DigitalGlobe today announced that the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has subscribed to the company’s FirstLook global event monitoring service for its Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT). When crises occur, FirstLook will deliver updated high-resolution satellite imagery and associated insight of the region to UNOSAT personnel within hours after the crisis begins. The imagery and data can then be distributed by UNOSAT throughout the network of U.N. agencies. With faster access to relevant, refreshed imagery, U.N. experts can more quickly deliver situational and impact analyses to decision makers and response teams in affected areas.
“Accurate and timely analysis of satellite imagery plays a vital role in helping us respond faster and smarter, so that more lives can be saved,” said Francesco Pisano, Manager of UNOSAT. “Our subscription to FirstLook expands our already successful use of DigitalGlobe’s imagery, increasing accuracy and accelerating response times. This is a critical milestone for UNOSAT and the entire U.N. community of users.”
Adding the FirstLook subscription was the next essential step in the UNOSAT “Data-in-Hand” initiative, which combines commercial and partner resources to consolidate and concentrate access to valuable data for all types of emergency response and human security monitoring. To foster cooperation and maximize success, the agency chose a multi-license subscription, granting multiple U.N. agencies on-demand imagery access and download capabilities.
“We’re honored to become UNITAR’s satellite monitoring, imagery and information provider of choice,” said Aaron Crane, vice president of product management at DigitalGlobe. “We are working to deliver refreshed imagery and insight faster than any other company can, enabling any analyst with an internet connection the same level of access, where and when they need it.”
About FirstLook
Powered by DigitalGlobe’s Cloud Services platform, the FirstLook service provides fast, online access and download of pre- and post-event imagery. Depending on factors such as cloud cover and satellite orbit, FirstLook can deliver imagery in as little as three hours after event tracking has been initiated. This rapid collection and delivery allow planners on the ground to more quickly assess impact across an entire region or to closely monitor small, focused areas. Further, FirstLook customers can access all archive imagery for the respective region from DigitalGlobe’s vast ImageLibrary, which helps them more accurately detect changes in geography and man-made structures after an event occurs. FirstLook has already delivered images for nearly 50 events in 2011, including the political turmoil in Egypt and Libya and natural disasters in Japan and Alabama. New images are collected and/or refreshed every day. For more information, visit www.digitalglobe.com/firstlook.
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services. Sourced from our own advanced satellite constellation, our imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses within defense and intelligence, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals and navigation technology. With our collection sources and comprehensive ImageLibrary (containing more than one billion square kilometers of earth imagery and imagery products) we offer a range of on- and off-line products and services designed to enable customers to easily access and integrate our imagery into their business operations and applications. For more information, visit www.digitalglobe.com.
