Parc des princes, Paris, France. Photo: Airbus.

First Derivatives (FD) announced it has signed an agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to develop an innovative approach for large scale processing of geospatial data using its Kx analytics platform. The companies have identified a number of additional applications and the objective is to commercially exploit these by combining Kx technology and data from Airbus Defence and Space assets.

Under the agreement, Airbus will contribute historic and future satellite imagery, which Kx technology will process, interpret and manage. Both parties will provide technical, commercial, sales and marketing resources to assist in the commercialization of the opportunities.

Data manipulation and information provision, stemming from increased volumes of Earth Observation (EO) data, provides significant commercial potential, according to the companies. Kx technology will be deployed in the time-critical processing and analysis of these increasing data volumes to make it easier, cheaper and faster for customers to access information. According to Transparency Market Research, the commercial satellite imaging market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2014 to $6.5 billion in 2023.

FD and Airbus Defence and Space anticipate collaboration with large corporates, research bodies and start-ups to help exploit this technology in markets such as energy, rail/civil engineering, natural resources, maritime surveillance, agriculture, finance, and facilities management.