A Fort Collins, Colo.-based company is collecting information from the wireless industry to determine the usefulness of radar satellites in mapping applications.
I-cubed, which stands for Information Integration and Imaging L.L.C., is conducting the surveys as part of a study funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to characterize the size of the market for geographic data in wireless network design, said Russ Cowart, president of the company. The surveys, which query respondents on the importance and usefulness of a variety of geodata, are being conducted on a non-commercial Web site at www.axta.com/chesapeake/survey.htm.
The study is part of NASA’s Earth Observation Commercial Applications Program (EOCAP), which is working with commercial entities to develop Synthetic Aperture Radar applications that address specific customer needs. The program is managed by NASA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Program at the John C. Stenis Space Center in Mississippi.
I-cubed is scheduled to receive nearly $1 million from NASA to conduct a portion of the three-year study.
Cowart said several other companies are testing the demand for the data in a variety of other industries as part of NASA’s study, including farming and flood monitoring.
Most satellite imaging today is optical, which uses the sun’s reflection off the earth to create images, said Cowart. Radar satellites, on the other hand, emit their own energy that bounces off the Earth to create images in much the same manner air traffic control systems operate.
The advantage to radar satellites, said Cowart, is that-unlike optical satellites-radar satellites can see through clouds.
Cowart said satellites can take between three days and a month to orbit the Earth, meaning a satellite may only be able to make an image of a particular area as seldom as once a month. If the satellite passes over that area on a cloudy day or if the area is typically cloudy, it is difficult-if not impossible-to get an accurate image using optical satellites, said Cowart.
In addition to characterizing the market for the data, I-cubed also will evaluate the quality of the maps generated by the radar satellites in the study, including determining the optimal radar frequency for use in mapping projects. Cowart said I-cubed is working with Pacific-Sierra Research on certain aspects of the project.
I-cubed’s work in the wireless industry includes providing clutter maps, digital elevation models, building-height information, transportation vectors and data integration. The maps are used for wireless network buildouts and optimization.
Using geographic data, carriers can combat churn and reduce buildout costs, said Cowart, who noted the cost to buy such data can be less than $50,000. Cowart estimated in some cases carriers could recoup the costs of buying geographic data if the carrier can use the data to reduce by one the number of cell sites it needs to build in a given area.
Cowart said about half of the company’s work is in the wireless industry. Other industries the company targets include geology and agriculture.
