Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/53167
The commercial satellite-imaging industry will even- tually reach a point in which traditional methods of cataloging, updating, integrating and referencing geo- spatial data become inadequate for ensuring "ground- truth" accuracy and relevancy on a global scale. A new model is needed to ensure customers can have a "gold standard" for accuracy, currency and validity as well as a model that's aligned with and enables the shift to the aforementioned centralized, hosted model. This new platform would essentially become the global geospatial reference platform, dynamically integrating and updating geospatial change informa- tion in real time anywhere and everywhere it occurs. These data sources would include imagery and analysis, and also would pull data from a wide vari- ety of sources via the cloud, using open standards. Using centralized supercomputing resources and data-aggregation capabilities, this "virtual reference planet" could be made available on-demand for cus- tomers via light (thin-client) capabilities. This would have tremendous benefits for the entire industry. Unlike today, when a customer accesses a part of the world via a standard data provider or mapping service, the level of information often is inconsistent, the currency is questionable, and the validity/accuracy is unverifiable. A global geospatial reference platform would eliminate these shortcomings, giving users worldwide a trusted, reliable and constantly updated visual source of information, accessed wherever and whenever needed. Further, this new platform would give software developers and analysts throughout the industry a trusted source of data, which they could use to build their own higher-value applications and reports. The Industry's Future In 2014, DigitalGlobe is on schedule to launch WorldView-3, a fourth-generation satellite that will provide additional imagery, better imagery and "more looks," resulting in a more-potent imagery arsenal for customers. This, along with the newer satellites being launched in the near future from other commercial com- panies, will help move the industry forward in ways not fathomable a decade ago. The aforementioned trends are among the many that make me truly excited about the future of our industry—we really have only scratched the surface of what's possible. Whether tracking a tsunami or a terrorist, commercial satellite imagery and other unsung capabilities of commercial providers have never been more vital. Imagery/LIDAR Special Issue Satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe provided a gripping look at massive flooding in Thailand in October 2011. DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satellite, launched in October 2009, is the first high-resolution eight-band multispectral commercial satellite. Operating at an altitude of 770 kilometers, WorldView-2 provides 46-centimeter panchromatic resolution and 1.85- meter multispectral resolution. Walter Scott is chief technology officer, DigitalGlobe; e-mail: digitalglobe@edelman.com. JANUAR Y 2O12 / WWW . GEOPLA CE .C OM 29