The writing on the wall

Looking at similar technological paradigm shifts, in the early 2000s, businesses were tasked with creating an online presence. With no tools built or tested, many brick-and-mortar shops lumbered online.

The advent of products like Amazon Web Services was a gateway that rocketed the establishment of e-commerce. Consequently, businesses gained entry to operate globally without the expense of maintaining a physical presence.

A similar transformation continues to unfold in newsrooms. The necessity to be first to report a story in a digital age rendered many newspapers obsolete.

With few pre-built solutions to be first and fastest, newsrooms grapple to find their way online. Diving head-first into social media and subscription-based models – arguably, neither a fix-all – has led to many shortcomings. Both avenues drove the search for new tools and sprouted alternative news sources.

The future is here

Two decades later, depending on terrestrial data amounts to relying on yesterday’s news. Nothing made this clearer than a global pandemic.

When travel and trade flatlined, eyes on the ground were either unreliable or non-existent. Almost immediately, every industry – global and local – was impacted.

Irrespective of industry, investments, or daily plans, the world is now remarkably interconnected. Global events from severe weather to cargo congestion draw us closer together. While the Internet brings the world to our doorstep, space serves as a conduit connecting us more intimately to the tangible realities of our surroundings.

While private sector rockets make accessing space possible, the capabilities-per-kilogram of satellites has grown tenfold every five years, reducing the cost of building space technology and enabling many new use cases.

In the last 10 years, Spire created an accessible, ready-to-use constellation of Earth-observing satellites in space. With over 100 Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver (LEMUR) satellites in orbit, Spire’s Earth observing coverage is near real-time and extends globally.  

For industries that spent two decades building a global profile online, Spire’s LEMUR constellation future-proofs and taps into a much greater total addressable market.  

Sensor technology, satellite research and development, rocket launches, orbital paths – the barriers to entry into space may seem astronomical. They’re not.  

It is built

A dashboard showing every grain shipment out of Ukraine today? We built it and it updates in near real-time.

Spire’s ShipView tool tracks all ships, and is filterable by ship and cargo type, country flag, and creates a downloadable dataset directly in the dashboard

Spire’s growing offerings tap into our unique technology differentiator. LEMUR satellites operate in the radio spectrum, deploying dark ship detection tools to identify vessels engaged in signal jamming and spoofing to disguise their origin, destination, or location.

Defense, security, and insurance are the main markets for radio frequency intelligence. Known in many industries by names such as electronic warfare, situational awareness, signal intelligence, radio frequency intelligence will become more vital, as geopolitical stressors mount.

Tracking cargo shipments around a typhoon in the Pacific? It is built, and Spire’s dashboard exports data in a single click.

Ships avoiding typhoon Mawar in May. All ships show against Spire Weather’s wave height dataset

DeepSea monitors Spire’s weather data in its own AI-powered voyage optimization platform that projects approximately $11 billion annual global savings in fuel costs. DeepSea estimates a reduction of 57 million tons of carbon emissions – equivalent to removing 12.6 million gas-powered cars from the road for a year, according to the EPA.

Spire’s Maritime data also provides by-the-second port event information. During the recent strike at Seattle Port in June, Spire’s data was able to show an average increase in time spent in port by cargo ships.

Seattle port monthly event duration, in seconds:

Source: Spire Maritime 2.0

How can a balance between on-time delivery, safety and fuel consumption be achieved?

Facilitates network and voyage planning

We live in a complex atmosphere where the only constant is its change and flux. The world is still struggling to comprehend the mysterious forces that influence weather patterns and related events. The smallest change can cause a ripple effect that may echo from one point of the globe to the other. This is one of the reasons why weather forecasts after ten days can be unreliable and cannot serve as a guide for your network planning efforts beyond this time period.

Historical weather data

The network planning team studies historical weather data to identify any potential underlying weather abnormalities in regions that have a high risk sailing factor. This is dependent on the season as well. For instance, the weather in the North Atlantic differs based on whether it’s summer or winter. If the wave is in favour of pushing your vessel towards your targeted location, then you’ll utilise less fuel and effectively reduce your carbon footprint.

Achieves a balance

Container ships sell the promise to deliver precious goods on time. Now, to be true to their brand message, container shipping lines need to calculate the right sailing speed and route.

Their biggest expense is fuel consumption and can range from $50,000 – $200,000 per vessel per day. When added across a fleet of seafaring vehicles, the number can escalate into a mind-boggling, massive figure. Historical weather data can assist in cracking this puzzle and unveiling optimal velocities along with favourable destination paths.

It’s important to note that the way you choose to apply historical weather data will also matter. The shipping sphere has seen an increase in the number of containers lost at sea. In 2020, the One-Apus, a 14000 TEU ship, sailed up the Japanese Kuroshio current and upon entrance into the Pacific, ventured close to a developing depression. This toppled the massive vessel and sent over 1800 containers sinking to the bottom of the sea and fiscally translated into losses worth $200 million.

Minimise global supply chain disruptions

Recent global port bottlenecks have only worsened with ports having to close down in Southern China, such as in Yantian & Hong Kong, due to a cyclone, dubbed Kompasu.This is the second major storm to interrupt port operations in southern China in the last month.

In mid-September, Typhoon Chanthu impacted the world’s busiest container port, Shanghai, as well as the Ningbo port complex. Although the storm did not make a direct impact on Shanghai, the port along with others in the region and the airports were all closed. This caused upheaval in the subsequent supply chain as delays in arrivals meant postponing off-loading, cost differentials for freight transport, warehouse storage and store deliveries along with more.

Reflecting back in time on such sites to comprehend if there are related atmospheric triggers or, is there a seasonality to it can help container ships make decisions in advance to ensure cargo, passenger and ship safety. Analysing historical weather data along a route of waypoints, i.e., high risk trajectories, will pave the way for fuel optimisation as well as reducing carbon emissions.

Paints the truth

Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, the shipping industry is prone to conflict. Maritime insurance service providers can use historical weather data to understand if extreme weather related events impacted a ship disaster or what truly led to it. They can also use it to define their products by assigning premiums on high-risk regions where hurricanes occur or wave heights can thrash cargo and send it into the deepest depths of the sea.

Trains AI and weather models

As a spin-off from Maersk Tankers and a leader in its industry, ZeroNorth is paving the way to provide real-time weather voyage optimisation and aims to deliver a reliable, transparent solution straight to your fingertips. Spire’s maritime historical weather data contributes to the benefit customers can gain from ZeroNorth’s routed voyages helping them get from A to B more optimally.

