A SCOTTISH tech company has unveiled ground-breaking software that could revolutionise the use of satellite data by businesses, institutions and individuals.
Launched in 2019, Earth Blox has already showcased its revolutionary data analysis software to internet giant Google, its partner.
The company provides consumer-level satellite intelligence that can be accessed and run from any web browser within minutes.
Earth observation is a major activity of the space sector, involving hundreds of satellites recording various types of data about the planet and streaming it to specialised ground stations.
This data is vital for Earth-bound activities ranging from tracking deforestation and aiding agriculture to climate change monitoring and speeding up response times to natural disasters.
Previously, such observation data was notoriously difficult to interpret and access in a process that, until now, required extensive coding practice, highly specialised software and protracted periods of download and analysis for data ranging in the petabytes – one of which equals 1000 terabytes.
Edinburgh-based Earth Blox has broken this mould by using ubiquitous cloud services to deliver Earth observation data from its partners Google Earth Engine and, most recently, Planet.
With a simple log-in through the web browser on tablets or laptops, any user can now access this near real-time raw satellite data and translate it into actionable insights.
The company’s intuitive, yet powerful user interface, allows users from any technical background to effortlessly choose the dataset, analysis and display of their choice.
In addition, collaboration and sharing functionalities make Earth Blox deceptively easy to pick up and deploy.
This attention to user experience has set Earth Blox to become a major provider of satellite data to all industries with no coding or previous knowledge required about satellite data.
“We are proud to support companies from any sector who are hard at work addressing humanitarian, environmental or sustainability challenges,” said Genevieve Patenaude, CEO of Earth Blox.
“Our ambition is to make Earth observation data accessible to all those that work, live and breathe sustainability.”
The company already has significant backing and collaboration for its software as a service (SaaS), including Google, Planet and the United Nations.
Earth Blox, thanks to its collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, is powering Strata, a climate and environment risk platform designed for the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
This platform is designed to identify so-called hotspots – geographic areas where climate, environmental and human security stresses overlap with human exposure and vulnerability.
It will support more than 130 UN country teams with accurate and reliable data leading to improved peace and security mitigation action.
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