SPECIAL FEATURE
Collaboration, Data Fusion Key to SAR Commercialization
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is set to drive the expansion of the Earth Observation industry in coming years. Dr. Motoyuki Arai, Founder & CEO, Synspective Inc., talks about its potential and what it takes to accelerate the journey towards commercialization.
You have a vision of establishing a SAR satellite ecosystem, including a constellation of 30 satellites by 2026. What is your motivation to make this a reality? The SAR satellite constellation can capture a lot of data, including ground terrain data, infrastructure assets, and economic activity. With the capability to provide high-frequency data in any weather condition, SAR can monitor the distribution of resources and economic productivity, as well as natural and human-induced changes to the Earth. At the same time, data science and analytics technology are picking up which are helping us understand how best to leverage SAR data with machine learning techniques. The combination of a satellite constellation and analytics platform will lead us toward a “Learning World” where customers across industries are enabled to make data-driven, timely decisions. This is a big motivation for us. At present, for example, there is no technology that can fully assess flood damages. SAR satellites can identify and capture a flood area in near real time. When this gets fused with 3D maps and other raw data, responders can plan search-andrescue missions with the latest and most reliable information. We are in the process of building a full constellation of 30 satellites to facilitate disaster mitigation efforts and support sustainable and resilient infrastructure. A constellation of 30 satellites can provide data anywhere on Earth every two hours. It will take an additional hour to downlink the data for analysis. That means that responders can get access to comprehensive data of affected areas in less than three hours after a disaster. This is crucial because the human survival rate decreases after the first 72 hours.
Which sector will benefit the most from SAR technology? 24 | www.geospatialworld.net | September-October 2022