Companies such as ZeroNorth are tapping into the power of historical weather data to train their fuel optimisation and voyage routing softwares to deliver more accurate results and help the maritime industry to become more sustainable through diminished carbon emissions.

It’s simple: the more data points you collect, the more equipped you are to understand the forthcoming potential impact of weather on your business.

However, with meshing infinite, eclectic sources of data into weather models and algorithms can be an exhausting, time-consuming exercise. Why, you may ask? Data gathered across the entire planet may be inconsistent in quality and be delivered in differing layouts.

To allow you to focus your energy on your business, Spire steps in to provide unique, rich historical weather datasets that have been through the process of data assimilation and run through machine learning algorithms to increase accuracy. The accuracy of our data is enhanced as we collect data from across all corners of the Earth and reduce the gap of low quality in weather data as we have eyes right in the heavens. With one of the world’s largest nanosatellite constellations in orbit, we’re able to collect observations from the most under-observed regions- including the open oceans.

Thankfully, humanity began to dabble in the art of weather forecasting as early on as 650 B.C. when the Babylonian civilisation attempted to anticipate short-term weather patterns and optical phenomenon as haloes. Exponential massive strides have been made in the world of weather prediction since then. As a global society, inventions and technology have permitted us to progress at a faster pace than ever before.

With the installation of sensors, weather stations, weather balloons and countless other devices to measure and record current weather data, we’ve gained a stronger understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere. Not just that, we’ve got eyes in the skies with the launch of countless satellites that continuously orbit the planet and record data. Armed with this and super computing power, weather forecasting models are getting better.

With all this innovation and technological expertise, why does the maritime sector still encounter countless challenges?

Managing a fleet of sea-worthy, efficient vessels consists of a complex business model that entails colossal investment and costs. No matter what the class of shipping enterprise, fuel consumption contributes the highest percentage to expenses.

What can historical weather data do for your business?

The complex nature of weather poses as a barrier to create reliable weather forecasts beyond ten days. The further you go ahead in time, the less accurate the forecast gets. Route planning for lengthy voyages requires the utilisation of historical weather data to analyse past weather conditions. This makes it possible to identify potential weather patterns and obtain actionable insights. It really is an integral part of weather routing in order to get the full benefit of the algorithms we develop.

For instance, a container ship that has to reach its destination at an appointed time & date, balancing amidst the eminent factors of fuel optimisation, emissions reduction and remaining on schedule is harder than attempting to walk on a tightrope.

A container shipping company will gain customers based on its ability and reputation to meet its promise of on-time delivery. Global supply chains depend on such ocean carriers to arrive at their destinations at the stated time/dates. The principle of “Just-In-Time” has allowed B2C companies to ameliorate their ROI by minimising inventory management costs, however, at the risk of stock shortages if there is any delay in the supply chain.

Having access to historical weather data can decrease the risks associated with such major disruptions in the supply chain.

What other beneficial applications can historical weather data offer?

Think about it. What better way to learn and improve is there than looking back at history? You can also improve your vessel’s engine performance, optimise fuel, save costs and protect both your cargo plus crew

Whether you’re a member of the on-shore team or the off-shore team, weather data will play a key role in your strategy and plan of action. Having access to accurate historical weather data will support you in your efforts to:

• Optimise weather-based routing
• Assist in proforma scheduling
• Monitor fleet performance

If you’re part of a P&I firm or a maritime insurance service provider, you’ll want to understand the risk dynamics in certain locations for maritime transport. Scrutinising historical weather data on specific trajectories can help you identify high risk regions (in terms of weather) and make decisions accordingly.

Interested to learn more?

With Tom Bebbington, a highly experienced ex-Maritimer and innovation specialist, along with our panel of experts in the industry, learn how you can apply maritime weather data to analyse your trajectory paths, improve your vessel’s performance and optimise fuel consumption.

You’ll also hear from Soren Christian Meyer, CEO of ZeroNorth, about how his company uses historical weather data. ZeroNorth is a company which helps the shipping industry optimise operations through digitalisation.

We will also be joined by Christopher Manzeck, a Meteorologist & Sales Engineer at Spire as well as Simon van den Dries. VP of Business Development at Spire

The truth is that there are terabytes, more terabytes and even more terabytes of countless weather data to swift through. Let us help you cut through this clutter by demonstrating a few, effective methodologies of extracting weather data in a way that’ll save you ample time and help you achieve your business objectives. Let’s find your needle in this vast, infinite data haystack that could make or break your profit margins.

Alongside weather data, experts track vegetative ground cover—or fuel levels—to forecast wildfires. Satellites can help with this, too. It is possible to approximate fuel levels by studying soil moisture readings, explained Cromarty. Until recently, soil moisture has proved difficult to study on a large scale. But now, experts can calculate soil moisture across large tracts of land using satellite-based reflectometry, known as Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry or GNSS-R. This remote sensing technique measures how signals bounce off water trapped in the ground. Spire is investing heavily in this kind of soil moisture data. Satellites with this capability are already deployed and fully active with more missions planned.

“Compared to GNSS-R missions of the past, Spire satellites can collect about seven times the quantity of soil moisture measurements per satellite due to advances in tracking more simultaneous GNSS reflections,” said Dallas Masters, Spire’s Earth observations director. “We have long-term plans for sustainable Earth observations, and GNSS-R soil moisture is a key product that will positively impact weather forecasting, drought monitoring, and agriculture.”

Communities around the world have suffered record-breaking wildfires over the last few years. Even forests in Siberia have gone up in flames. As the threat grows with climate change, solutions that help protect firefighters and communities are more critical than ever—especially tools that help stop fires before they turn into life-threatening infernos. Satellites will continue to monitor the weather and environmental variables, and analytics will progress with time. Together, they should offer firefighters ever-improving solutions to predict and prevent wildfires.

“That means lives saved, structures saved, and the ability to get resources to the area to fight fires and minimize its impact,” said Quiron chief executive officer Gil Pletsch.

Watch our Quiron Customer Story:

Scientists have long used devices sensitive to radiation outside the visible spectrum to better understand our world. For example, doctors use X-ray sensors to peer inside our bodies. In the same way, electromagnetic radiation that is longer than visible light reveals invaluable insights about the Earth.

