News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by brookst on Saturday January 21, 2023 @01:59PM (#34469130)
Hello jofer! I couldn’t help noticing your red 2017 Subaru Crosstrek was out in your driveway all winter, and probably needs a spring detail. We’re running a special this week!

We’ve also identified signs of water damage on your roof, which was last replaced 22 years ago according to public records. Our local affiliate will provide a repair estimate free of cost, and we’ll throw in a discount on the car detail.

Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by jofer on Saturday January 21, 2023 @02:07PM (#34469222)
Good luck recognizing that level of detail! This isn't that type of imagery. You can tell just barely tell a truck from a car and can definitely tell the color of the vehicle, but that's about it. You're describing 1cm imagery from drones, not satellite imagery.

Regardless, insurance companies are big customers for similar reasons. Recognizing swimming pools in imagery is tougher than you'd think, but a classic thing (and real) that gets brought up is your insurance company raising your rates because you put in a pool and didn't tell them. Insurance companies would love to (and sometimes do) detect that from satellite imagery instead of boots on the ground.

Either way, those are big companies / big contracts, rather than individuals buying imagery directly.

Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by heliodor on Saturday January 21, 2023 @02:18PM (#34469341)
In Puerto Rico, roofs are flat and get dirty within a few months. You absolutely can easily determine when it was last powerwashed as well as when it was last sealed.

Sealing will leave you with a pure white roof for about a month or two. Powerwashing will leave you will light to medium gray. They'll turn dark gray to black within a few months in the parts where the water pools.

Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by oakwhiz on Saturday January 21, 2023 @03:03PM (#34469801)
It's different for dyed sealant, but there is a time while the work is being done where old sections are stripped back and the new material is drying. Lots of false positives from HVAC work etc. though.
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by geysersam on Sunday January 22, 2023 @03:40AM (#34475520)
If this is such an issue, why not have sloped roofs? (Just curious)
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by GasTrader on Saturday January 21, 2023 @02:32PM (#34469481)
Actually the roof example can be done at scale cheap enough for a local contractor to market. I'd use hyperspectral but 30 cm optical might work in sure 10cm would. Thanks for the suggestion!
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by wpietri on Saturday January 21, 2023 @08:18PM (#34473006)
One might not need that level of detail to put together that message. If you already have a database of car ownership by address, figuring out which vehicle-like blob is parked in the driveway is not a hard problem. Worst case you accidentally send an advertisement to somebody that's not as personalized as you were hoping.
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by anlsh on Saturday January 21, 2023 @02:07PM (#34469213)
I think I'm going to vomit :(
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by layer8 on Saturday January 21, 2023 @03:10PM (#34469884)
Don’t do that outside though! You’ll get ads for gastrointestinal medication.
Re:Buy Hi-Resolution Satellite Images of Any Place on Earth by NavinF on Saturday January 21, 2023 @08:05PM (#34472900)
Local contractors driving by your home can do the same thing.