DARPA explores analytics as a service business model
DARPA is exploring how to create an analytics as a service model as a way to tap global geospatial data from commercial satellites.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is piloting an analytics as a service business model as a way to tap global multimodal geospatial data from commercial satellites.
In a new presolicitation announcement, DARPA wants companies to offer innovative proposals to develop the software infrastructure to virtually aggregate the huge amounts of geospatial information from satellite constellations.
Through the Geospatial Cloud Analytics (GCA) program, DARPA plans to develop technology for accessing and analyzing geospatial data. Many satellite constellations focus mainly on non-military uses, but DARPA believes their data has many military applications.
DARPA expects the GCA technology will let data scientists concentrate on analyzing data, instead of gathering data from individual sources.
The GCA program will be set in three phases. Phase 1 is developing the application programming interface (API). Phase 2 is continuing to develop the API. The final phase will be a separate procurement to provide more of the analytics as a service.
The first two of three phases of the GCA program is valued at $28.9 million and DARPA plans to make multiple awards.
The program has two technical areas:
- Scalable geospatial data platform
- Analytical applications and competitions
DARPA released the notice Oct. 11. Response are due by Dec. 14.