Session
Session 11: Big Data From Small Satellites 2
Abstract
Small satellite systems are now proliferating and creating huge amounts of data. However, there’s still a large gap between the data being created and the actionable information that end customers need. In fact, most customers (commercial and government) don’t want more data; they want better insights. This is even more critical for the newly emerging small satellites with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities. These radar satellites have tremendous remote sensing capabilities to see at night, through clouds, and in all-weather conditions and provide rich information. However, analytics are more vital for this data as radar imagery is less intuitive to the average user than optical satellite imagery. Ursa Space Systems Inc. (Ursa) is building advanced analytics and a user platform that are scalable to Big Data that can bridge the gap between the growing mountain of radar satellite data and the mountain of Big Data customer needs. These capabilities are currently being used by Ursa to analyze radar satellite imagery of China and provide insights on oil trading activity and the overall Chinese economy. This paper will explore the gap between satellite data and end user and provide a demonstration of how Ursa is using advanced analytics for the Chinese oil trading case which bridges this gap. Further, it will discuss the bright future of satelliteimage based analytics which can solve complex customer problems and create continued growth for small satellite data sources.
Presentation
Small Sats + Big Data Analytics = Insights on Chinese Economy
Small satellite systems are now proliferating and creating huge amounts of data. However, there’s still a large gap between the data being created and the actionable information that end customers need. In fact, most customers (commercial and government) don’t want more data; they want better insights. This is even more critical for the newly emerging small satellites with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capabilities. These radar satellites have tremendous remote sensing capabilities to see at night, through clouds, and in all-weather conditions and provide rich information. However, analytics are more vital for this data as radar imagery is less intuitive to the average user than optical satellite imagery. Ursa Space Systems Inc. (Ursa) is building advanced analytics and a user platform that are scalable to Big Data that can bridge the gap between the growing mountain of radar satellite data and the mountain of Big Data customer needs. These capabilities are currently being used by Ursa to analyze radar satellite imagery of China and provide insights on oil trading activity and the overall Chinese economy. This paper will explore the gap between satellite data and end user and provide a demonstration of how Ursa is using advanced analytics for the Chinese oil trading case which bridges this gap. Further, it will discuss the bright future of satelliteimage based analytics which can solve complex customer problems and create continued growth for small satellite data sources.
