Earth Observation is at an inflection point. We are experiencing a perfect storm of enablers (cheaper access to space, smaller satellites, cloud infrastructure, AI) and demand drivers (climate change, ESG regulations, geopolitics). This has created an environment where EO has the potential to play an increasingly important role for life on Earth. However, many barriers to broader adoption remain. As an industry, we must upset the status quo to drive change at scale.
First shift
We have to make it easier to buy, process and use EO data at scale by (1) automating data ordering and access, (2) providing more open and flexible licensing models, and (3) simplifying access data and analytics across multiple providers.
It is encouraging to see that many data providers already provide archive access and tasking via API, and most others are currently building these capabilities. The creation and adoption of standards such as STAC are essential factors, and we at UP42 are helping to extend these standards to include tasking.
Data licensing is much more complex and will be harder to solve consistently across all providers. Yet there is hope: Umbra recently announced that all their data would be under a creative commons license, enabling efficient and uncomplicated use
of their data to solve downstream problems. Hopefully, other data providers will start simplifying their licensing models too.
Accessing analytics-ready data and analytics capabilities across multiple providers inherently carries a lot of technical, commercial and legal overhead. This complexity is why platforms such as UP42 are growing so fast. We solve critical pain points for companies across all verticals by providing an API-first, one-stop shop for data and analytics. Providing an abstraction layer on top of the data and analytics providers allows companies to focus on solving “last-mile” end-user problems and makes it easier to scale new use cases using multiple data sources.
We solve key pain points for companies across all verticals by providing an API-first, one-stop-shop for data and analytics.
Second shift
We need more investment in downstream applications. VCs have primarily focused on the upstream side of the space industry.
However, to unlock the full social, economic and environmental potential of the investments in EO constellations, for investors and us all, we need more investment in the downstream market i.e. industry-specific solutions, horizontal distribution capabilities, and analytics.
Third shift
We must change how industry and governments collaborate on downstream EO. Typically, public institutions release tenders for standalone platforms or capabilities that must be custom-built. This dedicated project approach often results in short-lived projects that exhaust public resources, compete with existing commercial capabilities and have limited long-term impact. Instead, the focus should be on re-using and supporting the businesses of existing companies as much as possible. Doing so will help to create an EO ecosystem that is customer-focused, efficiently leveraging investments already made by the industry and economically sustainable. It is promising that institutions such as ESA are already moving in this direction.
UP42 is also accelerating downstream adoption by integrating into existing ecosystems. We recently partnered with Esri to make UP42 platform capabilities available in ArcGIS Pro. We announced our participation in the Google Cloud Ready Sustainability Program, where we will help GCP customers achieve their sustainability and ESG goals using geospatial data.
We all work in this industry because we believe in the ability of EO to improve life on our planet. It’s time to make that upstream side of the space happen at scale.
ALSO READ: Finding The Center: Evaluating Geo Transition
(Sean Wiid is the CEO of UP42. The views expressed in the article are the personal opinions of the author.)
Disclaimer: Views Expressed are Author's Own. Geospatial World May or May Not Endorse it
