GMATICS is proud to announce that it has been selected as one of the two winners of the first edition of the “Scouting AI” program, launched by ELT Group to identify the most innovative Italian SMEs developing AI-powered solutions.
Our expertise and capabilities were chosen among 60 companies involved in the initiative, and the company will now take part in collaborative activities with ELT Group on areas of strategic interest.
Within this framework, GMATICS will contribute its expertise in satellite remote sensing and AI driven geospatial analytics, leveraging Earth Observation data to support advanced solutions for security and DEFENCE-related scenarios.
ELT Group’s initiative to identify high-potential AI SMEs highlights the growing importance of EO based analytics in strategic domains, where timely, reliable, and automated geospatial insights are becoming increasingly critical.
This recognition further validates GMATICS’s approach to combining artificial intelligence with multi source satellite data, including optical and SAR imagery, to generate actionable intelligence for large scale environmental monitoring and mission-critical contexts. As demand grows for autonomous analysis and rapid interpretation of geospatial information, solutions capable of integrating heterogeneous data and transforming them into operational insights are becoming increasingly relevant for both institutional and industrial stakeholders.
This collaboration represents an important step toward bridging cutting-edge AI research and operational deployment, reinforcing the role of innovative SMEs in advancing the European space and defence ecosystem.
About GMATICS:
GMATICS is an Italian geospatial company that delivers AI-powered Earth Observation services for Local Public Administrations, accelerating smart-city initiatives, and Infrastructure Operators improving the resilience of their asset and services. We are specialised in transforming multi-sensor satellite data into actionable insights to improve air quality, land management, public health, and urban security and safety. GMATICS covers a wide field of EO applications, developing algorithms able to retrieve specific information content.
By leveraging innovative AI models, automated workflows, and adaptive user interfaces our solutions support public administrations and private operators with reliable, scalable tools for data driven decisions.
urope has embarked on one of its most ambitious digital and scientific undertakings: building a high-precision digital twin of the Earth system. At the heart of this effort is Destination Earth (DestinE), the European Union’s flagship initiative designed to develop dynamic, data-driven replicas of our planet capable of simulating natural phenomena, human activities and their complex interactions.
Funded by the European Commission (DG Connect), and implemented by ECMWF, ESA and EUMETSAT, DestinE combines advanced Earth system modelling, Earth observation data, artificial intelligence and Europe’s high-performance computing infrastructure through EuroHPC.
Two digital twins – the Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin (Climate DT) and the Weather-Induced Extremes Digital Twin (Extremes DT) – are being developed and brought into operations, enabling simulations of long-term climate evolution as well as detailed extreme-event scenarios.
DestinE’s objective is to translate scientific excellence into actionable, decision-ready information supporting climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.
A cloud gateway to Destination Earth
The DestinE Platform serves as the operational gateway to DestinE, integrating and operating an ecosystem of services. It provides cloud-based access to digital twin simulations, datasets and advanced analytical applications within a scalable, interoperable and secure environment.
As the entry point to DestinE, the platform offers direct access to the Digital Twin Engine and the Data Lake, enabling users to access data and services in an integrated manner. Through this access, large-scale climate simulations and datasets can be visualised, explored, processed and extracted to support analytical workflows.
Integrated access to Earth observation data
In addition to providing access to digital twin simulations, the DestinE Platform integrates data access services that enable users to work with Earth observation data from ESA missions and the Copernicus programme. For example, Highway provides streamlined access to ESA mission data, while services such as DestinEStreamer, Earth Data Hub and EDEN facilitate access to Copernicus and other environmental datasets.
These applications allow EO data to be analysed alongside DestinE digital twin outputs within the same environment. Combined with high-resolution climate and extreme-event simulations, they support the development of integrated analytical workflows and sector-specific applications.
A range of such tools is available through the DestinE Platform services section, where filtering by dataset helps users quickly identify relevant solutions for specific data sources and use cases. This integrated approach supports applications across domains including energy systems, urban resilience, hydrology, infrastructure risk assessment and climate adaptation planning.