Infrared, microwaves and radio waves are not commonly known as tools for studying the planet. Microwaves are most famous for reheating leftovers. And we tend to associate radio waves with music and communication signals. But these types of radiation reflect, scatter, and bend as they travel through the atmosphere and collide with the Earth. Monitoring these interactions produces rich information and pinpoints phenomena that we would struggle to study with our naked eyes. And the wide range of wavelengths of radiation outside the visible spectrum provides vast potential for data collection.

For example, satellite-based sensors that monitor infrared and microwave radiation can help build data-rich profiles of clouds and gases like water vapor, explained Steve Albers, Spire Global’s lead scientist for global cloud analysis. Experts can perceive a cloud’s altitude by measuring the frequency of infrared radiation it emits. This is possible because the amount and wavelength of infrared radiation correlate to temperature, and objects tend to be colder the higher they are in the atmosphere.

Sensing in infrared can also help determine cloud composition, as clouds heavy with liquid particles emit different amounts of specific infrared wavelengths than clouds full of ice particles. But the infrared band can not help pinpoint precipitating clouds. The size of these clouds’ water droplets interferes with electromagnetic radiation at infrared wavelengths. So experts like Albers tune their sensors to microwaves, which have long enough wavelengths to escape the clouds and reach the devices.

When combined, the altitude and composition data can help build a detailed 3D map of cloud coverage that meteorologists can leverage in forecasting. Cloud conditions are also helpful when calculating the amount of solar radiation reaching the ground, which plays a vital role in the renewable energy and agricultural industries.

Spire’s advanced cloud analytics enable the prediction of total cloud cover percentage anywhere in the world, as illustrated in this video. The measurement is useful for a range of applications, including improved solar radiation prediction for renewable energy forecasting.

As experts tune into radiation with longer wavelengths, it is almost as if the clouds become transparent, explained Dallas Masters, Earth observations director at Spire. His team reveals insights about our planet by studying the Global Navigation Satellite System signals beaming across our atmosphere. The GNSS signals’ long wavelengths allow them to pass through clouds, fog, crops and even penetrate the soil. And since they are emitted from numerous orbiting GNSS satellites, they are available to study everywhere, day and night.

“They are all-weather signals,” he said. And their unique interactions with our planet have several practical applications.

For example, the signals bend as they travel through different temperature layers of our atmosphere, just as visible light appears to ripple over a hot highway. The degree that each signal refracts depends on the temperature and density of the air it passes through. As a result, scientists can study a signal’s journey to measure atmospheric temperature, pressure, and humidity.

This measurement is called radio occultation, and it helps create a detailed profile of conditions that extend from the Earth’s surface into the stratosphere. Spire Global makes about 10,000 of these measurements a day, feeding a dataset that helps improve the accuracy of weather forecasts.

Using the same GNSS signals, scientists can also estimate ocean surface conditions. Rough seas scatter the signals more than calm water. So experts can be confident that seas are turbulent when Spire satellites receive signals that weaken after they reflect off the ocean. To put it another way, the satellite’s observations translate into roughness, just as our brains convert visible light bouncing off the sea into shades of blue and green.

Arctic scientists use a similar technique to map sea ice. And when experts conduct this reflectometry process over land, they can measure soil moisture. The signals pass through vegetation, penetrate the earth, and reflect off the water trapped in the ground. Since wet soil reflects more energy than dry soil, the signals’ strength translates into moisture data. And the penetration depth of the reading correlates with the wavelength of the signal used.

This chart shows sea ice classifications in the Arctic. Spire created it from data collected by grazing angle GNSS-R measurements made in March 2020, gridded at 5-kilometer resolution.

Practically, this means farmers and conservationists can scan large tracts of land and locate areas with too much or too little moisture. And they can make these observations on overcast days and cloudy nights, alike.

The list of applications goes on. There are other bands of infrared and microwave radiation at wavelengths perfectly suited for studying specific environmental conditions. They help experts monitor water vapor and dust density at different altitudes, ozone information, cloud top and sea surface temperature, and carbon dioxide levels, said Albers.

“This just scratches the surface,” he said.

This chart, created with Spire Global’s data, illustrates sea surface temperature in degrees celsius.

The versatility of GNSS signals and infrared—just portions of the entire electromagnetic spectrum—illustrates the vast potential of studying the world outside the visible spectrum. And not just in atmospheric sciences. Experts in fields as diverse as medicine, volcanology, and archeology leverage the unique characteristics of different radiation bands to collect valuable data. There are enormous opportunities in the world beyond the visible spectrum. The more we monitor this invisible universe, the better we can see where our planet is heading.

Satellites

The Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver (LEMUR) is Spire’s 3U or 6U CubeSat platform used to track maritime, aviation, and weather activity from space.

• We operate the world’s largest RF sensing fleet and are the largest producer of radio occultation and space weather data
• Our data provides a global view with coverage in remote regions like oceans and poles; all data can be refreshed within 15 minute cycles
• We are continuously launching improved sensors and upgrading them in-orbit
• We turn ideas into live feed from space in as little as 6-12 months

They trust our services

Aircraft data helps pinpoint travel risks

From deciding when to visit the supermarket to planning how to reopen entire countries, risk assessment has become a critical part of life. One of the best ways to evaluate dangerous, complex, and evolving threats is with data.

Take air travel, for example. SATAVIA created a model, using Spire Aviation’ aircraft tracking data, that evaluates transmission risk along air corridors. The model “leverages the best available data and epidemiological modeling to help governments decide which air routes can be safely reopened.”

As the infection rates change, policymakers and passengers can use the model to monitor risks and generate data-backed assessments.

Weather data helps forecast disease transmission

The same weather data that helps predict rain in the afternoon may also help identify communities at risk of infectious disease. That is because environmental conditions can impact transmission. To account for these factors, epidemiologists sometimes include weather data—such as temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet index—in models that forecast how diseases spread.

“Models based on meteorological data,” one study found, “have helped predict when and where human cases are most likely to occur.”

Last August, the World Meteorological Organization held a symposium to study environmental variables’ influence on COVID-19’s spread. The organization found that “global interdisciplinary research efforts should continue to explore the interactions of COVID-19 and [climatological, meteorological and environmental] factors.”

“Better understanding of whether [COVID-19] will be influenced by seasonal environmental and weather conditions,” a doctor with the WMO/World Health Organization Joint Climate and Health Office said, “will help inform public health policy and management of the disease in the coming months and years.”

