#51 - Earth Observation : Ecosystem & Trends - Aravind Ravichandran

Toulouse Data Science Meetup

The Earth observation (EO) sector is undergoing a series of advancements in the last few years with the potential to reach billions of euros later this decade. Just earlier this year, a SpaceX rocket launched over 140 satellites of which over 60 were EO satellites aimed at collecting different types of data - from radar to hyperspectral. Innovations including reduction in access to space, miniaturisation of satellites and technological advancements in cloud computing & artificial intelligence have led to the development of new EO startups all around the world with an aim to solve problems across sectors. This talk will present a high-level overview of the EO market, deep dive into the market dynamics, and present some examples of how EO data is going to become a major part of the big data economy in the years to come, leveraging on the advancements in machine learning, edge computing and cloud computing

Transcript

1. Earth Observation:
   Introduction, Trends &
   Ecosystem
   Aravind RAVICHANDRAN
   Director of Strategy, Space - Tomorrow.io
   Writer & Podcaster – TerraWatch Space
   

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2. • The Earth Observation sector is rapidly growing with advancements in both hardware
   (satellites) and software (data processing)
   • Hardware: Launch prices have reduced by 10x ($1M for 200kg1) and cost of satellite
   manufacturing has reduced by 100x2, leading to the development of EO satellite constellations
   (average cost of $200M for a constellation of 16 smallsats – mass range 50 to 500 kg )
   • Software: Developments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing have enabled the storing and
   large-scale processing of data collected by satellites, resulting in development of many EO-based
   applications
   • According to market reports, the EO market was valued at about $3.9 billion in 2020,
   with a CAGR of 8% until 20273. The key markets are defence & intelligence, agriculture,
   insurance and financial services
   • The development of new EO satellites has led to the rise in availability of high resolution
   and high frequency EO data - commercial and open source, continuous decrease of
   prices and creation of new applications across different industries
   The Earth observation market is going through a period of
   rapid innovation and advancements …
   2
   Sources: 1: SpaceX,, 2: NSR, 3: PwC, 4: Euroconsult
   

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3. Application
   Develop software for end users solving a
   industry-specific problem with EO data being
   one of many technologies used in the solution
   Abstraction layer for the Earth observation industry
   Analytics
   Transform satellite imagery into information
   using AI and remote sensing techniques,
   applicable across multiple industries / domains
   Software-as-a-Service
   (Domain Experts)
   Analytics-as-a-Service
   (Domain Agnostic)
   Insights
   Convert satellite-based analytics into insights,
   for a specific industry or domain, with EO data
   being the forefront of the solution
   Insights-as-a-Service
   (Quasi Domain Experts)
   Earth Observation: Operating Stack Aravind, TerraWatch Space
   https://terrawatch.substack.com
   *Non-exhaustive
   Data
   Build and launch satellites with different
   sensors to collect different kinds of data from
   space for a variety of use cases
   Abstraction layer for the space industry
   Data-as-a-Service
   (Vertically Integrated)
   ACQUISTION
   Platforms /
   Marketplaces
   Infrastructure
   Offer computing environment allowing access to
   aggregated data / algorithms and infrastructure
   to derive analytics based on analysis-ready data
   Provide scalable cloud infrastructure and
   supporting tools for storing and processing
   satellite data
   Abstraction layer for geospatial & remote sensing industry
   Platform-as-a-Service
   (Data Agnostic)
   Infrastructure-as-a-
   Service
   (Data Agnostic)
   DISSEMINATION INTELLIGENCE
   Layer Description Business Model Examples (non-exhaustive)
   

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4. On-board Processing
   Hyperspectral
   Infrared
   Optical / Multispectral
   (Passive Sensor)
   Radar
   (Active Sensor)
   Radio
   Signals
   Radio
   Occultation
   Earth Observation: Acquisition Aravind, TerraWatch Space
   https://terrawatch.substack.com
   AIS
   Microwave
   *Non-exhaustive
   

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5. Earth Observation: Verticalisation Aravind, TerraWatch Space
   https://terrawatch.substack.com
   Climate & Weather Sustainability & Environment Agriculture Insurance
   Multi-purpose data à Capacity to provide data applicable for solving problems / use cases across verticals
   Verticalisation à Capacity to to solve a specific problem
   etc.
   …..
   Energy
   Climate Risk
   Weather Prediction
   Emissions Wildfires
   Carbon Credits
   Property Insurance
   Parametric Insurance
   *Non-exhaustive
   

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6. Retail: Using satellite
   imagery and AI to perform
   car counting
   Credit: Airbus, Orbital Insight
   

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7. Infrastructure & Insurance: Lebanon Case Study
   Credit: NASA, Airbus, PCI Geomatics
   

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8. Weather: Tomorrow.io
   Credit: Tomorrow.io
   

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9. Weather: Tomorrow.io
   Credit: Tomorrow.io
   

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10. Understanding Earth observation
    1. Data availability: What EO data is available?
    2. Data accessibility: Where/how to access the data?
    3. Data "fusability": How to work with different types of EO
    data?
    4. Data usability: What is this data used for?
    

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11. Earth Observation in France
    

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12. Merci !
    @aravind_raves
    aravind@terrawatch.space
    Aravind RAVICHANDRAN
    

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