Bill Gates Backs Plan for Earth-Monitoring Cameras
Bill Gates is bankroll a plan to install a "constellation" of cameras in space that monitor the entire surface of Earth in existent fourth dimension, 24/7. What could go wrong, right?
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, satellite net entrepreneur Greg Wyler, and Airbus are also on board; they only closed an initial funding circular for the company behind the effort, EarthNow.
"At EarthNow, we're creating the means for you to instantly see almost anywhere on Globe in 'truthful real-time,' giving you a alive and unfiltered view of your planet," the visitor's website reads. "Via a constellation of advanced imaging satellites, EarthNow volition deliver … continuous real-fourth dimension video of the Earth enhanced past auto intelligence."
EarthNow plans to initially offer "commercial video and intelligent vision services" to governments and enterprises. The company lists a number of utilise cases for its Earth-monitoring constellation, like "communicable illegal angling in the human action, watching hurricanes and typhoons every bit they evolve, detecting wood 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 drift, helping 'smart cities' become more efficient, providing on-need data about crop health, and observing conflict zones around the earth."
EarthNow also plans to create a "live Earth video" for the general public that volition be accessible via smartphones and tablets—kind of like Google Earth, but with real-time imagery.
"We are excited by the prospect of giving everyone a stunningly beautiful, real-time window on your world from infinite," EarthNow Founder and CEO Russell Hannigan said in a statement.
At this point, there'due south no word as to when EarthNow plans to deploy its camera constellation, and the company isn't disclosing how much information technology raked in from this initial funding round. Correct now, the team is focused on designing the system and planning the project.
The idea of cameras in space monitoring the Globe "pole-to-pole" at all times, of class, raises major privacy concerns. On that topic, EarthNow says its imagers will not be capable of monitoring private people. The company plans to rent a Primary Privacy Officer to "ensure that nosotros non only run across the privacy laws in jurisdictions where we operate, but also that we respect societal privacy."
"We will work closely with governments and the public at large to address privacy concerns, while providing visual Earth coverage for the benefit of humanity and our planet," the organization wrote, adding that information technology likewise plans to "fully comply with all laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate."
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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/news/20692/bill-gates-backs-plan-for-earth-monitoring-cameras
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