Shipping data helps find a route to economic recovery

Studies show that financial downturns can deteriorate public health. So boosting economic resilience may help protect long-term wellbeing. Maritime data can help.

Multinationals and logistics organizations can leverage shipping data to adjust and optimize supply chains that have been disrupted by the pandemic and continue to see gains long after we beat the virus.

Similarly, the combination of global AIS and weather data can help the maritime industry and logistics companies reveal new efficiencies and build resiliency into operations, supporting the difficult task of restarting trade and business. Ship operators can use the data to plot efficient routes between ports, realizing essential savings.

Trusting in space infrastructure

There is another advantage to fighting catastrophes with data collected from satellites. Space infrastructure escapes the delays and breakdowns that terrestrial networks may suffer in the wake of a crisis. Satellite constellations like Spire’s can continue to monitor situations if Earth-bound systems go dark, capturing vital aviation, weather, and shipping information from inhospitable or inaccessible areas.

The months ahead will bring new stories of resilience and innovation as we fight this pandemic and implement solutions for a healthier, safer future. While it is just one of many elements that make up successful efforts, global data is here to support global solutions.

Thanks to Google Earth and spy movies, aerial pictures of cities are the most well-known examples of remote sensing from satellites. But photographs are only one type of data collected from space, and they are blind to all the rich information outside of the visible range. Other sensors fitted to satellites can detect waves across the electromagnetic spectrum, which extends from long radio waves to short gamma rays.

Studying a broad spectrum reveals nuances of the Earth’s state of affairs. Each type of wave interacts differently with our atmosphere and planet. The waves are reflected, absorbed, or bent depending on their length and what they interact with. For example, infrared bands can reveal vegetation maturity, as old or deteriorated leaves reflect less infrared than young ones.

There is also a range of ingenious ways to use the signals from communication and positioning systems to observe global phenomena.

The sensors on Spire’s nanosatellites, for example, take advantage of global navigation system signals, like those from GPS. They make a radio occultation measurement that calculates how much the signals bend as they travel through the atmosphere. Because the degree of refraction depends on physical properties like temperature and humidity, these measurements reveal precise weather-related data.

The satellites also record signals reflecting off the Earth’s surface. Measuring the signals’ distortions and delays reveals data about ocean surface height, sea ice coverage and age, wind speed, and even soil moisture. Spire’s satellites even receive location signals broadcast from ships and commercial aircraft traveling around the world, recording the vessels’ positioning, direction, and identity.

While some terrestrial receivers collect similar data, they cannot scan the planet like an orbiting satellite. Just 15 satellites in low-Earth orbit can cover the globe, according to a European Commission report.

“This explains why, when terrestrial infrastructures have not been deployed, [a] satellite is usually seen as a better economic and practical solution to bring coverage to areas that would otherwise be left completely unserved,” the report from European Commission continues.

Spire’s constellation of over 100+ nanosatellites, for instance, have the potential to revisit any point on Earth an average of 220 times a day. This degree of global coverage is more critical today than ever before as we live in a world where decisions made in one corner of the planet impact lives thousands of kilometers away.

“Sustained space-based Earth observation is critical for understanding and addressing global scale challenges, such as poverty, urbanization, water security, climate change, and epidemiological risks, to human health,” according to an article published in Nature.

The list of applications of worldwide data collection is as long as it is inspiring. Temperature measurements can support global warming studies. Soil moisture readings can aid early warnings for droughts and wildfires, even in remote areas. Air traffic data helps model how people move around the planet, which COVID-19 has shown to be a critical metric for protecting global health. And tracking ships from space even helps the international non-profit Global Fishing Watch reveal illegal fishing practices across our seas.

Then there are the commercial advantages. Aircraft and maritime traffic data are important indicators of the global economy in their own right, pointing to the state of international trade. With Spire’s solutions, clients can even uncover sector-specific insights within the data. For instance, an oil trader can receive regular updates on tankers’ activity around the world.

Combining datasets leads to further possibilities. Maritime organizations are optimizing their route planning by linking ship location tracking with weather forecasts and data about ocean conditions. The resulting fuel savings are a boon to their bottom lines and the environment. In the same way, logistic companies can analyze weather, shipping, and aircraft data to ensure the most efficient delivery of goods.

Another benefit of satellites is that disruptions on land—natural disasters, conflict, or unforgiving landscapes—do not interrupt data collection from space. Satellites can study locations that are either too remote or too dangerous to send humans. They can respond to immediate needs or conduct long-term monitoring. And since they are about 1,000 kilometers above the planet, they free our precious landscapes and busy cities of intrusive infrastructure.

The reliability and flexibility of satellite data collection, especially given the range of applications, is translating into market potential. Northern Sky Research estimates that “Big Data analytics via satellite will generate close to $20.7 billion in cumulative revenues by 2029.” The research and consulting firm predicts that public authorities, weather, and energy sectors will propel the early growth of the market for non-imagery data collected from space, with services and industrial verticals to follow.

While the pandemic may have emphasized a weakness of ground-based data collection, the coming years are sure to reveal the world-changing potential of satellite remote sensing. Capabilities will only multiply as companies like Spire continue to launch satellites with ever-improving sensors. By observing our planet from space, we will be better equipped to make decisions on Earth.

When the only certainty is uncertainty, turn to data

Few understand how many uncertainties the aviation industry confronts while delivering reliable services. Oil price fluctuations, currency changes, geopolitical crises, economic turmoil, and regulation shifts were conditions airlines had come to expect. And then Covid-19 hit.

While no one knows what comes next, everyone is trying to plan for the future while grappling with budgets that are tighter than ever. Decision-makers have their work cut out for them. For support, aviation organizations can turn to data. It helps companies across the sector optimize operations and innovate with evidence-based decisions. And it helps amplify existing operations with new efficiencies.

“While traditional sources of competitive advantage for airlines such as cost base, scale, network, and product will continue to be important,” the Boston Consulting Group said in a report, “we believe that increased use of data science and advanced analytics will help airlines reinforce these sources of advantage to deliver substantial performance improvements.”

The opportunities for capitalizing on data are growing, especially within an industry that has traditionally been slower to embrace digital opportunities.