An expanding service ecosystem
A structured onboarding process supports external providers wishing to integrate their own services, tools or analytical capabilities into the platform environment. From initial contact through to operational deployment, providers are guided through integration, documentation and validation steps to ensure interoperability and reliability.
To ensure transparency and foster continuous improvement, the platform also features a Public Roadmap available through the Support section. This roadmap provides a clear overview of functionalities that are planned, currently under implementation, or recently released, offering visibility into the platform’s evolution.
The roadmap also reinforces DestinE’s co-design approach. Logged-in users can suggest new functionalities, contribute ideas and support community proposals by voting on them. Selected contributions are incorporated into the roadmap, creating a transparent feedback loop between users, service providers and platform governance.
By combining structured onboarding with an open roadmap and community-driven input, the DestinE Platform evolves in response to user needs and operational feedback, keeping technical development aligned with operational use.
Towards operational impact
As the Destination Earth initiative progresses into its next implementation phase, the focus is increasingly on operational stability, broader accessibility and user uptake. The new phase, starting in July 2026, aims to turn DestinE into a system that more people across Europe can use to support real climate decisions.
Strengthened digital twin components, enhanced AI capabilities and expanded accessibility aim to ensure that the platform supports concrete applications, from urban resilience and infrastructure risk assessment to marine monitoring and emergency preparedness.
For the EO community, the DestinE Platform represents more than a technological milestone. It connects modelling, data and AI within a unified cloud environment, helping translate scientific capability into operational insight and supporting informed, forward-looking environmental decision-making.
Destination Earth (DestinE) is a European Union funded initiative implemented by ESA, ECMWF and EUMETSAT. Access Destination Earth at platform.destine.eu.
The SDGs-EYES project concluded at the end of 2025, leaving as its main legacy the Platform, designed to bridge the gap between science and decision-making and help transform information into real action.
Focusing on seven SDGs indicators on Climate (SDG 13), Ocean (SDG 14) and Land (SDG 15) tested across pilot areas including the Sahel countries, the North Sea, Romania, the City of Turin and Italy, the SDGs-EYES Platform consists of two user-interaction modalities:
the Jupiter Laboratory, a Jupyter-based Python environment that uses data from Copernicus and satellite sources to generate analysable datasets, allowing scientists to adapt workflows and scale indicators beyond pilot regions.
Turning data into decision
The SDGs-EYES Monitoring Services interfaces translate complex data into clear, accessible insights. Through intuitive visualisations and dashboards, they ensure that indicators are not only available but also understandable and actionable by non-technical users. Indeed, by simplifying access to reliable data, the SDGs-EYES Platform empowers decision makers to:
Advancing greenhouse gases monitoring for climate-related SDGs reporting: the FIRE-TRACE service advances and harmonises greenhouse gas emissions monitoring by integrating several data layers to capture the true complexity of fire behaviour. As a research-driven Earth observation-based tool, it delivers timely maps of greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane and particulate matter. This enables faster and more reliable climate reporting, while improving transparency and strengthening mitigation planning. As highlighted by Fabio Bacchini (ISTAT), by promoting replicability and accessibility, the use of satellite data can become a powerful tool for addressing both current and future challenges in environmental statistics.
Strengthening SDG 13 monitoring to address climate-related health in urban areas: the Heat Health Risk Assessment maps the spatial distribution of heat-related health risks in the city of Turin. By integrating Copernicus climate reanalysis data, health data, urban context and socio-demographic indicators, it produces a risk indicator reflecting climate hazard, exposure and vulnerability and identifies areas where heat stress coincides with at-risk populations. This service strengthens the capacity of public administrations to prioritise interventions, improve targeted communication during heatwaves and support long-term urban adaptation, as highlighted by Giulia Melis (LINK Foundation).
