Hi All, Thanks Kat for refreshing this very relevant topic. I...

Hi All,

Thanks Kat for refreshing this very relevant topic. I agree that satellite technology is closing the resolution gap with aerial imagery but it is still an order of magnitude (approximately) away in terms of resolution, accuracy and cost. But don't forget that aerial imagery is also not standing still; this industry too is achieving higher, faster, clearer, cheaper.

And as I've said before, this business is not merely about imagery. Its how a pixel can be identified and accurately located and interfaced with many other data platforms that are used day to day by literally millions of commercial entities in order to make accurate decisions or assessments.
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The market that NEA is targeting and winning require a level of accuracy about 5-15 times better than even DigitalGlobe's WorldView 3 satellite can provide. WV3 can at best provide 31cm at the nadir and more like 45cm 20 degrees off. For elevation and GPS, it requires the client to provide their own GPS ground control data points and even then for an additional US$55/km2 fee warrant only a 2m (best possible) accuracy.

But cost is a big issue. I've attached a link comparing satellite imagery at 50cm (I cant find info on 30cm res yet) and its a huge expense. New 50cm images from WV2/3 cost between $us2400 and $3150 for a minimum of 100km2...and add on an additional US$5500 if you want rough elevation with that. 30cm imagery will be substantially more expensive.

Of course, if you want historic images (more than 90 days old) you can save a lot as these will cost (only) between US$362-500/25km2 minimum...for each date. That's US$4344 to $6000 for 12 monthly images.

http://www.landinfo.com/LAND_INFO_Satellite_Imagery_Pricing_April_2015.pdf

So apart from the substantial accuracy gap, its also a commercial decision, Kat. For now, very few, if any, of NEA's clients are likely to shift to Digitalglobe if its going to cost them a minimum of A$10,000 to have an updated look at something that is not yet anywhere near as accurate as Nearmap imagery.

No doubt, satellite imagery will have an ever increasing market for those customers that don't require a high degree of accuracy. Just as there is an every increasing market for those that do.

NEA has never targeted the satellite product markets and DigitalGlobe is not going after NEA's high-accuracy end market; a completely separate market segment. They are both photometric platforms; one at 600km, the other at 2km. But it is basic logic backed by plain optical physics that satellites cant touch aerial in terms of accuracy, flexibility and cost (at the same resolution).

Simples.

Cheers,