Modern airplanes collect as many as 400,000 data points per flight, monitoring everything from engine performance and aircraft systems to external factors like weather. And that’s just in the air. Carriers, immigration bureaus, manufacturers, and service providers all create troves of high-value data. Dubai International Airport, for example, captured 27 billion data points in just six months.

The applications of this data universe are as varied as its sources. Organizations use it for streamlining maintenance, tracking performance, boosting customer experience, and assessing risk—often reducing costs along the way.

For inspiration, here are three success stories that demonstrate how data can be used to tackle uncertainty and come out on top…

myairops

Each sector of the aviation industry, from crew management to part maintenance, comes with its own set of challenges and regulations. And they change constantly.

myairops helps organizations manage these complexities with efficiency-boosting, cloud-native solutions that run on real-time data. Its suite spans the breadth of the aviation industry’s needs. And it recently started integrating Spire Aviation’s aircraft positioning information into its platform, with weather data to follow in the future.

The results have been promising for myairops’ clients, too. Spire’s data combined with myairops’ expertise offers customers capabilities for advanced decision-making not possible without real-time information.

Solutions provided by myairops powered by the flight tracking data provided by Spire.

A brighter future ahead

The next few months will be trying for everyone in the aviation industry, but according to a recent study, most professionals see data analytics and digitization as a route to recovery. Better yet, the data programs initiated today will yield new value and save costs well into the future. To take full advantage of this opportunity, the Boston Consulting Group states that “data and advanced-analytics capabilities are high on the agenda,” suggesting that the industry should “prioritize investments in this area.”

Spire Aviation can help you get started or amplify your existing solutions, just as we supported the three companies introduced above to reduce costs, while developing innovative solutions. Our global air traffic data is collected by an advanced nanosatellite constellation and other terrestrial receivers, and it can be customized to suit your unique needs.

Digitizing the industry to solve for outdated processes

Bulk trade operations and chartering depend on out-dated manual processes with high risk of human error involving an inefficient combination of parsing through emails and tracking ships. From scheduling a charter to managing fleets, the current analog processes used in the maritime industry are incredibly time consuming, and the same is true for monitoring trade markets. However, with data becoming more and more available and easily accessible through APIs, these industries are ripe for digital transformation and a number of data savvy maritime professionals are already building innovative applications and solutions.

Shipfix uses Spire’s AIS-tracking API to display market insights through their dashboard on a global map.

Shipfix is leveraging AI to automate and digitize this process offering market insights to Maritime professionals who were previously dependent on manual and time-consuming processes including sorting through thousands of unstructured emails to locate key data. Spire Maritime’s AIS data API allows Shipfix users to visualize vessels globally and analyze global trade flows for commodities and products. Shipfix’s technology extracts key data from emails and AIS fields allowing users to filter market insights based on preferences including tonnage, open dates, open/load areas, cargo specifications, and vessel types.

But beyond knowing where commodities are currently, fusing AIS data with trade insights also provides a wealth of historical information to learn from. These comprehensive data archives allow global commodity shipping route information to be studied and analyzed to identify seasonal or regional trade patterns and economic cycles, year over year. At Spire, we launched a series of plug and play, one-time purchase solutions aimed at certain industries. Our Cargo Premium Sample lets you get started quickly using historical data for your specific industry. We currently offer premium samples for dry bulk, container, and cargo vessels as well as fishing vessels and an array of tanker vessels.

Pushing AIS data beyond it’s primary tracking function to give maritime professionals access to machine learning solutions that reduce risk, save time, and decrease costs. As market conditions tighten in a challenging economy, running efficient, lean operations are vital to keeping companies profitable. Data-driven decisions and predictive analytics are helping companies draw conclusions with confidence.

APIs: The key to faster innovation

Shipfix is a comprehensive platform for dry bulk chartering operations that collects metadata about ships, voyages, commodity flows, ports, and bunkers in one place.
AIS data is inherently flawed and cluttered, raw feeds demand a high level of refinement and processing to integrate usable data into an application.

Startups like Shipfix are now able to innovate faster and disrupt niche maritime sectors in a big way thanks to modern API’s. Where working with AIS data in applications was costly and time consuming, API’s like ours, are designed to plug into applications with minimal development.

With the platform now delivering AIS data and raw dry bulk market insights in an innovative way, maritime companies benefit by saving time and are able to rely on the accuracy of this new feature.

Bring us your challenges

Focusing on solving key maritime challenges with data remains the focus of Spire Maritime’s operations. Contact Spire Maritime today for more information on partnerships, services, and customer support or download a free sample from one of our data stories.

On 25^th January there were 8,730 aircraft flying in the western European skies, whereas three months later on 25^th April that number had dropped to just 4,980. This region is home to the three big European legacy airlines: British Airways, Air France KLM, and Lufthansa. Wondering what happened in other regions? During that period, many airlines grounded large numbers of their fleets across the globe. Although, airline activity in Europe hit rock bottom only around mid April, the three largest airlines in China had already grounded majority of their fleet weeks earlier.

How has all this affected carbon emissions?

Aircraft carbon emissions have been in the news lately, and not in a good way. This New York Times article’s headline is a case in point: ‘Worse than anyone expected’: Air travel emissions vastly outpace predictions.

With the pandemic causing such a decline in traffic around the world, you may have wondered, “How has this drop in traffic affected CO₂ emissions?” We’ve put together an aviation-focused analysis that might help put this drop in more real-world terms. To get this estimate, we used Spire Aviation air traffic data and general statistics⁽¹⁾ on average aircraft and passenger car emissions.

Aircraft detected over the Western European region on 25^th January, is estimated to have produced 700 million kilograms of CO₂ emissions (considering an average daily aircraft utilization of 10 flight hours). This is equivalent to carbon emissions produced by 61 million cars in a single day! To put this in perspective, Germany has about 48 million passenger cars, France has about 34 million and the UK has about 35 million.

The 43% drop in air traffic over Western Europe, combined with shorter daily utilization of aircraft during covid times, resulted in an approximately 70% decrease in daily carbon emissions. A whopping 500 million kg less CO₂ ! This drop in aircraft carbon emissions alone was equivalent to taking 43 million cars off the road, which is more than all the cars in France or the UK.

Still not enough?

Surprisingly, even with such a huge drop in carbon emissions, many experts are saying such a drop, even if continued, still wouldn’t be enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change estimated to occur.

