Do you have the need for regularly updated images of locations around the world?

Perhaps you need imagery to integrate with an OEM solution you are developing?

Or maybe your organization uses large amounts of high-resolution imagery each year, and you are seeking a low-cost option for this data?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then the solution you are looking for is DigitalGlobe’s EarthWatch (formerly called Global Basemap or GBM).

With EarthWatch, you have access to millions of square kilometers of streamed imagery with low cloud-cover and off-nadir angles. This data is accessible in web-mapping services and in an online viewer. Perhaps the most important feature of EarthWatch are the regular streaming updates you can receive as out-dated imagery is often of little or no use to our valued clients.

And if the EarthWatch streaming database lacks the coverage you need, Premium users are now able to download any image from the entire DigitalGlobe archive in a wide variety of formats!

A map of the available Vivid coverage included with Premium EarthWatch subscriptions. There is a lot of green on the map!

October 2019 Product Update

Last month we checked out the EarthWatch coverage over South America which was quite robust in the regions not plagued by constant clouds; and for this month we take a break from regional statistics with a look at the coverage in Vivid. Offered as part of a Premium EarthWatch subscription or as GeoTIFFs in an offline format, Vivid can be an excellent choice for clients more concerned about regional, lower-cost high-resolution coverage than the vintage of the images used in the mosaic. If you check out the map included here, you will see the vast majority of the world has coverage, impressive! Okay here is a crazy stat to ponder as well, of the approximate 134.8 million square kilometers of land inside country borders, Vivid contains 131.3 million square kilometers or 97.4% of this land mass!!

EarthWatch Product Specifications

• Accessible Geographic Regions: global (unless geo-fencing specifically requested by client)
• Maximum Imagery Resolution: 50-centimeters through WMS and WCS; 30-cm for other delivery mechanisms
• Data Sources: primary = WorldView-2/3/4 and GeoEye-1; secondary = QuickBird, IKONOS, WorldView-1 and aerial
• Imagery Holdback Period For Updates: 90 day holdback for EarthWatch Standard; 2 day holdback for EarthWartch Premium; updates are to limited portions of the database, not the entire database
• Data Accuracy: at least 8.5-meter CE90%
• Database Access: OGC streaming services (i.e. WMS, WMST, WCS and WFS), Google Earth streaming services (i.e. EarthService), ArcGIS plugin (i.e. ImageConnect), offline database/downloads and online portal
• Annual Downloads & Streaming Limits: Standard = 4 gigabytes (GB) and up, annual license for downloads; Premium = 2 GB and up, perpetual license for downloads
• Maximum Concurrent Users: unlimited!
• Data Layers: Standard = standard image strips, +Vivid country-wide mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors; Premium = standard, +Daily and First Look image strips, +Metro, +Vivid and Landsat mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors
• Pricing Model: Standard and Premium tiered annual pricing models with increasing download and streaming limits

EarthWatch Direct Archive Download Specifications

Premium EarthWatch users are able to download high-resolution satellite imagery from the entire DigitalGlobe archive in a variety of formats. Here are some details on this exciting offering:

• Available Data Sources: entire commercial archives of GeoEye-1, IKONOS, QuickBird and WorldView-1/2/3/4 (SWIR included too!)
• Annual Downloads Limits: 2 GB and up; metering combined with streaming usage
• Product License: internal use and perpetual
• Product Resolution: maximum resolution for each satellite
• Product Formats: all standard types are offered including, orthoready, stereo, basic, 4-band bundle, 8-band bundle, ACOMP on, etc.

For more information on the pricing and coverage available in DigitalGlobe’s EarthWatch, you can reach our sales team anytime at sales@apollomapping.com or during typical American business hours at (303) 993-3863.