Q&A with GLOBHE
Meet the company shaping the future of forests through regenerative planting and using drone technology.
Image courtesy of GLOBHE
GLOBHE is the leading provider of ultra high resolution Earth observation data. The company revolutionized the earth observation industry by providing data at the millimeter scale. It is the only alternative to satellite data that provides data globally, quickly, and at scale.
GLOBHE has gathered more than one million images of the Earth so far, an unprecedented dataset captured by drones. We asked them to tell us a bit about their data imaging platform, Crowddroning, and how people can get involved.
Image courtesy of GLOBHE
Q: So, what exactly is Crowddroning?
A: Crowddrowing taps into our network of drone operators in 120 countries to collect aerial data sustainably. We connect researchers, organizations, and businesses to drone operators worldwide, meaning there is no need to fly drone operators and equipment to other regions, thus reducing the environmental footprint and helping the communities by employing locals.
Q: Why not just use satellite imagery?
A: Drone imagery has a much higher image resolution than satellite images — 1cm compared to 30cm for commercial satellite images. Drones make more detailed analysis possible, such as identifying infrastructural failures, crop damage, or malaria mosquito breeding sites. Moreover, purchasing high-resolution satellite data is still quite expensive, and imagery may not be available for the point in time you need. Crowddroning provides the end-users with more updated information since most satellite images lag between 16 days and two years depending on where in the world you are, making sudden onset changes, such as natural disasters, difficult to detect on time through satellites.
Q: That’s amazing. So, how does the platform work?
A: First, you’ll go onto the Crowddroning platform and make a data request for imagery of a specific area. We will then notify drone operators in the area of your project request, and they can choose to accept the job. Right now, we have more than 6,000 drone operators in over 120 countries — so you can request data from all over the world. Once the image data is collected, it is stitched into digital maps (if the client selects the map option, raw data is also available) based on the drone images.
Each drone photo is geotagged, which makes overlay on satellite maps possible to visualize location and changes over time. Last but not least, we export our drone maps in different formats such as 2D maps or orthomosaics, 3D maps, elevation maps, et cetera. It all depends on the client's needs before sending a downloadable link to the client.
“Right now, we have more than 6,000 drone operators in over 120 countries.”
Q: How much does this all cost? And what kind of data is available?
A: The price starts at USD 1/mb, depending on the size of the area, the type of drone data, and the rate of our local drone operators. The types of data available include 2D orthomosaic maps, 3D models or point clouds, elevation maps, digital terrain models, digital surface models, topographic maps with contour lines, thermal maps, plant health (NDVI maps), live streamed data (video footage), and raw data/photos. When you request drone data, we will get back to you with a price quote to approve before sending a drone operator to capture your data.
Q: How long does it take to receive the drone data?
A: It depends on a few factors such as drone operator availability, size of the area requested, kind of drone data requested, and varying data uploading times depending on where the data is uploaded. When you order drone data, we will send you a time estimation as part of your quote.
Q: How are individuals and organizations currently using GLOBHE data? Are there any projects your team is particularly excited about?
A: Yes! There are so many. Recently, The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD, used GLOBHE to scale the detection and characterization of trees and tree species across a large area of the Sahel region in Africa. It was a part of the project of the Great Green Wall, which is doing essential work on conservation, restoration, and reforestation to prevent the Saharan Desert from spreading. In Sweden, an organization called Arboair uses GLOBHE data to track bark beetle infestation — an issue that is getting more common in the global north due to the warming climate. There is a lot of exciting work happening.
IMAGE COURTESY OF GLOBHE
Q: How do I sign up as a drone operator for Crowddroning? I’d love to get involved.
A: To sign up as a drone operator in the Crowddroning platform, you must have a registered company. However, if you don’t have your own company, you can register with companies like Cool Company to invoice GLOBHE without having your own company. No registered company is needed to fly unpaid volunteer missions as long as you still have valid insurance and all legal permissions to fly required by law in the country of operation.