Advancing SDG indicator 13.1.1 to improve disaster-impact assessment in the Sahel: the Climate Security Watch delivers a scalable platform that identifies where hazards meet human presence. By combining flood-related datasets with exposure layers such as population and infrastructure, it estimates how many people and buildings are directly affected. According to Dr Mansour Barkawi (GeoMinds Africa) the service represents an important step forward in bridging the gap between Earth Observation and operational decision-making by providing timely and spatially detailed insights, contextualising risks through environmental and socio-economic indicators, and simplifying complex datasets to support early warning, crisis response and resilience planning in the Sahel.
Strengthening land management with Earth Observation: the Soil Erosion by Water Assessment Tool provides policymakers with evidence to achieve land degradation neutrality and implement soil protection policies. It enables timely targeting of conservation measures in erosion hotspots and supports credible national and EU reporting.
Monitoring forest for environmental policy in Romania: the Forest Tracker uses Sentinel-2 data and vegetation indices to produce annual maps of forest loss, degradation, stability and regeneration, delivering user-friendly information to support enforcement, restoration and sustainable forest governance.
Overall, the SDGs-EYES Monitoring Services demonstrate how Earth Observation can be translated into operational tools that strengthen resilience, improve environmental governance and support evidence-based policies. Stakeholders and institutions are invited to explore and use the SDGs-EYES services through the Platform athttps://sdgs-eyes.eu/.
In 2022, France faced one of the most intense drought episodes recorded in recent decades, with more than one-third of the territory affected for nearly ten months. Reduced precipitation combined with exceptionally high temperatures revealed significant limitations in existing monitoring and forecasting systems. Authorities lacked harmonised, up-to-date indicators to anticipate shortages, coordinate water allocation, and manage competing uses across territories. This situation emphasized the urgency of improving long-term planning, strengthening real-time observation capacities, and supporting transparent decision-making processes. In response, CS GROUP and SERTIT launched a project under the France2030 programme, supported by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and CNES, aiming to deliver innovative and user-friendly services dedicated to quantitative water resource management. A central objective was to provide operational tools enabling continuous monitoring from 2017 onward with regular weekly updates.
The Space-Based Solution
The solution relies on Copernicus Sentinel-1 (radar) and Sentinel-2 (optical) satellite imagery to monitor variations in water surface and stored volumes. Today, the system delivers weekly observations for nearly 19,000 artificial and natural water bodies in surface and 4,000 water bodies in volume and filling rate. Monitoring is performed at a spatial resolution of about 3 hectares, with detection capabilities extending to water bodies as small as 1 hectare. Advanced processing chains combine machine learning, statistical modelling, and digital elevation data to generate reservoir-specific volume models. Techniques based on contour extraction and gradient analysis allow estimation of water levels and storage capacity for each monitored reservoir. The service produces time series covering the 2017–present period, enabling both historical analysis and real-time tracking.
Accuracy assessment methods ensure reliable indicators, with target uncertainties of roughly 5–10% for water surface estimation, depending on site characteristics. Cloud-based processing infrastructure allows large-scale automated production while maintaining sustainable computational performance.
Services and Applications
The project resulted in an operational online Decision Support Tool designed for both technical experts and operational users. The platform includes two complementary interfaces: a cartographic monitoring environment for rapid visual exploration and an advanced dashboard enabling detailed analytical workflows.
Users can consult multi-year time series, compare current conditions with interannual averages, analyse anomalies, and download datasets for further analysis. The platform allows monitoring at multiple spatial scales — from individual reservoirs to hydrological basins or administrative regions — and integrates external datasets such as hydrometric measurements.
Designed through continuous interaction with institutional stakeholders, the service emphasizes usability and operational relevance. Features such as shared working contexts, customizable filters, and mobile access allow field agents and decision-makers to collaborate efficiently and use the tool directly during crisis management situations.
Users and Beneficiaries
Public administrations responsible for environmental regulation and water policy benefit from harmonised indicators supporting coordinated governance. Water agencies, regional authorities, and state services can monitor reservoir conditions consistently across territories, while water syndicates and hydroelectric operators gain access to tailored dashboards adapted to operational management needs.
