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Meet the man trying to build a 20cm 3D map of the world: Andrew Peterson - #MBM74
September 15, 2024 · 115 min

Andrew Peterson is the Co-Founder & CEO of Array Labs, with a simple mission: Mapping the whole world in 3D, at 20cm in near real time.

We peel the layers as to what it takes to get there: the engineering that’s required, how to build a constellation to do that, how you fund such a project.

Sponsor: OpenCage

Use OpenCage for your geocoding needs with their APIGeomob

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Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.

My 20min video explaining radar satellite imagesFind USGS 1m LiDAR data across the USY CombinatorMy episode with Ashlee VanceMy episode with Brian McClendonAlbedoBook & Podcast recommendationSpin Selling by Neil Rackham (Affiliate Link)AcquiredTimestamps

(00:00) - Intro

(01:08) - Sponsor: OpenCage

(02:34) - "Being a Recovering Engineer"

(03:15) - Mapping the world in 3D

(09:59) - "Near Real Time"

(15:46) - Applications will only use what's available, by definition

(18:15) - Why use radar for 3D images?

(22:23) - The coolest Space Shuttle mission, period

(27:19) - Tradeoff between resolution & coverage

(36:26) - Building cheap radar satellites

(39:46) - Array Labs's image resolution

(45:10) - A GPU Analogy

(50:34) - A story of image processing & computers

(56:07) - Array Labs today

(57:57) - Let's talk $$$

(01:06:38) - Low barrier to entry: Comparing XRay & MRI

(01:12:09) - Why stop at 10 satellites?

(01:15:50) - Focus

(01:19:53) - Max & Andrew's 1st chat during covid

(01:23:22) - Subscription model for satellite images?

(01:32:50) - Convincing the rest of the world your idea is worth something

(01:43:58) - Engineer to Founder

(01:47:30) - Book & Podcast recommendation

(01:51:06) - Array Labs's next 4 years?

(01:53:45) - Support the podcast on Patreon

Support the podcast on PatreonMy video on an introduction to satellite imagesWebsiteMy TwitterPodcast TwitterRead Previous Issues of the NewsletterEdited by Peter XiongFind more of his work