There is a rising opinion that the pandemic, for all of its pain, may be the best time to think more about the impact of travel on global warming. In fact, experts have used the improvements in environmental conditions, like air quality for example, as proof that the environment could be greatly improved by lessening air and car travel. The Guardian article, “Is the Covid-19 crisis the catalyst for greening the world’s airlines?”, emphasizes the need for climate based accountability when bailing out airlines.

“If public funds are used to save companies, there is a growing argument that society should get something in return in terms of environmental improvements.” – The Guardian

Part of that self-examination and improvement effort can be to retire older generation aircraft which are less fuel efficient. Some airlines are also getting rid of their largest aircraft due to lower travel demand likely being the new normal for a while. Currently, many flights are nearly empty!

Returning to normal…

While Covid-19 effects on the travel and aviation industries are devastating, as we return to more normal traffic patterns, businesses and governments must continue thinking about ways to reduce environmental impacts and turn operations more efficient.

If we learn anything from this pandemic, maybe it’s that we need to question what “normal” means now. Is it “normal” to continue on a path that will be disastrous for our planet?

Temporary reductions in carbon emissions due to the drop in air traffic during covid-19 travel restrictions

An eco-friendly link to the logistic chain

Imagine for a moment an agricultural supply chain management company that specializes in moving fresh produce from the United States to Europe. After years of success and growth, the organization—let’s call it AgMove—decides to build on its positive momentum by officially going green. The decision will not only be good for the environment, but it will also generate brand awareness and cost savings from fuel reductions.

Going green puts AgMove in good company. About 40 percent of businesses consider resource management programs the “right thing to do,” according to a study from Deloitte, and nearly 70 percent reported dedicating maximum effort to these programs. But adopting green practices is no easy task, especially for an agricultural supply company with global operations.

Data can help.

Returning to our example, AgMove discovers that trustworthy information and tools built from robust data can help reduce its carbon footprint without increasing its bottom line. In fact, companies of all types can leverage data to launch innovative environmental strategies that make business sense.

Even the United Nations agrees. “New sources of data, such as satellite data, new technologies, and new analytical approaches,” it said, “if applied responsibly, can enable more agile, efficient and evidence-based decision-making and can better measure progress on the Sustainable Development Goals in a way that is both inclusive and fair.”

As we’ll see, data helps AgMove in the three key steps of green logistics, as identified in Sustainable Supply Chains: measurement, analysis, and mitigation.

Measurement

AgMove has a lot to keep track of. Seafood from the Northeast, grain from the Midwest, and fruits from the South must all be transported by trucks, ships, or airplanes, across multiple U.S. states, then the Atlantic, and finally into Europe. Not to mention the multiple stages of warehousing and inventory.

“Until relatively recently businesses struggled to get a full picture of the impact of their own operations,” John Hsu, an expert in sustainability data, wrote in the Guardian. “But now leading businesses … are trying to understand the entire end-to-end impact of their businesses, throughout the value chain.”

Data can help companies today can achieve a more complete view of operations. In fact, the time is ripe for monitoring and measuring. Satellites and connected devices can help businesses collect a universe of data about activities, from the granular level to the grand scale.

As transportation accounts for one of the most significant portions of emissions in the logistic business, AgMove starts its greening process by measuring and recording data about everything that impacts transportation. It monitors road traffic, vehicle emissions, flight patterns, the weather, shipping routes, and sea conditions. In fact, it measures in detail each leg in a journey that carries an orange from a farm in Florida to a grocery store in Frankfurt.

Spire Global, for example, operates a constellation of nanosatellites that reveal detailed information about vessel routes and conditions that may affect a ship’s journey. It also offers data solutions for airlines and global weather. Details about both subjects can help companies better measure fuel expenditure, transport patterns, and other carbon footprint-impacting factors.

Our maritime services, in particular, helped Gravity Supply Chain gain end-to-end supply chain visibility. With this insight, Gravity was more equipped to make data-driven decisions. Similarly, our AIS data API helps Shipfix users to visualize and analyze the global trade of commodities and products.

“Measuring and understanding how doing business really does affect the natural world will open up new opportunities for bringing sustainability inside an organization,” wrote Hsu.

Analysis

Once AgMove collects high-quality data about its operations it can begin analysis to pinpoint precise opportunities for boosting efficiency. Comparing historical and recent datasets, as well as datasets from multiple categories, helps reveal which operations need the most attention, where they appear along the supply chain, and even new avenues to reduce emissions.

When it comes to logistics transportation, some of the best variables to analyze for opportunities to reduce emissions are route distance and efficiency, mode of transportation, equipment conditions, load planning, and operation planning.

AgMove decides to analyze the weather and flight information of its overnight fresh lobster delivery from Maine to France. The information reveals excess fuel consumption during weather-related delays that force planes to idle on the tarmac or circle in holding patterns.

For AgMove’s orange shipments, comparing land transport with detailed vessel tracking uncovers two points in the logistic chain where fruit sits in emission-heavy trucks and climate-controlled warehouses, waiting to be loaded onto vessels.

Identifying these green opportunities isn’t always easy. As Supply Chain Digital points out, “the challenge for modern supply chains is knowing where to place a strategic focus and not becoming paralyzed by information overload.”

It can help to have a partner who collects and analyzes data.  Data partners can help solve this challenge by providing data solutions that evolve with customers’ needs, so that efforts to go green continue to improve productivity in the long run.

Mitigation

AgMove’s next step to greening its logistics is turning data and analysis into solutions that mitigate emissions. Using data for this process helps ensure its solutions are built on evidence, are targeted, and have the potential to be automated.

In general, supply chain management companies should consider solutions that optimize vehicle routing, incorporate green modes of transport, schedule equipment maintenance, and streamline loading and unloading, according to Sustainable Supply Chains. However, this list is by no means exhaustive.

As AgMove takes this step, it decides to incorporate weather forecasting into its transportation planning. The forecasting helps AgMove predict weather-related delays that impact departure, arrival, and cargo loading. And in turn, avoiding the delays prevents burning excess fuel.

Using historical and up-to-date flight and maritime data, AgMove also plans alternative routes for regions that tend to experience extreme weather during specific times of the year—for example, the Northeast in winter and the Gulf Coast during hurricane season. This decision helps AgMove reduce the chance of fresh goods losses.

AgMove also implements an early warning system with information about when vessels will arrive at ports. The alert notifies its trucking department, so drivers know precisely when to arrive at the dock. This system saves the trucks from burning fuel while idling outside the ports.

