Oct 82 min read

New Space Intelligence Successfully Detects Changes on Islands Using Satellite Imagery

Updated: Nov 19

Begins Development of Services Utilizing Satellite Data in Collaboration with Mitsubishi Research Institute

New Space Intelligence Inc. （headquartered in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture; CEO：Yumiko Nagai, hereinafter “NSI” ）, is collaborating with Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (President: Kenji Yabuta, hereinafter “MRI") on the development of intelligence services utilizing satellite data. As part of this collaboration, NSI successfully conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) analyzing changes in the islands of the South China Sea. In the future, NSI aims to use various geospatial information to provide services in a variety of fields, including monitoring international situations, infrastructure surveillance, disaster assessment, and risk analysis of maritime logistics and supply chains.

Background

NSI possesses technology that automates a series of processes—including selecting, integrating, analyzing, and providing satellite images into a “pipeline” for multiple satellite data. In December 2023, MRI made an equity investment in NSI, initiating a business partnership. MRI has previously been involved in research and proof-of-concept projects for the social implementation of satellite data utilization. They also have extensive experience and expertise in the national security field.

In an increasingly uncertain and opaque world, intelligence based on objective evidence is indispensable for decision-making. The demand for intelligence based on spatial information, such as satellite data, is growing globally, with the market expected to reach a scale of ¥10 trillion. NSI and MRI are currently leveraging their strengths to develop intelligence services using satellite data for both domestic and international clients. As part of this effort, they carried out a PoC analyzing changes in the islands of the South China Sea.

2. PoC Results and Features

In this PoC, we conducted an analysis of land reclamation and facility construction in the islands of the South China Sea. Specifically, we:

①developed our own hypotheses regarding the progress of land reclamation and facility construction, ②analyzed satellite data to verify these hypotheses and explore change detection methods, and ③combine various open-source information and vessel movement data to conduct a more multi-faceted analysis.

Detection results of changes due to land reclamation and to reclamation on Pearson Reef

using optical satellite images

We successfully detected changes in land reclamation and facility construction on the islands. Based on these results, we identified the future direction for service development. Unlike existing similar services that often rely on visual interpretation of photographs, this initiative distinguishes itself by periodically detecting wide-area changes using various observation indexes. This enables continuous monitoring and early risk detection not only in island regions but also in various areas of interest for our clients.

Please refer to the attached PDF file for details.

3. Future Plans

Building on the results and challenges identified through this PoC, NSI aims to develop and provide intelligence services tailored to the individual needs of clients in a variety of sectors, including national security, disaster prevention, port infrastructure, and maritime logistics.

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