gonzalez, Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC) Vice President, Mr. Michael Edward Gotianun, FAI President and COO Ms. Catherine Ilagan, Contractor REBCOR President Rafael Estanislao, and Construction Manager JERCC Managing Director Jaime Florido.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 9, 2021 | Business
To rebuild public trust and attract hotel guests worried about hygiene, social distancing, and safety at the top of their concerns, Hotel Sogo pioneered anti-covid technologies based on research and benchmarking from best practices around the world.
The worldwide pandemic the country is continuously experiencing resulted in millions of lives lost and massive unemployment. The crisis has likewise destroyed the public’s trust whenever their health safety is at stake.
As quarantine policies restricting movements of the population were lifted, the majority of the people, as well as businesses, started to go back to a sense of normalcy, the people’s continuing distrust, affects various businesses, including the hospitality industry.
Contactless Features
no contact key
To regain the public’s trust, at the top of Hotel Sogo’s priority is reducing touch points and intensifying no-contact fixtures. Based on pre-pandemic research carried out by Hotel Sogo, data shows that guests had a minimum of 59 Touch Points (TPs) during a typical hotel stay. Due to new protocols that include contact-less fixtures, TPs have been reduced by 40.7% to achieve a reduction of 66.1% with more advanced technology centered on cellphone use.
At the onset of the pandemic on March 202, Sogo was the first hotel to use UVC (254nm) to fight Covid-19. Taking the cue from hospitals abroad, remote-controlled carts have been deployed for room disinfection. Compartments for utensils, key cards, and cash were also fitted with UVC LEDs but kept away from personnel since 254 nm UVCs, while great for killing viruses that may harm the skin and eyes.
Airconditioners with automatic UVC disinfection
UVC disinfection in all the rooms
Hotel Sogo also expanded UVC disinfection for its room air conditioning units. All room ACs are fitted with specially manufactured UVC LEDs. The UVC light attacks the DNA/DNR of micro-organisms through germicidal irradiation, killing bacteria and viruses and preventing their spread. As it is turned on with the aircon, room air is always sterilized each time it passes through the unit, ensuring the best possible room air quality for our guests.
FAR UVC disinfection was also extended at elevator lobbies. After extensive research, Sogo has acquired and tested the FAR UVC 222 nm lamps that effectively kill viruses while being harmless to humans. Just recently (2020 Q4) produced commercially, it is quite expensive and is sold by only a few manufacturers abroad. Sogo is the first hotel to install these revolutionary excimer lamps in all its elevator lobbies.
In its lobbies and hallways, ventilation ACR Air Change Rate is doubled. The ACR or the number of times the air is replaced for all general spaces is set at ≥ 4 per hour by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers). Sogo is doubling its current ACRs for intensified inflow of covid-free fresh air to accelerate indoor air replacement.
Automatic doors with temperature screening
Automatic thermal scan controlled entry doors were installed in most branches. Guests on their own, get scanned before entry, and if within the safe temperature limit, main doors will open automatically without the need for any contact.
Each branch has an Anti-Covid Team that regularly swabs high touch point surfaces that pass through ATP Fluorescence Detectors to verify microbial presence and effectivity of the new protocols. Anti-microbial coatings were applied on furnishings, fixtures, and touchpoints. Widely used in hospitals and mass transports in China, Hong Kong, and Japan, these Polymer coatings are formed after spraying millions of nano-capsules with contact killing and anti-adhesion features that last for weeks. It effectively kills bacteria and viruses, including H1N1 and Covid. Sogo applies these overall furnishings and touchpoints.
To further sanitize indoor air, Sogo installed air-purifying equipment having several levels of filters: Pre-filter, Activated Carbon, HEPA (H11), with built-in Cold Catalysts, Ion Generators and UVC lights that eliminate allergens and pollutants such as dust, pollen, odor, bacteria, viruses, and even reduces carbon dioxide levels.
K9 Covid Crew
Covid sniffer dogs are being utilized for regular covid screening of employees. Patterned after Dubai and Helsinki Airports where sniffer dogs screen passengers and report a > 94% accuracy rate with dogs detecting the virus days before symptoms even start. Sogo has tied up with a leading K9 company, to have specially-trained Covid sniffer dogs regularly screen its personnel for Covid.
To date, Hotel Sogo continues to invest and rely heavily on research-proven technologies that alter the spread of Covid-19 to assure the safety of its guests. The hotel also continues to accept frontliners and essential workers across all Hotel Sogo branches, and can also accommodate those who prefer a long-term stay for work purposes.
Hotel Sogo is also ramping up its effort in helping the country’s indigent communities through Sogo Cares, the hotel’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. Continuously, Sogo provides basic necessities, such as food and water to indigent communities. Recently, it donated food packs with linens and towels to some fire victims in Manila; essential needs such as bottled waters, linens, pillows, surgical masks, pillowcases, and mattresses to the Philippine General Hospital with the help of AFP and donated in different community-pantries in Bulacan and Quezon City.
For more information about Hotel Sogo, check out https://www.hotelsogo.com.
Two teams from the Philippines, GiveSight and World MAQI, are selected by the United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as global finalists for the all-virtual Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon held last June 23-29. With 4,300+ participants from 132 countries and territories, the week-long event featured 233 projects to solve challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the Earth Observing (EO) Dashboard, an interactive data resource giving policymakers and the public a unique tool to probe the impacts of pandemic-related restrictions implemented around the world through the lens of Earth observation satellites.
The Mobility over Air Quality Index (MAQI) is derived from the fusion of mobility statistics provided by Google with air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from Earth observations. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially led to decreased mobility and improved air quality, countries around the world have begun to lift their quarantine restrictions, triggering air pollution once again. Through MAQI areas and communities with improved mobility and air quality may be identified and recognized.
From June 23- 29, coders, scientists, entrepreneurs, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, technologists, and space enthusiasts from around the world joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the all-virtual, global Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon.
CirroLytix Research Services is a social impact data analytics company. Its mission is to help governments, non-profits, researchers, international and local organizations succeed at addressing collective social problems around the world by harnessing the full power of their data. CirroLytix strives to enable social impact professionals and entities to make a positive data-driven change in the lives they seek to uplift.
Dominic Vincent “Doc” Ligot is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of CirroLytix Research Services. A former bank risk manager and technology executive turned data scientist and researcher, Ligot has made it his life’s mission to push data-driven innovation for the Philippines and apply data to social development areas such as public health, human rights, education, and fighting disinformation.
Proper hydration is vital in having a strong immune system. It detoxifies and flushes out waste materials from your body. It also helps transport nutrients to our organ systems.
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