Aircraft Detection at Planetary Scale

Introduction On a typical day, there are greater than 10,000 aircraft (commercial, private, and military) in flight at any given time. The precise departure (point A) and destination (point B) locations, as well as the timing of flight activity, provide critically important information for myriad industries. For instance, in the defense and intelligence sector, being able to identify how many aircraft were stationed at one foreign government’s airbase (point A) and how many are gone the next day may reveal insights as to why an allied government’s airbase (point B) just received a new fleet on their tarmac. On the commercial side, understanding how many aircraft landed in a city on a specific day can help predict economic trends and assess the impacts of world events - such as the quantity of aircraft present for large sporting or entertainment events. Satellite imagery is a powerful information source for this type of aircraft detection. Combine automated satellite scans of airfield ... Read full article.