LEADERS' OUTLOOK
Satellites for Disaster Response and Sustainability BY DR. MOTOYUKI ARAI
I
Founder & CEO, Synspective Inc.
n order to cater to the booming Space sector, many companies, including ours, are building a commercial SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) constellation. Right now, our key focus is on market expansion across segments: from commercial applications to national security. SAR satellite monitoring and analysis are also useful in the insurance sector due to their ability to provide accurate information for disaster mitigation and management. There’s also a big synergy between SAR satellites and infrastructure development projects. Other relevant domains for us are Cleantech and energy. Achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030, as laid down at a UN summit in 2015, is crucial for socio-economic development as well as preventing ecological crises.
ANNUAL EDITION / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
Disaster mitigation
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SAR satellites can complement the efforts of policymakers and ground workers in creating a
SAR satellite monitoring helps solve crucial ecological and sustainability challenges, and in planning disaster response and mitigation.
strategy for climate change mitigation. Using EO and SAR satellites, we can monitor biomass volume, air pollution, land heat, etc. Different satellite sensors are used for the purpose of environmental monitoring. There’s a need to integrate all satellite monitoring data to get a clear picture of the extent of ecological degradation. Synspective has undertaken SAR satellite projects for disaster response. SAR satellites can also monitor flood damage, and, for instance, the destruction caused by a typhoon. They can also help identify the shortest and safest paths for first responders to help with evacuation and rescue missions. As soon as we have a 30-satellite constellation, we will be able to capture data from anywhere in the world at intervals of every two hours. We will then be able to automatically analyze the data to gain actionable insights in real-time.
International projects
Guatemala is prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Synspective is actively working there , along with the government and other partners, in disaster mitigation and emergency response. Synspective and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) use satellites to monitor ground movements in Guatemala City as part of an information-gathering project. From July 2018 to June 2021, our company conducted a ground deformation
analysis in Guatemala City using Land Displacement Monitoring. Land Displacement Monitoring can identify the risk of landslides and avalanches in mountainous terrain. Our satellites can monitor the entire area at one time and our interferometer SAR analysis tool can provide accurate insights. We are expanding both our local partner network in Japan and our footprint in India, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia. Recently, Synspective signed an MoU with AMH Philippines to use SAR data for geohazard mitigation.
Towards sustainability
Curtailing deforestation and loss of biospheres is a prerequisite for lowering carbon emissions and making the world a better place for posterity. Humans can only understand environmental changes or track forest cover loss through satellite monitoring and cutting-edge analytics. For gaining accurate insights in a data-driven ‘learning world’, satellite monitoring and analytics is crucial. With the help of satellites, we can gauge the economic impact as well alongside ecological impact. Data-driven management for sustainable development is our vision. We strongly believe that there’s a need to ‘go beyond capitalism’, not in the sense of an ideological or political rejigging but making ecological conservation and sustainability an integral part of all business models.
