Over the years, satellites have snapped super sharp images of our planet from all angles. And while they have provided us with a lot of insights into the Earth, these two-dimensional photos have their limitations.
To improve on the current technology the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the United States has launched an open innovation challenge.
The multi-view stereo 3D mapping challenge is asking participants to come up with a way to accurately produce 3D mapping from satellite photos.
“Numerous commercial satellites, including newly emerging CubeSats, cover large areas with higher revisit rates and deliver high-quality imagery to customers,” HakJae Kim, IARPA program manager, said in a statement. “Although the entire Earth has been —and continues to be — imaged multiple times, fully automated data exploitation remains limited.”
What is Involved?
In a press release to accompany the launch, the IARPA stated that solvers will be asked to generate and submit an algorithm to convert high-resolution satellite images to 3D point clouds.
Their progress and accomplishments will be published on a leaderboard throughout the contest. During this time their work may be viewed by stakeholders from industry, government and academia.
Big Money Prizes
The open innovation contest starts on July 11 and there will be two phases – explorer and master. Prize money for the first phase stands at $14,000 while the full challenge prize pool is $100,000.
The winners will be announced in October.
How to Take Part
To get involved, pre-register at topcoder.com. For more details, including rules and eligibility requirements, head to iarpa.gov.