Beyond institutional users, the service indirectly benefits a broad ecosystem of stakeholders — including agriculture, industry, inland navigation, and local communities — whose activities depend on reliable water availability. The accessibility of visual dashboards also facilitates communication between authorities and end users, improving transparency in water management decisions.
Benefits and Impact
Updated on a weekly basis, the platform provides near-real-time insight into water resource evolution, enabling rapid responses during extreme events such as droughts or flood risks. Authorities can detect deviations from seasonal norms, monitor destocking or filling dynamics, and implement targeted measures when thresholds are reached.
During summer 2025, hydrological monitoring bulletins generated through the system supported several local administrations in adapting water-use restrictions and managing reserves more proactively. The availability of consistent historical series since 2017 also strengthens long-term planning, allowing policymakers to evaluate trends, assess climate impacts, and refine allocation strategies across sectors.
Looking Ahead
Although Sentinel missions already enable large-scale monitoring, challenges remain for very small reservoirs or sites lacking detailed bathymetric information required for precise volume estimation. Continuous research and development efforts are therefore focused on improving detection methods, refining volume models, and expanding coverage through enhanced processing algorithms.
As of February 2026, the solution monitors around 19,000 water bodies for surface variations and approximately 4,000 water bodies for volume and filling-rate indicators across France and its overseas territories. These figures continue to grow as CS GROUP and SERTIT progressively enhance algorithm performance, automate processing chains, and integrate new datasets.
Future developments, including the integration of additional satellite missions such as altimetry data, will further improve water-level estimation and forecasting capabilities. By steadily increasing both accuracy and monitoring coverage, the service is expected to strengthen early-warning capacities and support increasingly resilient and data-driven water governance in the context of climate change.
Developed by VisioTerra and onboarded with the support of GAEL Systems, the COMEO Sentinel-1/2 products compression service is now available on the DestinE Platform.
With compression rates exceeding 50%, it saves disk space and speeds up download times for intensive use of S1_IW_GRD and S2_L1C.
Three different compression algorithms have been developed, tested and implemented in the COMEO service: Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), JPEG2000 and Learned Image Compression Hyperprior (LICH) the latter using AI techniques.
Compressed data and a decompression tool can be downloaded in just a few clicks.
In addition to compression, the COMEO service includes a tool for comparing algorithms across multiple use cases and a tool for visualising compressed Sentinel-1 data over the Mediterranean Sea.
This service is intended for all DestinE users, particularly research centres and universities, New Space start-ups and geospatial companies, public agencies and environmental NGOs. It greatly facilitates all monitoring projects that require large volumes over long periods of time.
Destination Earth (DestinE) is a European Union funded initiative implemented by ESA, ECMWF and EUMETSAT. Access Destination Earth at destine.platform.eu.
The COMEO service is one of the ‘Advanced Applications and Services’ included in the ‘Core Service Platform’ developed by the European Space Agency.
From wind to wave and floating solar - Six use cases across Europe
BLUE-Xis a satellite-based decision support tool for offshore renewable energy. The platform is designed to support the full lifecycle of blue renewable energy projects.
The international project consortium led by EOMAP recently handed over the digital tool to six use case partners across wave, tidal, and offshore solar energy in Europe:
• Wave energy by PoliTO, technologies designed for Mediterranean conditions • Offshore floating solar by Oceans of Energy, a robust system that enables offshore wind farms to produce more energy without using more sea space.
• Offshore test sites by WavEC, a real-sea test site that helps wave and floating wind technologies move from prototype to market.
• Wave energy by CorPower Ocean, a high-efficiency technology designed to support the path toward commercial wave farms.
• Modular tidal energy by Inyanga, a scalable system based on modular design. • Tidalkite Innovation by SeaQurrent, an underwater kite system that captures tidal energy and unlocks clean, predictable power even in low-speed currents.
The practical experience in these real-world use cases will help further optimise BLUE-X usability and performance. Each use case is expected to demonstrate how satellite-based data decision-support can improve planning and site selection, reduce development and operational risks, lower costs, support sustainable offshore energy deployment, and enable smarter, faster decision-making.
