VT Census Case Studies : Blackbridge

Created and last modified by molfe on 02 Jan 2016

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

RapidEye refers to the constellation of 5 earth observation satellites owned and operated by BlackBridge AG. Each of RapidEye's satellites contain identical sensors, are equally calibrated and travel on the same orbital plane (at an altitude of 630 km). Together, the 5 satellites are capable of collecting over 4 million km² of 5 m resolution, 5-band color imagery every day. The RapidEye constellation has the capability to collect 5 million km² of the most current and high-quality imagery every day. BlackBridge has over 5 billion km² of high-resolution RapidEye imagery in its archive, both current and historical.Imagery from the RapidEye constellation can provide geospatial information to the following industries: Agriculture, Forestry, Security & Emergency , Spatial Solutions, Energy & Infrastructure. In regards to infrastructure, they can monitor pipeline and transmission corridors and identify problems on the ground such as vegetation encroachment, nearby buildings, development of roads or leaks. It can provide land cover and land use classification data to telecommunication firms to assist in planning their antenna network.

EyeFind™ provides you online viewing access to the complete BlackBridge Archive of imagery collected since the start of commercial operations in February 2009. With EyeFind™ you can easily view all browse images collected by BlackBridge's RapidEye satellites over a defined area of interest. http://eyefind.rapideye.com/

Link: http://www.blackbridge.com/

Date Inventory Completed: 7/12/2015

Screening

  • Is the data collected opinion-based?
  • Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
  • Can we access the data by August 15th? Unknown

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

BlackBridge is focused on providing end to end solutions for the geospatial value chain. This includes satellite operations, ground station services, data center and geocloud solutions, worldwide distribution through over 100 BlackBridge partners, and the creation of value added products and services.

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

The combination of large area coverage, frequent revisit intervals, high-resolution and multispectral capabilities offers considerable advantages to its customers.

  • Who else uses the data?

Researchers, non profits, businesses

  • Who do they sell the data to?

Researchers, non profits, businesses

 

Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Satellites

  • What is the type of data collected? 

Satellite imagery

  • If designed, who created the questions?

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

Images


Description

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

Satellite imagery

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

February 2009 to 2013

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

Yes. Daily (off-nadir; always less than 20°), 5.5 days (at nadir)

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

Not stated


Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

All land areas of the world between 84 degrees North and 84 degrees South can be acquired by the RapidEye satellites in normal operational mode


Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

 GeoTIFF (default for Level 3A), NITF (default for Level 1B); FTP (default), DVD, Portable Hard Drive

  • Is it open data?

No

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

None stated

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

One time. Minimum purchase is 500 km² for Archive data.

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? YES

Full Inventory

Description

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

Daily (off-nadir; always less than 20°), 5.5 days (at nadir)

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

Yes, various levels of Spectral Range (nm): 440-510, 520- 590, 620-685, 290-740, 760-850


Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

The RapidEye 3A is an orthorectified product. Orthorectification is the process used to remove distortions to an image coming from topographic relief (the Earth's surface) or the camera used to take the image. To remove the surface distortions or topographic relief, Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are used, along with Ground Control Points (GCPs). Orthorectified images can be used to measure true distances on the ground, because they are an accurate representation of the surface of the Earth, like a map.

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

N/A

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

Unknown

  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

See:

http://www.blackbridge.com/rapideye/upload/EyeFind_UserGuide.pdf

http://www.blackbridge.com/rapideye/about/resources.htm


Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

They do exclude water and ice regions, because they do not contain identifiable landmarks. Landmarks (features or points with well known geo-locations) are needed to band align the images and are also used to improve the georeferencing of the image data. There are, however, seasonal restrictions on imaging, driven by the need for sufficient illumination levels. In higher latitudes, imaging is restricted during the hemisphere's winter to areas with a sun elevation angle of 30 degrees or more. The low sun elevation negatively affects our image quality and not the capability to acquire images. Generally speaking, the lower the sun elevation, the darker the image becomes. This affects Central and Northern Europe, Northern Asia and Northern U.S./ Canada in the northern hemisphere's winter and Southern Argentina and Chili, Tasmania and New Zealand in southern hemisphere's winter.

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

  • What was the coverage?

See coverage map found at http://www.blackbridge.com/rapideye/about/resources.htm


Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

None stated

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? 

None stated

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

None stated


Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

The positional accuracy of the RapidEye products varies between countries and regions, depending on available ground control data. Ground control points (GCPs) are used during the cataloging process to refine the locational accuracy of all products. The positional accuracy of the 1B Basic Product can be as accurate as 11.0m 1-sigma (23.6m CE90). Our RapidEye 3A Ortho product can be as accurate as 6m 1-sigma (12.7m CE90) depending upon the GCPs and DEM used.

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

BlackBridge continuously monitors acquired image data to ensure long term stability and inter comparability among all five sensors. In addition, image data is frequently acquired from a number of calibration sites spread worldwide. These statistics are also used to ensure that each band stays within a range of +/- 2.5% from the band mean value across the constellation.

 

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)? 

None stated

  • Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

None stated


Privacy and security

  • Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?

None stated

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

http://www.blackbridge.com/rapideye/upload/eula-US.pdf

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

None stated

 

Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)

A wide range of research has been done in Agriculture, Forestry, Security & Emergency , Spatial Solutions, Energy & Infrastructure. See below link.

  • Include any links to research if provided:

http://www.blackbridge.com/rapideye/about/resources.htm

  • List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.

 

Gaps/Concerns

  • Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
  • Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
  • Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
  • Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset:

Only images are provided. Not provided are analysis of the images or data directly suitable for use.