BILL GATES BACKS PLAN TO STREAM EARTH IN REAL-TIME
Want to stream real-time video of wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti, a tropical storm picking up speed in the Pacific, or the long line of traffic you’re sitting in? That’s the idea behind EarthNow, a company that’s recently received backing from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.
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 cites a tonne of possible positive applications, like catching illegal fisherman, detecting forest fires as they start, tracking whale migrations, observing conflict zones and providing on-demand data about crop health. Initially available to governments and enterprises, EarthNow also promises mass market applications that can be accessed from smartphones. “With EarthNow, we will all become virtual astronauts,” said Hannigan.
The livestream will come from a large group of satellites, each equipped with an unprecedented amount of onboard processing power. The resolution won’t be groundbreaking: you’ll be able to see cars and trucks, but you won’t be able to identify makes or models. You’ll be able to see crowds of people, but individuals aren’t big enough to show up. Still, the ‘live’ aspect of the stream is exciting. “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 realtime,” said Hannigan.