News about Earth Observation being a new area within INTERGEO made headlines when it was announced, but the reality is that these tools and technologies aren't specifically new to the event. What is different this year is how they're being postioned as part of the conversation about how geosptial data is integrated and can drive better decision-making.
The opportunities associated with this development were highlighted during a session that explored the power of EO to understand global challenges. Henri Laur from EASA illustrated the sheer power of EO imagery in terms of capability, as these images can do everything from show drought index anomalies to help manage emergency response. His breakout around how this information can be utilized in terms of being observed and understood to then directly drive a decision was instructive on multiple levels.
Elisabeth Hamdouch from the European Commission outlined the EU's commitments to being climate neutral and how EO data is foundational to that effort. She mentioned there is no impact without uptake, which Dr. Anna Christmann from the Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action further underscored. She talked about the ministry's focus on projects and products based on satellite data that keeps the end user perspective top of mind. The importance of product development from this perspective is critical.
"A firefighter needs a product, not raw data," Dr. Christmann told the crowd.
On the show floor, companies like Planet and Vexel had a significant presence, with a standing-room-only crowd on hand to witness the announcement of the new UltraCam product lineup from Vexel, which is designed to meet all mapping applications.
While satellite data can be utilized to better detail the melting of the poles as well as the increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, enterprise organizations are also using this data to make the right decisions at the right time. As this information becomes more easy to obtain and integrate, expectations around both will continue to evolve.
Find out more about how users of all types are taking advantage of these capabilities via the interview below.
