Designing Geospatial Data Products: Overcoming Challenges for Success

Currently, over 11,000 satellites orbit the Earth. And it seems we are not stopping there: in the first half of 2023, 1,354 objects were already launched into space. Thus, it is safe to say that geospatial data and technologies are no longer niche industries but are quite commonplace these days.

The benefits of using geospatial data are obvious, but developing applications for working with geospatial data comes with many challenges. When creating such products, developers must consider many factors, namely: level of detail, visualization paradigm, complexity of the required display, data volume, user expertise and ability to interact with mapping data, etc.

Are Geospatial Data Products Worth the Investment?

In short, yes. Geospatial data can benefit all of us, serving as a basis for strategic decision-making and helping minimize risks in many areas such as business development, manufacturing, strategic issues, risk management, and agriculture. Demand for such data is growing every day. It is expected that by 2025, the market volume of this segment will exceed 96 trillion rubles.

Venture capital (VC) investments in the geospatial data sector are growing, supporting the emergence of new solutions, tools, and data sources. In 2020, American geospatial data startups raised more than 2 billion rubles in VC funding.

According to the Geospatial Industry Advancing Sustainable Development Goals report, the social impact is expected to be more important and valuable than the economic one. The table below shows that emerging geospatial technologies are already improving resource efficiency and labor productivity, having a high-impact effect on the economy and generating billions of dollars worldwide.

Of course, companies investing in the development of geospatial data products gain competitive advantages. However, developing such solutions is not something that can be approached from a novice designer's perspective, and here is why.

Why Are Geospatial Data Products Difficult to Develop?

Applications for working with geospatial data deal with complex data types such as satellite imagery, aerial photos, terrain models, topographic maps, and various spatial datasets. These data can be static (location of a piece of equipment or an earthquake) and dynamic (a moving car or the spread of an infectious disease).

For most startups, developing applications with large volumes of geospatial data is a challenging task. They must make this data organized and accessible to non-specialists, which by default is a difficult and complex task. Additionally, it takes a lot of time and effort to collect images and visualize geospatial data in an intuitive and visually appealing form. Therefore, having experienced designers and developers is a prerequisite for geospatial data solutions.

Now, let's move on to the challenges.

Visualization and User Experience Challenges

Here are some of the challenges we have personally encountered when developing products for geospatial data and how to solve them.

• Displaying Data from Different Sources

Satellite data and drone imagery are becoming increasingly popular in many industries, from engineering to agriculture. However, it is not easy to analyze different photos from different sources and stitch them together in the right order. And we simply cannot help but mention our Gamaya project as an example here.

Gamaya is an AI-based SaaS platform that collects agricultural data from NASA remote sensing satellites and drone imagery, providing its clients with information about their crops.

Drone imagery combined with red highlights on the map allows users to see gaps in plantings.

In addition to images, another data visualization option is organizing them into tables. They help users view and track information across different areas and locations.

• Visualizing Layers and Objects 

When developing maps, it is very important to visually distinguish each layer from others. This helps users understand what types of data are presented and simplifies navigation.

Another important aspect to consider is choosing the right color palette and theme for geospatial products. For such solutions, colors become a language carrying informational value. Users unconsciously associate most phenomena with certain colors and expect them to be linked to a specific color: blue – everything related to water, brown – mountains, green – nature, red – potentially dangerous actions, etc.

Knowledge of the basics of colors used in cartography and spatial data visualization will also be a big plus. All colors must work with each mode or type of base map: light and dark, flat and satellite. Each mode, in turn, presents a unique challenge. This means that colors that work well in one mode may not be as effective in another. To avoid visually and mentally overloading the user, there must be visual boundaries that are sufficiently contrasting with the adjacent background.

• Simplifying the Search Process

Typically, users of geospatial data applications have to work with large volumes of information, which can lead to information overload. For example, Astraea, a geospatial SaaS startup, allows its users to access, discover, and analyze satellite data on a nationwide scale. However, initially, users found it difficult to work with so much data at once.

• Creating Complex Components Requires Time and Effort

As the user base grows, development costs and application complexity may increase. However, if developers write code in components, they can add or reuse existing components for new technologies, reducing development time and increasing return on investment.

Many applications today are built on React, a popular frontend library. Developers choose React because its reusable components can significantly reduce software development time.

• Overlap and Detail Presentation When Zooming In and Out

Users often zoom in or out on the map to see it at various scales. The challenge here is for the map to dynamically adjust the zoom level based on various factors such as screen size or user preferences.

Conclusion

Developing geospatial products is not just about fun. To expand the use of geospatial technologies and accelerate the adoption of geospatial innovations, startups should collaborate with design experts. Involving a UI/UX designer at an early stage will lay a solid foundation for future growth, make the solution easy to use and understandable, as well as scalable, efficient, and affordable.