How We Use Machine Learning for Targeted Location Monitoring

For a while now the DigitalGlobe GBDX team has been running machine learning-based object detection at a significant, continental scale. Each time we add a new model to GBDX we kick the tires and do some comparisons to discover advantages or disadvantages over existing capabilities. We keep our customer use cases in mind, which typically boil down to "monitoring and change" or "pattern of life" activities. Some things we monitor with the models we have today include detecting changes or activity in a parking lot or port. With that in mind we wanted to do a "state of the union" or "state of the map" about the current state of machine learning on satellite imagery.