These use cases are now available through the BLUE-X Use Case Brochures.
The project receives funding from EUSPA – EU Agency for the Space Programme and contributes to Europe’s long-term strategy for sustainable offshore renewable energy development.
Healthy benthic habitats are key to sustaining biodiversity, protecting coastlines, and sustainable economic development. Accurate mapping of these benthic habitats is essential for effective conservation and informed decision-making, yet conventional mapping methods are often time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Within the ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) project SFC‑Online (Seafloor Classification Online), EOMAP – a Fugro company – addresses these challenges. By providing a cloud‑based software solution named ‘BENTHIQ’, EOMAP enables stakeholders to map and monitor benthic seafloor habitats efficiently and at scale.
The new service is designed to integrate Copernicus Sentinel‑2 data, very high‑resolution commercial satellite imagery, and underwater video data into a semi‑automatic workflow powered by machine learning.
This workflow empowers users to generate high‑quality seafloor habitat maps without requiring specialist expertise in Earth Observation or access to high‑performance local computing infrastructure. ‘BENTHIQ’ is developed in close collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and the State Office for the Environment Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, who, in their role as pilot users, deliver training data and support the development of the web application with their expert knowledge.
The market opportunity for this online solution is substantial. By combining satellite with underwater video data in a self-enabled, cloud-based platform, ‘BENTHIQ’ addresses an unmet need for cost-efficient, scalable seafloor habitat monitoring. Leveraging EOMAP’s established technological leadership and global reach, the service supports more
frequent, reliable, and evidence-based marine management across governmental, research, and industry users.
The Greek national satellite space project: axis 3 land monitoring service aims to strengthen the country's capabilities in satellite technologies and applications while facilitating the exchange of satellite data. Its primary objective is to design, develop, launch, and pre-operate small satellites capable of hosting multipurpose payloads to address both national and European needs.
The initiative seeks to provide high-resolution imagery to various Greek civil, institutional, and governmental users, as well as potential European stakeholders within the frameworks of Copernicus and GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems).
Entirely funded by the European Union (EU) through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the project supports critical applications, including Land Use/Land Cover Mapping, Deformation Monitoring, and Urban Analytics Services.
Consortis Geospatial (https://consortis-geo.gr/en) has played a pivotal role in advancing geospatial technologies, particularly in change analysis. One of its key contributions is the development of a change analysis algorithm, designed to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of detecting and validating land surface transformations over time.
The main contribution of Consortis Geospatial was on land Cover Classification Change Detection for Environmental and Resource Management. In that respect, Consortis Geospatial led the:
✔ Development of high-accuracy land cover maps to support sustainable environmental monitoring and natural resource management.
✔ Monitoring land use and land cover (LULC) changes to ensure long-term environmental health and sustainability.
✔ Development of a dedicated, tailored, software for LULC change detection, precision assessment and validation with improved statistical metrics.
Such change detection maps can contribute, to e.g., Agricultural Planning and Sustainable Land Use through:
✔ Enhancing agricultural planning by distinguishing between vegetation types, optimizing crop rotation, and improving soil management.
✔ Promoting precision agriculture through detailed classification and mapping of farmland.
and to Disaster Risk Management and Early Warning Systems through:
✔ Utilizing land cover classification and feature extraction for early warning systems in detecting floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters.
✔ Providing real-time geospatial insights to mitigate disaster risks, protecting both lives and property.
This advanced Land Cover change service by Consortis Geospatial will be a critical tool for policymakers, land managers, urban planners, and researchers, enhancing land management, disaster resilience, and environmental sustainability across Greece and beyond.
“The project is being carried out under an ESA Contract in the frame of the Greek National Satellite Space Project. The Project: Small-Satellites (Measure ID 16855) is implemented by the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance with the European Space Agency (ESA) Assistance in the Management and Implementation. The project is part of the National
Recovery and Resilience Plan ‘Greece 2.0’, which is funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), core programme of the European Union-NextGenerationEU.
