Google announced this week that it has entered into an agreement to buy Skybox Imaging for $500 million.
What does this mean for the future of Google Maps? Potentially, access to sub-meter resolution satellite imagery and high-definition video of global operations, which would result in satellite imagery on Google Maps and Earth being updated more regularly.
Skybox Imaging started as a business plan written as part of a Stanford graduate entrepreneurship course in 2009. Since then, the company has innovated within the satellite imaging industry by building and launching low-cost, high-resolution imaging satellites.
Skybox Imaging has developed analytics for the following applications:
- Agriculture Health Monitoring: monitoring crop health and projecting yields
- Humanitarian Aid: tracking refugee movement and development of infrastructure
- Insurance Modeling: informing risk exposure models and monitoring high value assets
- Oil Storage Monitoring: monitoring oil storage containers and changes in volumes
- Natural Disaster Response: helping first responders in rescue efforts
- Oil & Gas Infrastructure Monitoring: detecting unsafe property and infrastructure
- Financial Trading Intelligence: analyzing metrics like the number of cars in a retailer’s parking lot or the size of stockpiles of natural resources in ports
- Mining Operations Monitoring: identifying rock topologies and geological structures for evacuation planning
- Carbon Monitoring: improving land cover maps and creating reliable carbon stock calculations
- Maritime Monitoring: optimizing supply chain decisions and analyzing container activity in ports
The acquisition of Skybox by Google is exciting for the future of Google Maps and Earth. As a Google Maps Authorized Reseller, Dito can assist your business with implementing Google Maps, and setting the stage for the future. To learn more about Google Maps products for Business,
click here.
Labels: Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Maps for Business
