4 Earth Intelligence and Ordnance Survey Partner up to Reveal the World from Satellites

Earth observation company 4 Earth Intelligence (4EI) is working with Ordnance Survey (OS) to combine satellite imagery with accurate digital mapping. By creating data solutions and services for applications such as air quality, asset management, ecology and urban heat monitoring – based on Earth observation data and referenced to OS mapping – 4EI hopes to democratize the use of Earth observation data within the UK's geospatial community.       

4EI and OS have already proven the power of this partnership by producing the UK’s first street-level map of areas potentially at risk from extreme weather conditions. Working under a temporary COVID-19 Response licence, 4EI created the free at point of use Heat Hazard Postcode data which is already being used to plan the provision of urban green spaces, assess vulnerable populations and inform climate change strategy.

Day-to-day source of intelligence

“With support from Ordnance Survey we were able to offer national organizations and multi-agency partnerships, currently involved in the coronavirus response, a free at the point of use resource that was familiar and easy to integrate with other geospatial information and workflows,” commented David Critchley, CEO of 4 Earth Intelligence. “We want to build on this initial project so that earth observation data becomes a day-to-day source of intelligence for organizations across the UK that are already delivering frontline services and developing long-term strategies.”

“It is this coming together of data, expertise and innovation that we aim to foster through our Licensed Partner Programme,” commented Stefan Wells, head of partners at Ordnance Survey. “We are delighted to welcome 4 Earth Intelligence as our latest partner and we are excited to see the positive impacts which can be delivered by connecting earth observation data with trusted and authoritative location data from OS."

4EI officially signed as an OS Licensed Partner in June 2020. By utilizing the power of OS data, which range from simple administrative boundary lines to the complex OS MasterMap that records every fixed feature in themed layers, 4EI will develop a suite of solutions that blend space and traditional mapping for smart monitoring and analysis.

4EI has already completed flagship projects around the world including the creation of multiple iterations of the satellite environmental inventory of Abu Dhabi, innovative data fusion techniques in detecting soil quality and climate resilience analysis for Local Authorities in the UK.