Remote Monitoring Grant Program Technology Options

Nearmap is an aerial imagery service that provides high-resolution vertical and oblique imagery covering primarily urban and suburban areas. Its imagery, which is derived from aviation-based sources, is housed on a web-based platform and tends to be one of the more cost-effective options available.

Planet Labs is one of the largest satellite operators, offering a robust constellation of Earth-observing satellites that provide both an archive of high-resolution data as well as the option to “task” a satellite to retrieve imagery on demand for a higher cost. Planet also offers frequent global coverage, up to every 24 hours for some of their products. Because of the scale at which it operates, it tends to require large minimum purchase amounts and large minimum capture areas for tasked imagery. They are partnered with Skytech who use the imagery for their change detection software and imagery viewer platform.

Near Space Labs provides low-cost, high-quality imagery gathered using high-altitude balloons. Because its image capture equipment is not in orbit, staff must be deployed in the field to operate the system.

HistoricalAerials is a reseller of high-resolution imagery beginning in 1938 when the USDA documented the entire country with plane flown high resolution photography. The search engine works with a best known address, so it's not necessary to have a shapefile of the property to use this resource. The images are priced according to size and delivered electronically. They can be used to document landscapes in the past and changes to the landscape.

L3Harris is a reseller of satellite data from several large companies, and is a preferred reseller of Airbus’s OneAtlas products. Airbus data is often less expensive than other high-resolution imagery, and is available at 1.5-meter resolution that can be a better tradeoff in terms of quality vs. cost for monitoring across large landscapes. The OneAtlas platform also offers a number of data analytics tools.

TerraPulse maps and monitors landscape changes through satellite-based measurements of forests, farms, ranches, wildlife habitat and residential and urban development. Its platform includes access to both higher- and lower-resolution imagery and multispectral data as well as robust analytical tools, including algorithms that apply expertise in satellite image analysis to automate the provision of near real time, and cost-effective decision-making tools.

Astraea, an official partner of the large satellite operator Maxar/Digital Globe, sells imagery at smaller scales and with lower minimum purchase requirements than larger vendors. It also offers optional data analysis tools that can be integrated with their web-based platform, including machine learning-driven change detection systems, which can be customized for users depending on their level of technical expertise.

Skytec offers an annual subscription to its Ranger web-based monitoring application, which is powered by multiple remotely sensed data feeds, ranging from Planet multispectral satellite images to high resolution UAS imaging and LiDAR products. Basic features include compliance monitoring, land disturbance event detection or change detection, in-field tagging and data collection capabilities, a conservation priority layer, annual monitoring reporting template and direct data compatibility with Esri GIS software. Optional upgrade products, such as advanced LiDAR, 3D visualization, custom UAS monitoring and biomass evaluations, are available for an additional cost.

Upstream Tech’s Lens platform was designed in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to facilitate easement and fee property monitoring. Users receive an annual subscription including free public satellite imagery, and can order high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery from multiple providers on an as-needed basis. They have developed a batch tasking system that allows organizations to get a bulk deal for tasking with other organizations tasking in a similar time period. Reporting and analysis features are embedded in the platform and able to be synced to Landscape Conservation Software. Subscription costs depend on the size of your land trust’s stewardship operation, and include an allocation of high-resolution imagery beyond which there may be a per-acre fee. Alliance members receive a 30% discount.