If you are running a satellite image search to look at geographical locations around the world, there are sophisticated tools available that will help you get the job done. Landviewer is a tool with robust features that allow running satellite imagery search on a dataset or several satellites at once.
The major inputs used for image searches include:
– 1. A location name
– 2. Coordinates
– 3. Uploaded area of interest or drawn area of interest
– 4. A pinpointed area on a map
Whatever your search type is, there are tools that can make it easier or you purchase satellite photos in high-resolution. These tools also come in handy in cases of blind search on areas where an event took place in the past. Here are 4 tips for improving satellite image search you must know:
1. Searching by area of Interest – AOI
Searching by area of interest abbreviated as AOI is one of the most popular methods of satellite imagery search. To do this, you can draw it manually or upload it directly to the satellite app. To save time in the future, save the area you have uploaded. Subscribe to Landviewer AOI with your preferred parameters and the Landviewer software will automatically send you email notifications once fresh scenes are added to your area of interest.
There is also a feature within the software that allows you to bulk upload multiple AOIs.
2. Searching by name
With satellite imagery software, most geographical location can be found by name and addresses. Examples of these locations include:
Urban features like streets, buildings, landmarks, roads
Nature: Lakes, mountains and islands
By just typing the well-known area at the search box a dropdown list will appear. Choose the one that best describes your search inputs.
There are about a dozen places called ‘Paris”, so be very specific when you use this feature.
3. Searching by GPS coordinates
GPS coordinates search is one of the more specific ways of locating areas via satellite. If you have the correct latitude, and longitude coordinates of the place you want to view then a more precise image search can be carried out. The standard coordinates system for GPS tracking is WGS84. To use GPS coordinates for image tracking either:
– Enter the coordinates in DMS format (54° 30′ 8″ N, 8° 30′ 54″ E) or
– Use a decimal format ( 54.533456, 8.556567)
Enter any of these formats into the search boxes and the app will find the precise area and load all available images.
Improve GPS search by getting precise coordinates for a place or address on the app before locating that place on ground. To do this, click on that place on the image and the app will generate the precise GPS coordinates at the bottom of the screen.
To find the altitude, click on the identify facility icon at the right to get the whole information.
4. Tips for Searching by UTM coordinate
UTM coordinates are a new referencing system. They can’t be used on some satellite image apps but can be converted. To use UTM coordinates there are online tools you can use to convert the coordinates to latitude and longitudes before processing the data in regular image search tools.
These tips for improving satellite image search should get you started on a strong foot but there are other features you can use to make things even better. One of such feature is done by removing clouds from images. Within the filter, there should be an area where you can set the cloudiness to zero or at least 5-10% cloudiness. This should return much clearer images of the search location.
Findings specific images by date: In the search data menu mark the date you need in the calendar to get images from that day.
How do you search images for a particular hour within a specific day? As of today there are no publicly accessed satellite image tools that will allow you to search for images at a specific time.
Now that you have known some tips on how to improve satellite image searches by AOI, name, address and coordinates, it’s time to begin your search. Good luck!
