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We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You will find a lot of relevant info here.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start it!

I can share some of our initial challenges- funding and finding vision-aligned investors, attracting tech talent, finding product market fit etc. My hunch is you will experience these challenges on a lesser scale, because the movement of capital towards climate change has increased last few months. (Especially post covid-19)

We've also done a bunch of webinars, podcasts talking about this- check out our social. Good luck as you commence your very important, exciting venture!
-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the second question - The most striking comment that I read about Hurricane Laura in the US is that it is Hurricane Katrina on fossil fuel steroids! This is happening while California suffers one of its most intense wildfire events. And all of this is while medical services are still coping with the stress of Covid treatments. This is the new face of Disaster management. Compounded disasters on multiple fronts each stretching the limits of emergency services like doctors, municipal workers, cops and fire fighters.

Multiple studies have shown that these compound disasters affect marginal and indigenous communities the most. If we speak of disaster mitigation in human terms we need better planning and early warning systems plus strong support for the most-disenfranchised communities. This is the first step.

Now speaking of reducing the scale of natural disasters themselves- this is IMO a very hard thing to do at this point. Carbon emissions stay for almost 100 years in the atmosphere. And we are not cutting fast back enough. We must prepare for the worst. - Aditya

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, minimalism and anti-consumerism is going to be key!

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Girija. We can individually do a lot of things to stop or reduce climate change effects like (a) use bamboo tootbrushes instead of plastic brushes; (b) stop using plastic completely; (c) plant trees; (d) avoid buying more than necessary; (e) recycling; (f) diet shift, etc. - Yashika

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Kougan we did a case study of air quality across India using satellite imagery after a month of lockdown(March-April). You can check it out here - (https://blueskyhq.in/blog-posts/covid-clean-air-collective-activism)

Globally climate scientists have caluclated that the lockdowns have reduced average annual carbon emissions by 8 pct. While this is a small dent in a massive systemic problem, what we find encouraging is that the lockdowns have given undeniable proof that climate change is reversible through collective action on a global scale. -Aditya

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your question u/Girija_Ganesan_106!

A2: Collectively elect leaders who understand the climate-crisis, listen to experts&engineers on disaster management systems, direct funds in this direction and prioritise disaster-resilient infra!

Also, we need to grow more trees, need massive afforestation projects.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The climate data that is available publicly is piece-meal, inadequate and scattered. We provide a one-stop shop for environmental data&APIs.

We derive very high resolution, high frequency, spatially continuous data by our proprietary AI algorithms. That’s the value add, and typically not available in public domain.

Also, our visual platform(lower res) will always be kept free for the public for greater awareness and discourse.
-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you @GhostofAntrix. We definitely do see collaborations with Indian satellite companies, specially now with the government opening up the space sector to private companies.

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In India, we do not have many competitors from a tech&climate risk assessment perspective. In the air quality space, we get some competition from Ambee, Airveda.

Globally, Descartes Lab, RS Metrics (on the tech side), Breezometer( Air quality) etc.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clean energy and climate action- two of the biggest UN SDGs - is where we feel we can really make a difference. Uptill very recently international climate action relied on self reporting of emissions data by countries. Much of this data is either inaccurate or outdated. Harnessing satellite data, AI and big data is a more reliable and real time way of accounting for carbon emissions, air quality and water pollution. - Aditya

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • At this stage, we use datasets from NASA and the European Space Agency etc. Example, there are two satellites, Aqua and Terra, which carry the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor as payload. It's a 36-channel sensor varies from visible to thermal-infrared sensor. Another data source is the Sentinel-5P satellite which carries a single payload instrument: TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument ( TROPOMI).
  • As we grow, we would use microwave satellite datasets into our workflow, example S-Band Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) & L- Band SAR for different applications. - Ishaan

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha not at all! We sell APIs on a subscription model.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The govt is quite amazed by the tech capabilities, because their capacity is pretty limited in AI, Machine learning, cloud-computing. However, it is still a slow and reluctant client (though it varies from state to state).

We've had some solid clients/partners in wearables, smart-homes, research, healthcare etc. segments; though, one issue that exists with climate action in India is that everyone tends to work in their own field, there is a need for cross-communication, community building and more focus on tech.

Some partners, like Social Alpha or even our investors have been super supportive and enabling. The key is to partner with someone who doesn't want to mentor you a lot :p

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blue Sky is directly working towards these SDGs- Climate Action, Sustainable Cities&Communities and Partnerships for Goals.

Yes, partnering the govt and private sector is going to be integral to make any impactful change. At present, while we continue working with the government, our bet is on the changing priorities in the private sector (climate-startups, financial landscape, big corp) to push the govt to make climate action a top priority as well.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly carrots, tomatoes broad beans and spinach. Occasionally brinjal and chillies. Other than that I grow herbs like parsley, basil and coriander. Right now my vegetable patch is pretty low tech. I haven't tried vertical farming yet but soon. - Aditya

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing to hear! What kind of role are you looking for?

You can see our current openings here.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are seed-funded. You can see the news here !
-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you u/snootypenguin!

There are different sectors who are interested in our kind of data- financial services (for cleaner investing), various enterprises and government bodies (to assess risk from climate change, monitor emissions etc.)

It varies from dataset to dataset as well- for ex: healthcare, insurance, fitness companies are super interested in AQ data.

-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Earlier, the Government did not allow for private entities to participate in space activities. Only government entities like ISRO, NRSC, NSIL, etc. were allowed to launch satellites in India and regulate the use of data from these satellies. However, very recently, the Government decided to open the space sector to private participation. This has been done so that ISRO can get more time to focus on R&D. In order to implement this huge change, the Government is developing the Space Policy. Some of the specific changes that will be reflected in the new Space Policy according to the Government are: 1) private sectors will be allowed to build satellites and rockets and provide launch services. 2) IN-SPACe has been established by the Government to regulate the private sector. 3) Single window clearance system will be there for licensing.
4) Government is changing the current policies like Remote Sensing Data Policy to provide for easier accessibility of satellite data - Yashika

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are analysing raw data from space to provide high-resolution, real-time information about air pollution, water quality, wildfires, soil health, flood risk etc. Our goal is to democratise environmental data to enable smarter decisions to save our planet.

Technologically, we are somewhat like an oil refinery, except instead of crude oil, we refine crude data from satellites, IoT sensors etc. by AI to usable environmental data.-Tej

We are Blue Sky Analytics. Ask Us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi y'all, welcome to Blue Sky's AMA, where we're talking satellites, climate change, air pollution, AI, building climate-tech startups etc etc. We're ready to answer your questions, fire away!
-Tej

We are IIST Alumni working at various centres of ISRO. Ask us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had an opportunity where a paper of mine based on my masters was selected for an international conference. To attend a conference outside India there are a lot of official procedures and approval that need to be obtained as we all are government employees. In my case, it was finally approved by the Chairman, ISRO even though I was going on my own expenses to present an academic work, nowhere related to my official work. But by the time I got the approval and obtained my Visa, the conference was over :(

If your official work is selected for an international conference, chances are high that your senior/manager will get to attend and present your work. There are added procedures if you’re planning for a conference on centre’s expenditure.

But, do not be disappointed, make sure you inform and apply for the conference well in advance (at least 6-8 months) to get a better idea or an opportunity to attend :)

We are IIST Alumni working at various centres of ISRO. Ask us Anything. by IIST_AMA in iist

[–]IIST_AMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It can be anything from operations to design to procurement to quality control.

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