With real-time data, AgMove starts automating these systems. And in both cases, solutions that reduce emissions and waste also help ensure timely delivery.

Spire has already helped clients achieve some of these advantages. Clearmetal optimized costs and operations with a machine learning engine that predicts port arrival using multiple datasets. And a leading dry bulk shipping company, Oldendorff, developed an efficient fuel consumption model using weather and vessel data.

The data is the key

With green practices in place, AgMove can rest assured that it’s meeting its client’s demands and reducing emissions without driving up costs. Its farming partners will certainly welcome a cleaner environment, and they can also use data to help boost performance and implement sustainable practices.

For companies across industries, now is the time to start going green or expand eco-conscious practices already in place. Solutions should become more efficient as technology develops and computing advances, with the multitude of incremental improvements adding up into significant cuts to costs and emissions. The future will thank you for your actions today.

Change by the numbers

According to Flightradar24, the end of January 2020 saw upwards of 116,000+ commercial flights a day, including passenger, cargo, charter, and business jet flights. As of mid-April, those numbers were hovering around 30,800. This includes a 90% drop in passenger air travel.

Commercial flights tracked between Jan. and April. Includes passenger, cargo, charter, and business jet flights. (via Flightradar24)

In addition to creating major upheaval in the travel industry, this dramatic drop in passenger flights jolted global supply chains. Before the recent coronavirus impact, a passenger plane’s hold was around 50% passenger luggage and 50% cargo. With that capacity gone, cargo flights are picking up the slack and seeing a boom in business (even if this chart makes it look like business as usual).

Download sample data

As air cargo demand fell in February by 9.1% globally, you can see cargo aircraft traffic has remained steady (in fact, some cargo airlines are flying even more than before). This is the result of resilient airlines and freight forwarders filling the gap left by grounded passenger jets as well as stepping up to transport urgently needed medical supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, and hand sanitizer.

Private-Public collaboration

In the U.S., the public-private partnership Project Airbridge was established to reduce the medical supply chain capacity gap and speed up shipping of life-saving supplies (transporting goods from overseas factories to the U.S. can take 20-40 days by ship, compared to just 2-3 days by air). Working with Project AirBridge, UPS added 200+ flights in April, shipping protective equipment, ventilators, emergency room monitoring equipment, Coronavirus test kits, and more.

Meanwhile, FedEx delivered its first shipment of 450,000+ Tyvek® protective suits from Vietnam to Texas. In the weeks that follow, the company pledges 500,000+ suits will be shipped each week.

Use of Data Analytics

With such rapid change, data-driven solutions have never been more important. Freight and logistics companies can use data from many sources, including ADS-B air traffic data and weather data, to prepare their businesses for worst-case scenarios and help with crisis management. Similar to how financial trading companies have long recognized that fast and real-time data is key to staying competitive, freight and shipping companies are increasingly realizing that data analytics is key to making their businesses more efficient and future-proof.

Freightwaves is a company that provides market intelligence and data analytics to the global freight industry, for both ocean and air freight. They use Spire Aviation to acquire comprehensive air traffic data and use that data to provide actionable insights to their customers, such as tracking airport delays, determining delay causes, verifying the accuracy of schedules, understanding the impacts of specific company policies, analyzing weather impacts, and more.

In a recent study by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), 93% of shippers and 98% of third-party logistics companies said that data analytics is critical to making intelligent decisions, while 71% of them said they believed big data improves quality and performance. It’s a logical deduction that data driven solutions would be rated as even more important during crisis management.

What Where is the point?

The world is one big data problem, said Andrew McAfee, co-director of the MIT Initiative. While this may sound pessimistic, it highlights one of the most significant issues facing organizations that manage data: the express need to distinguish high-quality information from background noise.

From actionable insights to competitive advantages, the value modern businesses can extract from high-quality data is difficult to overstate. So it’s not surprising that data quality is top-of-mind for most companies. Experian said in a white paper that “the top driver for wanting better data is to find new customers.” Other motivations include improving customer experience, business growth, and reducing risks.

Poor-quality information, on the other hand, can lead to mediocre insights, hampered decision-making, and missed opportunities.
Given the importance of identifying high-quality information, data managers have their work cut out for them. After all, collecting data is only the first step. Ensuring it’s inherently valuable and will benefit your business, that’s another story.
This task may seem monumental at first, but high-quality data has three distinct qualities that distinguish it from the mountains of chaff: reliability, timeliness, and usability. Look out for these traits, and you’ll always be sure to strike data gold.

Reliable data is verified [sourced] data

When it comes to data, reliability means information is accurate, complete, and consistent across all platforms and channels.

Take healthcare, for instance. If a patient’s birthday is April 23rd, 1970, in one system, but September 14th, 1973, in another, then the information is unreliable. Which entry is correct? Are both wrong? You simply can’t trust any data that is inconsistent across platforms.

It’s also important to consider your data’s source when gauging its reliability. Is your data source trustworthy? Is it open about its data creation and collection practices? Or is your source gleaning information from a third-party? These are essential questions to ask.

Make no mistake; reliability is crucial. Inconsistent data pulled from unreliable sources can give rise to dubious insights.

If you’re worried about the state of your current information, you can always audit your data. That’s the most effective way to ensure its reliability across the board.

It’s about service/timing

Speed, latency, refresh rate, and bandwidth are all part of timeliness. Ask yourself, how up-to-date is my information? Was it updated within the past hour, day, or week? If your data was updated in the last thirty minutes, you might consider it timely—unless new information already exists that makes it obsolete.

Timeliness is also relative. Shipping data that is timely for a company transporting iron ore might be sluggish for a company handling highly perishable medicine. Consider what timeliness means to you.

To many, customer service plays an unsuspecting but large role in the timeliness conversation. No matter how hi-tech or futuristic a solution might be, a helpful person is what makes a real difference. How quickly does your data source respond to your inquiries? How soon do they notify you after an outage? Data delays that you experience can, in turn, slow down your interactions with your customers.

Like reliability, timeliness is critical because information that isn’t up to date can cost your company time and money, or even damage its reputation.

More than just a ‘use case’

The most timely and reliable information is only valuable if you can put it to use. That’s why usability is the third trait of high-quality data to look out for.

When gauging data’s usability, look into user-experiences. Is the data you’ve sourced compatible with your technical infrastructure? How seamless is the delivery method? Are you able to efficiently access and integrate the data, or are you hindered by data silos?

