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| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
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| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | RE: GISList: Imagery availability |
| Date: |
02/19/2003 07:21:41 AM |
| From: |
Anthony Quartararo |
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Dr. Rao,=20
Good to hear from you again and appreciate the historical perspective from
India. No doubt that the consumer is fickle, and this points to the fact
that satellite imagery at least, is destined to be a "geospatial" commodity,
and the very nature of a commodity is that producers must offer what the
customer wants, when and how they want it at the cheapest price going in
order to stay in the market. Price and availability (as in right now)
become the overriding factors for consumers when presented with choice.
McDonald's hasn't sold "billions" by telling it's customers to come back in
30 minutes and your order will be ready, but pay now, and pick it up later.
Anything that gets in the way of the consumer making a purchase is
counterproductive. It's my opinion that the online store model is well
suited, just not executed very well so far. Yes, it requires some
bandwidth, but that too is a dirt cheap commodity at this point. For those
that just can't get bandwidth, the normal order fulfillment process (burning
CDs to order) is not rocket science. For example, GDT delivers the entire
USA transportation network on CD sets every 3 months to it's customers. It
is a huge task, but it gets done without fail. Requests that happen in the
interim can be fulfilled on-demand, without delaying until the next
quarterly delivery.
If companies create an obstacle course for consumers, all things being
equal, they will go elsewhere in a heartbeat. Problem is, in the satellite
imagery industry, there are not that many real choices, and the alternatives
are often in the same boat. Each vendor knows this, and so, there is no
real incentive (yet) to solve these problems.
Best Regards,
Anthony
> -----Original Message-----
> From: GS Rao [mailto:GS.Rao@lntinfotech.com]=20
> Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 7:54 AM
> To: gislist@geocomm.com
> Subject: RE: GISList: Imagery availability
>=20
>=20
> On the subject of online availability and ordering of=20
> satellite images.
>=20
> Up until a few years ago, the National Remote Sensing Agency,=20
> based in Hyderabad was the single source for all satellite=20
> imagery in India. Initially it used to supply Landsat data,=20
> followed by TM, SPOT and JERS, as and when these satellites=20
> became operational. Later of course, it provided data from=20
> the IRS series of satellites.
>=20
> The first major hindrance was the enormous amount of data=20
> being recorded and archived everyday. This was compounded by=20
> the fact that users demanded a "perfect" image.
>=20
> >From the user's perspective a "perfect" image is one in which
>=20
> The area of study is in the centre of the frame. This=20
> eliminates the need for
> paying for additional frames if the area happens to be=20
> along the edge of adjacent frames.
>=20
> The frame has 0% cloud cover.
>=20
> Needless to say, these conditions were seldom fulfilled=20
> resulting in slew of accusations, prominent among which were=20
> allegations that the staff was not doing a "complete" search.
>=20
> To overcome this, NRSA came up with the Quick Look Imagery.=20
> These were 70 mm by 70 mm diapositives which could be quickly=20
> visually checked. This mostly benefitted the local firms who=20
> could zip down and take a peek at them.
>=20
> Later NRSA developed a software module, made freely=20
> available. The inputs for this were the bounding latitudes=20
> and longitudes of the area of interest. The module would spew=20
> out the path and row number, as well a set of dates of=20
> acquisition. ( A much more user friendly version of this was=20
> developed by an NGO, based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat).
>=20
> All said and done, it seems to me, the major problem is the=20
> huge amount of choices available, and the user's desire to=20
> get maximum value for money spent. Not to mention, a sense of=20
> uneasiness lurking in the user's mind that despite all=20
> efforts he still hasn't got what he really wanted.
>=20
> To further complicate the issue you could throw in=20
> additional twists - minimum canopy cover for the geologist=20
> versus maximum canopy cover for the forester.
>=20
> Most agencies wait for the purchaser's cheque to be cleared=20
> before they commence processing the order. One way out of=20
> this is to set up an account. That is, you pay a lumpsum=20
> upfront, and keep ordering until the account runs out. This=20
> is viable for frequent purchasers only. And that too if the=20
> bean counters in finance can be wooed first.
>=20
> Of late NRSA has also taken the beaten path. It has appointed=20
> several re-sellers in major cities. This makes for faster and=20
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