EarthNow to Deliver Real-Time Video via Large Satellite Constellation

["DAVID FARBER" <dfarber () me com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: the keyboard of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
> Date: April 19, 2018 at 9:17:04 PM EDT
> To: E-mail Pamphleteer Dave Farber's Interesting People list <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: EarthNow to Deliver Real-Time Video via Large Satellite Constellation
>
> [​This reader wonders out loud: EXACTLY AT WHAT RESOLUTION, Pretty Please???
> Good enough, say, to discern car license plates from from space?  
> or, how about reading peoples lips ala "Open the Pod bay doors, HAL." ? :D]
>
> EarthNow to Deliver Real-Time Video via Large Satellite Constellation
>
> Company spins out of Intellectual Ventures’ ISF Incubator to commercialize satellite imaging system
>
> April 18, 2018 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
> https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180418005241/en/EarthNow-Deliver-Real-Time-Video-Large-Satellite-Constellation
>
> BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EarthNow LLC announces intent to deploy a large constellation of advanced imaging 
> satellites that will deliver real-time, continuous video of almost anywhere on Earth. The latest company to spin-out 
> from Intellectual Ventures, EarthNow recently closed a first round of financing with investments from Airbus, the 
> SoftBank Group, Bill Gates, and Greg Wyler. The initial funding focuses primarily on maturing the overall system 
> design to deliver innovative and unique real-time Earth observation services.
>
> According to EarthNow’s founder and CEO, Russell Hannigan, “EarthNow is ambitious and unprecedented, but our 
> objective is simple; we want to connect you visually with Earth in real-time. We believe the ability to see and 
> understand the Earth live and unfiltered will help all of us better appreciate and ultimately care for our one and 
> only home.”
>
> EarthNow represents a dramatic leap forward in capability compared to other Earth observation satellite systems which 
> deliver pictures and sometimes video clips to users many minutes, hours and even days after they are requested. 
> Hannigan said, “With existing systems, users can see only what has happened in the past. With EarthNow’s 
> constellation of satellites, you will see events unfold as they happen in real-time.”
>
> EarthNow takes advantage of an upgraded version of the satellite platform, or “bus,” developed originally for the 
> OneWeb communications service. Each satellite is equipped with an unprecedented amount of onboard processing power, 
> including more CPU cores than all other commercial satellites combined. According to Greg Wyler, Founder and 
> Executive Chairman of OneWeb, “We created the world’s first low-cost, high-performance satellites for mass-production 
> to bridge the digital divide. These very same satellite features will enable EarthNow to help humanity understand and 
> manage its impact on Earth.”
>
> Airbus plans to mass-produce the satellites using their advanced production lines in Toulouse and Florida. “Airbus 
> has a unique heritage in design, manufacture and operation of Earth Observation satellite systems and would certainly 
> be a valuable partner in this program,” said Nicolas Chamussy, Head of Space Systems at Airbus.
>
> Initially, EarthNow will offer commercial video and intelligent vision services to a range of government and 
> enterprise customers. Applications include catching illegal fishing in the act, watching hurricanes and typhoons as 
> they evolve, detecting forest fires the moment they start, watching volcanoes the instant they start to erupt, 
> assisting the media in telling stories from around the world, tracking large whales as they migrate, helping “smart 
> cities” become more efficient, providing on-demand data about crop health, and observing conflict zones around the 
> world. In parallel, EarthNow plans to create compelling “live Earth video” mass market applications that can be 
> accessed instantly from a smartphone or tablet. “We are excited by the prospect of giving everyone a 
> stunningly-beautiful real-time window on your world from space. With EarthNow, we will all become virtual 
> astronauts,” said Hannigan.
>
> For additional information please visit: www.earthnow.com
>
> About EarthNow
>
> Founded in 2017, EarthNow LLC plans to deploy a large constellation of advanced imaging satellites that will deliver 
> real-time, continuous video and intelligent vision of almost anywhere on Earth. A spin-out from Intellectual 
> Ventures, the company’s investors are Airbus, the SoftBank Group, Bill Gates and Greg Wyler. EarthNow aims to connect 
> everyone visually with the Earth in real-time.
>
> About Intellectual Ventures
>
> Intellectual Ventures is a global invention and investment business that creates, incubates and commercializes 
> impactful inventions. Led by avid inventor and technology leader Nathan Myhrvold, IV has created more than a dozen 
> companies with the power to transform industries. At the edge of technological advances to serve both the developed 
> and developing world, IV works with many of the world’s top inventors to push innovation forward.
>
> Contacts
> EarthNow
> Kyle Mahoney, +1-505-357-0360
> media () earthnow com
> or
> Intellectual Ventures
> Kyle Mahoney, +1-425-283-4726
> press () intven com
>
> -- 
> Geoff.Goodfellow () iconia com
> living as The Truth is True
> http://geoff.livejournal.com  
>
> This message was sent to the list address and trashed, but can be found online.



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