Maxar Technologies’ DigitalGlobe Selected to Create a Geospatial Cloud Analytics Hub for DARPA
DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies company (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.) (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), announced today that it has been awarded a contract valued at $3.2 million by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to provide an unclassified environment with multi-source content for geospatial cloud analytics. This platform, called the Geospatial Cloud Analytics Hub (GCA Hub), will enable military and intelligence end users to leverage machine learning to extract insights at scale and make critical decisions. MDA, also a Maxar company, will provide RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and SAR data curation and processing tools to help DARPA users detect features and change faster and more accurately within GCA Hub.
DigitalGlobe’s Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX), a commercially-developed, cloud-based analytics platform, will serve as the foundation for DARPA’s GCA Hub. GBDX provides access to DigitalGlobe’s 100-petabyte library of high-resolution satellite imagery as well as open-source and commercial data provided by the company’s growing list of content ecosystem partners. MDA’s RADARSAT-2 SAR dataset permits users to observe valuable features and changes that go undetected with other imaging techniques, and provides day and night coverage regardless of weather.
The GCA Hub enables Defense Department analysts to apply government, commercial and open-source algorithms to geospatial data sources including electro-optical (EO) imagery, SAR imagery, and automatic identification system (AIS) data. This process allows analysts to exploit geospatial information at a scale never done before and focus on understanding what’s happening on Earth at any time. With GCA Hub, DARPA advances the state-of-the-art for enabling analysts with a secure, powerful tool to make sense of the growing volume of geospatial data for projects like predicting food shortages, locating the construction of oil fracking sites, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“DARPA’s requirements demonstrate the power of processing and interpreting large amounts of different kinds of geospatial data at scale,” said Dr. Shay Har-Noy, DigitalGlobe Vice President of Unified Platform. “Our solution for DARPA leverages strategic investments we’ve already made for commercial customers, proves the utility of our cloud-based platform, and will become foundational to helping defense and intelligence users to solve problems at scale in the future. We are proud to be a trusted DARPA partner.”
DigitalGlobe has been empowering start-ups and established companies to build successful commercial analytics products and services utilizing the innovative and agile GBDX platform. GBDX ecosystem partners provide valuable insights to a variety of industries, including the financial, energy, insurance, defense and intelligence markets, to Build a Better World.
This document was cleared by DARPA on September 21, 2018. Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited.
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is the global leader in commercial high-resolution satellite imagery used by decision makers to better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. Sourced from the world’s leading constellation, our imagery solutions deliver unmatched coverage and capacity to meet our customers’ most demanding mission requirements. Each day customers in defense and intelligence, public safety, civil agencies, map making and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, navigation technology, and providers of location-based services depend on DigitalGlobe data, information, technology and expertise to gain actionable insight. DigitalGlobe is a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR). For more information visit www.DigitalGlobe.com.
About Maxar Technologies
As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,500 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com.
