QuickBird vs. WorldView-1: five differences

21 January 2008, 11:21am

DigitalGlobe company has recently published a list of FAQ’s about the WorldView-1 satellite.

Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd. poster booth, exhibition within the frames of the 3rd International Conference “Earth From Space – the Most Effective Solutions”

ScanEx R&D Center, being the official distributor of WorldView-1 data on the territory of Russia and CIS countries (license agreement with Japanese Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd. was signed on January 15, 2008) offers the Russian version of answers to most tricky questions to all interested users:

1. How WorldView-1data can be ordered?

The same way as QuickBird data. Minimum archived data area to order is 25 sq.km and 64 sq.km for tasking imagery. The ROI boundaries must be delineated by a polygon with 5 km length on each side.

2. How are WorldView-1 products priced?

WorldView-1 images prices match those of QuickBird panchromatic products.

3. Is rush image library available for WorldView-1 products?

Yes, it is. The price will be the same as for QuickBird panchromatic rush image library.

4. What is the difference between WorldView-1 and QuickBird data?

There are five basic dereferences. WorldView-1 data are:
Panchromatic;

More accurate (6.5 m CE90% compared to QuickBird 23 m CE90%);

Better resolution (50 cm at nadir compared to QuickBird 60 cm at nadir);

A wider swath (17.6 km at nadir compared to 16.5 km QuickBird at nadir);

Do not have scenes identifier numbers, i.e. archived data can be searched for and ordered by coordinates of the regions of interest.

5. Can WorldView-1 images be “colorized” by fusing it with other multispectral data?

Distributors and users are free to experiment, however keeping in mind that the end-product is subject to Digital Globe end users license agreement.

6. Can I place a tasking order on both satellites?

Tasking orders are sensor-specific. This means that you can place a tasking order for a specific area of interest on either QuickBird or WorldView-1, but not on both satellites. Out customer service representatives can help you make a decision as to which satellite will best suit your specific needs.

7. How do I migrate tasking orders from QuickBird to WorldView-1?

If your timeframe for collection is important, please ask your customer service representative for advice regarding which satellite will best meet your project needs. If you wish to request tasking on WorldView-1 instead of QuickBird, simply cancel your QuickBird order and place a new tasking order on WorldView-1. Please note that the cancellation policy applies to each satellite. If you cancel a QuickBird tasking order you will be billed for and will receive all QuickBird imagery collected to date for that tasking order.

8. What is the scene size for WorldView-1 imagery?

World-View-1 Basic Imagery is delivered in 14 km “scene” lengths, at full strip width (17.6 km at nadir). Standard and Orthorectified Imagery products are delivered as area-based products.

9. Why is the Basic product delivered in a 14 km length?

Because of the better resolution and wider imaging swath of WorldView-1, the file size is larger for a WorldView-1 product than a comparable QuickBird strip of the same length. The 14 km length keeps the file size to less than 2 GB, which is a size that can be handled by remote sensing software applications.

10. When will stereo demo imagery be available?

We expect to have demo stereo imagery in Q1 2008.

First WorldView-1demo images were demonstrated at the 3rd International Conference «Earth from Space – the Most Effective Solutions»,

(see www.transparentworld.ru/conference/2007/summary.htm)

organized by the ScanEx Research & Development Center and NGO Transparent World held on December 4-6, 2007 in Moscow Region Vatutinki recreation center. Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd. representative Miki Matsuda took the floor with a report “Introducing High Resolution Satellite Imagery QuickBird and WV-1». Her presentation is available on the official web-site of the Conference in section «2007 Conference Proceedings».

(see http://www.transparentworld.ru/conference/
2007/schedule_session_06_satellite.htm)

www.scanex.com

ScanEx Press Release