Skybox becomes Terra Bella to go deeper into image analysis

The Google-owned company will also be released a dozen new satellites in the next few years

When Google bought satellite company Skybox Imaging in 2014, the company laid out two goals with its purchase: first was to improve Internet connectivity around the world, something that had become a priority for the company, but also to improve its mapping products.

Now the company is going even further with that second function, and it even has a new name to go along with its new mission.

Skybox Imaging it now Terra Bella, it was announced on Tuesday, as it revealed that it will be going beyond satellite imagery which it said "represents only one part of the puzzle," and instead analyzing those images for deeper meanings and patterns. 

"As proud as we are to have played a leading role in developing satellite technologies, we have realized that our vision extends far beyond boxes in the sky," the company's founders, Dan Berkenstock, John Fenwick, and Ching-Yu Hu, wrote in a blog post.

"As Google revolutionized search for the online world, we have set our eyes on pioneering the search for patterns of change in the physical world. In order to focus firmly on the future, we’re pursuing that vision under a new name – Terra Bella."

Being part of Google has many benefits of course, not the least of which are resources for companies it buys, like Skybox/Terra Bella, to do more than would have as a standalone startup. So the company plans to use those resources "to transform raw imagery into data to help people and organizations make more informed decisions."

On its website, Terra Bella outlines a few of the use cases for this imagery, including port traffic, mining development and disaster effects.

"We work alongside experts that have created geospatial data to serve billions of users and have the expertise to access data streams that complete the puzzle. It’s a beautiful world and it’s telling us a story. Are you listening?" the company says.

VatorNews reached out to Google to find out what plans it had for Terra Bella going forward, and how it planned to use this new data it would be providing. A Google spokesperon had no comment beyond the blog post.

This does not mean that Terra Bella will stop making new satellites; on the contrary, it says it has over a dozen satellites that it is currently developing, which will launch over the next few years. 

Google satellites

Much like Facebook, Google has developed a keen interest in satellite technology, with a mission to bring millions of people onto the Internet.

This past summer it was reported that Google was planning to spend over $1 billion, in order to deploy a fleet of satellites, which will then help the company provide Internet access to all regions of the globe

The project is being headed by Greg Wyler, who is the founder of satellite-communications startup O3b Networks,  a company in which Google was an early investor. In addition, Google was said to be hiring engineers from satellite company Space Systems/Loral LLC to work on the project.

That came after Google had already invested money into SpaceX, in order to “support continued innovation in the areas of space transport, reusability, and satellite manufacturing.”

If nothing else, at least this all sounds more plausible than "Project Loon," Google's plans to deliver Internet to the world by using balloons.

(Image source: terrabella.google.com)