Image from the 2011 flood in Bankok, Thailand. Photo: Radiant.Earth.

CSIRO’s Data61 and Radiant.Earth have announced that they will partner to develop joint research into satellite imagery and Earth Observation (EO) data for disaster resilience, in areas such as human disaster management, health, climate change and sustainable water management.

The partnership will see Data61 and Radiant.Earth leverage their existing resources, networks and facilities in real-time modeling, machine learning and visualization technologies for mutual benefits.

One planned activity will include hosting of open data on Radiant.Earth’s platform, and demonstration of Data61’s mapping products and tools on that platform, such as TerriaJS, for the purpose of supporting mission critical programs, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. A recent report by the United Nations found 41 percent of all disasters caused by natural hazards reported over the past two decades have occurred in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The world is awash in EO data, but most of the low and middle income countries are still poorly mapped and served by geospatial technologies,” said Radiant.Earth Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anne Hale Miglarese. “Partnering with Data61 to drive open remote sensing science will help us serve this community better, including non-profits working in global development, as well as national and regional government entities.”