SCOTTISH TECH FIRM MAKES DATA AVAILABLE THROUGH INNOVATION
A rapidly growing Scottish based tech firm has unveiled ground breaking software that promises to revolutionise the use of satellite data by businesses, institutions and individuals.
Earth Blox recently showcased its revolutionary satellite data analysis software in a webinar with its partner, Google.
Launched in 2019, Earth Blox is the foremost provider of 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 back down 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 natural disaster response time.
Previously, Earth observation data has been notoriously difficult to interpret and access in a process that, until now, required extensive practice of coding, highly specialised computer software and protracted periods of download and analysis for data ranging in the petabytes.
Earth Blox breaks 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 of its tablets or laptops, any given user can now access this near real-time raw satellite data and translate it into actionable insights.
Earth Blox’s intuitive yet powerful user interface allows users from any given technical background to effortlessly choose the dataset, analysis and display of their choice. In addition to this, 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 about satellite data required.
The company already has significant backing and collaboration for its software as a service, including Google, Planet and the United Nations. Thanks to its collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, Earth Blox is powering STRATA, a climate and environment risk platform designed for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The platform is designed to identify so-called “hotspots”: geographic areas where climate, environmental and human security stresses overlap with human exposure and vulnerability. This platform will support over 130 UN country teams with accurate and reliable data leading to improved peace and security mitigation action.
Genevieve Patenaude (pictured above), CEO of Earth Blox said: “We are proud to support companies from any sector who are hard at work addressing humanitarian, environmental or sustainability challenges. Our ambition is to make Earth observation data accessible to all those that work, live and breathe sustainability.”