Data silos are the worst enemy of high-quality data. They barricade useful information in separate units. This makes it difficult for companies to generate actionable insights and, as a result, can inhibit critical decision-making. Data silos and disparate information can even cause your customers to feel like their needs aren’t being met and prompt them to approach your competitors.

The qualities of data quality

The world may be one big data problem, but companies that tackle the challenge by prioritizing high-quality information will discover competitive advantages and valuable opportunities. Thankfully, there is also help along the way.

Spire Global is a market leader in quality data for vessel tracking, aviation activity, and weather forecasting. In under six years, we have built a fully operational nanosatellite constellation in low Earth orbit that collects global data in near real-time, an unrivaled achievement in the industry.

Spire is now working towards nearly doubling the number of satellites in the constellation so that we can offer customers AirSafe API—a global aviation solution that combines data from sensors on the ground and in space. In everything we do, from seas to skies, we focus on providing data that’s reliable, timely, and usable.

For more information, visit development.spire.com.

Data the whole world over

We can see more of what’s happening on our planet in greater detail and faster than ever before. And it’s thanks to advanced data collection.

Right now, satellites and sensors are capturing information from empty stretches of ocean to busy city corners. Better yet, the data is increasingly comprehensive and continuous, and it will only improve as hardware proliferates alongside software developments.

“It’s as if the world is finally accessible to us from a data perspective,” said James Rivett-Carnac, an engineering lead at Spire.

These developments promise more data—a lot more. Our current data footprint is about 40 zettabytes, or 40 trillion gigabytes. By 2025, this will have more than quadrupled to an astronomical 175 zettabytes, according to an estimate from the International Data Corporation.

To put that number into perspective, loading all of that information onto a stockpile of standard 64-gigabyte smartphones would require about 27 times more devices than there are stars in the Milky Way.

But unlike the cosmos, the data universe we are creating is at our fingertips.

For example, not so long ago, when a ship left Rotterdam, you wouldn’t hear from the vessel until it arrived nearly 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) away in New York City. But today, thanks to maritime AIS data captured by satellites, this ship is regularly tracked between ports.

As data collection improves, one day you will also see the weather conditions surrounding a vessel and the movement of ocean currents at its precise location. What’s more, all of this data will be instantly captured, communicated, and stored, ready for future analysis.

“This is not only new digitized data,” explained Simon van den Dries, Spire’s CCO of maritime data services, “but new data that no human being was able to see before.”

The good news is, companies across industries can find detailed views of their operations within this vast data universe. It helps to have a navigator.

The human factor

Most companies today run on data. But capturing, sorting, and cleaning information to fit your needs is a monumental task, especially in a world bursting with zettabytes of data. Things can get even more complicated when you consider that companies often don’t produce the data they use and that data science is a rapidly advancing field.

In a recent NewVantage Partners survey of C-levels, only 28 percent of respondents reported having a data culture in their organization. But about 92 percent said investment in Big Data and artificial intelligence is necessary to “transform into agile and competitive businesses.”

That’s why Spire believes the future of data is in partnerships with people, not just faceless digital touchpoints.

A data partner can help search the data universe for the information your company needs most, then tailor datasets to your specific demands, and package everything in an easy-to-integrate format. A good data partner can even enhance digital solutions as your business evolves, seamlessly updating offerings as it anticipates new opportunities for you.

With this kind of dedicated support, you can focus more of your company’s time and resources on its core mission, capitalizing on data solutions that will appreciate as the partnership thrives.

William Fernandez, Spire’s vice president of aviation business development, succinctly explained how a data partner can help its customers. “What we are doing,” he said, “is providing the data to support the enhancement of whatever tools they have today or new tools that they are developing tomorrow.”

It may be a digital world, but it’s people who provide a competitive edge.

More data, better models

Tailored datasets are ideal for supercharging predictive models. And as these digital tools improve, companies can start anticipating the future with data-driven forecasts.

Let’s say a global manufacturer wants a model for optimizing shipping routes. It might start with data on the departure and arrival times of vessels at various ports. That would certainly be helpful. But imagine if it built a model that included all of the data mentioned in the example above—location between ports, weather conditions, and ocean currents. Then it would have a highly accurate model that faithfully resembles the real world.

Until recently, we couldn’t process all of this information. But thanks to profound developments in computing power and computer science, companies today can use models to forecast the likelihood of future events with greater accuracy than ever before. What’s more, they can integrate real-time data into models for rapid planning and iteration.

For example, the global manufacturer might input a vessel’s live location into its shipping route model and let the system continuously predict and plot the most fuel-efficient course—even as conditions change.

Business benefits

In any competitive and high-speed business landscape, a little bit of foresight goes a long way. That’s why companies should leverage data-powered predictive models to discover competitive advantages and eliminate inefficiencies.

Over the last fifty years, some weather models have improved significantly as they have grown from incorporating about one data point for every three hundred miles to one data point for every two miles. That’s good news for anyone packing for a holiday. It’s also a boon for aviation businesses.

Before a flight departs, airlines want to be sure the aircraft can land as soon as it arrives at its destination. After all, foul weather can force a plane into a holding pattern or even reroute a flight altogether, burning expensive fuel along the way.

With more weather data and better forecast modeling, an airline can make high-resolution go/no-go decisions and avoid these costs. It might use better data models to predict a flight delay a day ahead of time, allowing the airline to notify passengers and minimize their inconvenience.

Incorporating weather information into flight path planning can help pilots locate and avoid hard-to-spot pockets of clear-air turbulence. Besides making passengers happier and flights safer, this can help airlines save a considerable amount of money. Turbulence-related damages and delays cost about $500 million a year in the United States alone.

To sum up, that’s more savings, safety, and satisfied customers, courtesy of data and models.

Looking to the future

In the past, people used terms like tsunami, deluge, and flood to describe Big Data. But these metaphors are far too ominous.

Yes, growing data volumes present challenges, but with the help of data partners and the power of advanced models, the advantages vastly outweigh the difficulties. As José Antonio Martínez Aguilar said in his book The Data Advantage: “Data will enable you to make better decisions, find new insights, and eventually, achieve a competitive advantage.”

From this perspective, we can all look forward to data growth. It will continue to eliminate blind spots and help us see more clearly what lies ahead. We can then explore our data universe more effectively and discover new ways of bettering our world.