Everything in the physical world can literally be located geospatially, and our consumption and production of data reflects this in almost everything we do. As activities, workflows and processes digitize, geospatial data becomes one of the core enablers in a world of location-based products and services.
Every company will soon need to incorporate geospatial data into their thinking both from a strategic and operational mindset. The future lies in integrating technologies but there is more of a cross-discipline fusion of technologies required here. Being able to identify and orchestrate the cross-functionality of the tools developed across imagery, big data, computer vision and SaaS development is critical and then being able to deploy them seamlessly through low friction and increased time to value is imperative for scalability and success. Through technology integration and in particular, deep learning integration, we can democratize the processing of geospatial information.
Standards are needed
The geospatial industry is becoming a by-default part of the digitalization process, but it is still to understand the requirements, scale, and end-users or consumers completely. It will take some time to get this right. There are multiple platforms used across the industry, but there is not yet a standard of how to use and enable geospatial data across different platforms and use cases.
EagleView has standardized the consumption of geospatial
information through its imagery and reporting products. We are creating robust workflows that leverage subject matter expertise augmented with machine learning to create consistent, quantifiable, fast, and repeatable assessments that can turn unstructured geospatial information (like overhead imagery) into quantized and structured information that help drive tangible and measurable outcomes. We set standards for accessing geospatial data across industries, and regulate data extraction and delivery that is directly tied to physically-locatable properties and structures.
Staying creative and fresh with R&D is imperative
It is imperative to stay creative and fresh with R&D, even at a basic level, to understand potential and the art of the possible.
We are investing heavily in image capture and processing technologies, computer vision and cloud scale technologies. These investments allow us to quickly and accurately gather, extract, and publish data in the industries we serve. As an example, through these technologies, EagleView is working with the underwriting insurance industry providing near real-time validated data on property condition and property risks that would typically take 30-60 days to acquire manually.
EagleView is carrying out significant R&D into geometric feature extraction within a geospatial context to drive tangible outcomes for our customers. This requires heavy investments in cloud scale/resilience, image capture and process automation, progressive web app development, and machine learning and data science teams to scale our technology and innovate against customer needs.
By working closely with customers and responding to their needs, EagleView is able to provide solutions that fit directly into the workflow of the users. This sometimes manifests itself by directly integrating into their existing processes so that there is less disruption. An example being our moving of workflows to the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud and creating abstracted frameworks that may be used for multiple applications with high resilience and global scale. We are also providing innovative workflow solutions meaning we adopt a fail-fast strategy for quicker innovation and rapid delivery to market.
New technologies fostering out of the box thinking
AI, deep learning and IoT allows for out-of-the box thinking. These technologies are radically changing how processes are done and how technologies are utilized across industries. These are crucial enablers to finding new ways of driving critical outcomes better, cheaper and faster than traditional analog methods. By making computer vision and machine learning a central pillar in modernizing workflows, EagleView is scaling the basic processing of large amounts of data in a repeatable, robust and consistent way.
We need to push towards the fusion of multiple geospatial datasets to evaluate predictive and change assessments, which is a general industry desire, but typically poorly scoped, defined, and articulated. As new geospatial capabilities are being brought to market, EagleView is actively using and scaling new technologies in its internal processes and products that its customers are consuming. We expect more companies in our market space to incorporate geospatial and geospatially-derived data in the future.
Possibilities in sustainability are limitless with geospatial
We have barely scratched the surface as to what sustainability and scalability with geospatial technology can look like—the possibilities are endless. Identification and classification of properties and structures for their optimal use will be a driver for sustainable living. Through geospatial technologies, understanding how best to use the resources we have available will benefit us all. For example, identification of potential storm run-off issues as well as identification of ideal locations for roof top gardens in urban areas. All these aspects will improve the quality of life for both users and consumers of geospatial.
Another example is that cities are using data from EagleView in more rudimentary ways to drive decision-making around sustainability, and to help them work towards become smarter cities. Use cases will grow exponentially as end-users become more sophisticated, and as our offerings continue to expand over time.
The accuracy the technology of EagleView provides is unique and useful for improving existing workflows in the industries we serve and it is ultimately making the world safer. Contractors and insurance claim adjusters no longer need to climb on roofs to understand roof properties and characteristics; public safety officials can use imagery and derived content to create better situational awareness, and energy and infrastructure companies can better manage their assets and adequately do emergency prep with remote sensing capabilities provided by new geospatial technologies. We plan to incorporate more of these technologies into making our livable spaces better for all.
Also Read: We are entering a new age of geospatial Big Data – Dr. Abhay Kimmatkar, Ceinsys