Views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/ Greek Ministry of Digital Governance. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and the European Union/European Commission/European Space Agency/ Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
The WorldView Legion constellation was launched by Vantor (formerly Maxar) throughout 2024 and 2025, and consists of six Very High Resolution satellites which complement the company’s other four sensors: GeoEye-1, WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3. Users in Europe get access to these satellites through EUSI (European Space Imaging), who directly operates them from Europe’s most advanced ground station in Munich, Germany. When combined, the modern technology of the sensors and the ground station offers:
Near Real Time Delivery (NRT) up to 15 minutes after collection
Tasking up to 30 minutes before satellite pass
30 cm resolution
Revisit rate up to 15 times a day (depending on the location)
Full daytime coverage within -45 and +45 degrees of latitude
8 spectral bands
Speed matters: NRT delivery up to 15 minutes after collection improves emergency response and border security
When an emergency occurs, every second counts. With the ability to deliver actionable imagery as fast as 15 minutes after collection, WorldView Legion downlinking to EUSI’s ground station enables rapid response to developing situations. For example, if a natural disaster hits, responders can have a complete picture of the damage, accurately guiding rescue efforts, within hours. This speed transforms how we tackle not only natural catastrophes but also persistent challenges like border security, allowing authorities to spot and respond to developing situations almost in real time.
30 cm resolution and 8 spectral bands enable fast and detailed imagery analysis
The Vantor constellation consists of 10 Very High Resolution satellites – seven of them, including the six WorldView Legion sensors, collect at 30 cm resolution with 8 spectral bands. By arranging these multispectral bands in various combinations, users can extract additional information that is invisible to the human eye, such as material composition or camouflage identification. Additionally, the very high resolution allows users to accurately identify equipment, monitor military assets and map the finest details of any critical situation.
Easy access to remote or restricted areas
Beyond the details, satellite imagery has the added advantage of access to anywhere in the world. There is no border too remote or ocean too vast to capture enormous strips of imagery or pinpoint a narrow area of interest. This allows government and private users to monitor any situation without expensive and dangerous field work.
Stereo imagery from WorldView Legion for training simulations and mission planning
Stereo VHR satellite imagery is used to create 3D models of terrain, vegetation and structures, which can serve for training simulations and mission planning. These models, made by GAF AG from VHR stereoscopic images collected by EUSI, can be delivered 24 hours after collection.
The importance of choosing a trusted European data solutions provider
Selecting a European data provider ensures alignment with EU policies and security interests. EUSI independently operates the WorldView and WorldView Legion satellites over Europe with a local team at the ground station at the German Aerospace Center near Munich, Germany. They implement all relevant activities in the EU, in strict accordance with the EU Space Programme Regulation. 100% of management are EU citizens physically located in Munich, and 100% of contract decisions are made by the CEO, Adrian Zevenbergen.
Dynamic tasking: Last-minute orders, rapid delivery and customised parameters
In reaction to the demand of European users, EUSI has developed ATOM, a new advanced platform for direct tasking, archive ordering and project management. It gives users granular control over search filters, product parameters and tasking settings, provides real-time, accurate feasibility studies, and enables last-minute tasking up to 30 min before the satellite pass.
ATOM was built for complex, multi-user environments to support organisations of any scale, and provides 24/7/365 access, autonomy, transparency, security, and fine-grained control. The platform is currently released for selected users – contact EUSI to request a demo.
Key takeaways
Monitoring frequency: WorldView Legion significantly increases Maxar's imaging capacity, enabling up to 15 revisits per day in some locations. This allows for more frequent monitoring of critical areas.
Full daytime coverage: The mid-inclination orbits of some WorldView Legion satellites provide full daytime coverage within -45 and +45 degrees of latitude, enabling monitoring at various times throughout the day.
Near Real-Time (NRT) monitoring: Upgrades to EUSI's ground station allow for managing several parallel NRT orders and delivering actionable imagery as fast as 15 minutes after collection.
Improved emergency response: Faster data collection and delivery enable quicker assessment of disaster-stricken areas or developing events.
