This event will explore a rapidly growing area of activity at the confluence of satellite Earth observations, open-source software, and the scale enabled by cloud computing infrastructure. Since its inception, “the internet” has grown to become one of the most effective copying machines in the history of humanity. One of the products of this proliferation has been the emergence of open-source software, including powerful geospatial toolsets. Feeding these tools, we have a richness of data. Starting with free and open data from international partners like Brazil (CBERS), the US (Landsat), and Europe (Sentinel), and increasingly augmented by data from highly innovative small satellite platforms enabled by falling technological and orbital access barriers. Add to the mix the rapid development of cloud computing infrastructure from the likes of AWS, Google, Microsoft, Alibaba, and others means that a high school student with an internet connection (and a credit card!) can now generate products from satellite data that even five years ago were barely imaginable, and ten years ago were virtually impossible.
What will come of this confluence? What’s being done? What’s possible? What can we imagine? What’s currently just beyond the edge of our imagination?
Come along and find out!
