(VOVworld)- Some of the world's most influential billionaire philanthropists plan to launch a powerful digital platform to harness the avalanche of data sent from satellites each day - and make it freely available for humanitarian and environmental causes. The 'Radiant Earth' project is a free of charge repository and archive of the world's satellite, aerial and drone imagery.
Bill and Melinda Gates - who are also custodians of legendary investor Warren Buffet's billions – have joined forces with Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, to fund the 'Radiant Earth' project which was recently introduced at a conference in Seattle attended by more than 150 academics and data analysis specialists attended the event. The project, expected to cost "many millions" of dollars, aims to find ways to combine and analyze Earth data and imagery and offer it free of charge in formats that do not require special expertise to understand.
Anne Hale Miglarese, Radiant CEO, said Radiant will help build the 'who, what, where, when, and why' for the planning and management of issues such as land tenure, global health, sustainable development, food security and disaster response. Ms Miglarese said she hopes Radiant will encourage the creation of more open source technologies and innovation that can help solve society’s most pressing problems. Albert Lin, Research Scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said satellite imagery might be one of the most powerful and unbiased tools to tell people what is going on with the planet.
Industry experts say that in over the past five years the number of operational satellites has jumped 40 percent, and nearly 1,400 now orbit the Earth. Satellites have been launched into orbit to serve various research purposes. Satellites are used to observe distant planets, galaxies and other objects. Earth observing satellites are designed to photograph the earth from orbit, check the environment and weather and make maps. Other satellites serve telecommunications activities. Spy satellites engage in military and intelligence gathering. Satellite roles are also reflected in GPS and navigation work.
Statistics from a scientific research agency show that 60% of satellites launched into orbit serve informational activities. Ultimately, says Radiant CEO Miglarese, the new platform will foster more informed decision making about the Earth's resources. She said Radiant is about using earth imagery for positive global impact.