Enhanced border security and maritime surveillance: The ability to monitor critical areas throughout the day allows for rapid adaptation to developing situations.
High-resolution imagery: WorldView Legion collects 30 cm resolution imagery, which provides detailed views for better analysis and decision-making.
European source of data: EUSI independently operates the WorldView Legion satellites over Europe with a local team at their ground station near Munich, with all activities in strict accordance with the EU Space Programme Regulation.
Dynamic tasking: A direct tasking platform ATOM, developed by EUSI, is available. It provides granular control over parameters, real-time feasibilities, and options for last-minute collection tasking.
UP42 is a geospatial platform and marketplace that brings together the world’s best providers of remote sensing data. This case study explains how their customer Overstory worked with UP42 to massively scale up their operations.
The customer
Overstory's AI-powered grid resilience software helps electric utilities detect vegetation risks before they lead to outages or wildfires. By combining satellite imagery with machine learning, their platform identifies where vegetation threatens grid reliability, enabling proactive and prioritized action.
Today, more than 70 utilities rely on Overstory to reduce risk, improve operational efficiency, and respond to a changing climate. By transforming complex remote sensing data into clear, actionable insight, they’re helping build a safer, more resilient electric grid.
The challenge
Overstory’s AI model detects wildfire and outage risks caused by vegetation. To train and update their model, Overstory needed continuous access to different types of satellite data, from low and medium resolution to very high resolution.
Historically, this access has been difficult. Providers are more used to working with governments and large organizations, and their processes are often not tailored to smaller companies. This resulted in large amounts of paperwork, long waiting times, and a lack of flexibility around data access.
Overstory faced this issue with nearly every provider they worked with, as they had to interact with different customer support teams and different delivery systems.
They needed a more efficient way to access satellite data—one that would remain feasible as their operations continued to scale.
The solution
UP42’s catalog gives Overstory easy access to archived satellite imagery from multiple providers. If the catalog does not contain the imagery they need, they can task a satellite or aerial provider to capture the required area of interest directly from the UP42 platform.
Instant pricing estimates also show Overstory what they can expect to pay for each order, providing clearer budget planning. Once the imagery is ready, Overstory downloads it from UP42 storage, processing and integrating it directly into their solution.
Overstory mostly works with UP42’s API. The API allows them to automate their ordering process, saving significant manual work and ensuring a constant flow of imagery and data. They also use the browser-based console to explore new data sources and check order status.
The types of data that Overstory orders have evolved over time. Initially, they used more analytical data. Today, their machine learning workflows require very high resolution imagery capable of identifying individual plants and trees.
They also access DTMs and DSMs through the UP42 platform, providing valuable elevation data and height information about natural and man-made features. Combined, this enables them to train their AI model with even greater precision.
"UP42 keeps a pulse on what satellite providers are doing, so we understand what’s coming and how to pivot or modify orders if needed. It’s a real partnership that allows us to deliver precise insights to our own customers and build smarter machine learning models that support valuable global vegetation intelligence."
Andrew Creamer, Data Acquisition Lead at Overstory
The result
Automating their workflow through UP42’s API has saved Overstory a significant amount of manual work, while achieving an extremely high order success rate of over 99.99%. They can now access different types of data with much greater speed and flexibility.
Thanks to support from UP42 and the Documentation hub, Overstory can obtain data faster than ever before and integrate it into their solutions. They even use the Documentation hub to educate new hires about satellite imagery concepts.
Because UP42 closely follows developments in the geospatial industry, Overstory stays informed about new capabilities and upcoming changes, allowing them to adapt their operations well in advance.
This is essential as their data collection is tripling every year. The collaboration enables Overstory to deliver precise insights to their own customers and build machine learning models that support global vegetation intelligence.
As Overstory’s operations continue to grow, they are also exploring additional data sources such as weather data to further improve their AI models.
"With UP42, we’ve got exactly what we need: a constant smooth flow of high-quality satellite data that’s easy to work with."
Brian Lafayette, VP of Product & Strategy at Overstory
