Earth twins

Terrain, hydrology and atmosphere, on live observations.

Earth twins, inside Digital twins and simulation: terrain analysis, hydrological modelling, EO data cubes, essential climate, ocean and biodiversity variables and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards (elevation data) to ISO 19123-1, and runs on the open Observatory Protocol.

Plan with usArchitectureThe protocol

Technologies: 7
At the frontier: 0
Protocol functions: 3 of 12
Industries served: 9

01What it is

Spatial analysis and siting.

The reference frames, formats, services, analysis methods, machine learning and 3D models that turn observations into located, queryable and decision-ready geographic information. Every platform, sensor, processing level and ground-segment step that turns remote measurements of the Earth into calibrated, analysis-ready evidence for a site, a region or a network. AI from model to accountable operation: edge inference and model optimisation, foundation models for Earth observation and geospatial work, time-series and sensor AI, multimodal fusion and supervised agentic operations, federated and privacy-preserving learning, physical AI and robotics within stated red lines, MLOps, evaluation and model risk, and the governance frameworks that apply to each. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against.

GIS, maps and GeoAI

Terrain analysis

Slope, aspect, curvature, roughness and exposure from elevation models for access, stability and siting.

We design and operate.

ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards (elevation data) · ISO 19123-1

GIS, maps and GeoAI

Hydrological modelling

Flow direction, accumulation, catchments, height above nearest drainage and stream networks.

We design and operate.

OGC WaterML 2.0 · OGC HY_Features conceptual model

Remote sensing and Earth observation

EO data cubes

Analysis-ready stacks indexed by space, time and band so time series can be computed at scale.

We design, integrate and operate.

OGC API - Coverages · openEO API 1.2 (OGC Community Standard) · Zarr specification v3

Remote sensing and Earth observation

Essential climate, ocean and biodiversity variables

Agreed variables with accuracy, resolution and stability requirements that frame what to measure.

We design.

GCOS 2022 ECV requirements (GCOS-245) · GOOS Essential Ocean Variables

Remote sensing and Earth observation

Fusion with in situ data and models

Combining satellite, airborne and ground observations with models for gap-free, validated fields.

We design, integrate and operate.

ISO 19156:2023 (observations, measurements and samples) · WMO WIGOS

AI systems

Forecasting and nowcasting

Short-range forecasts of weather, water, load and traffic from local and regional observations.

We design, integrate and operate.

WMO WIGOS

AI systems

Hydrological time series

Learned rainfall-runoff and water-level models using standard water data exchange.

We design, integrate and operate.

OGC WaterML 2.0

02Architecture

Where it sits, and what it speaks.

Earth twins draws on the spectrum below; the highlighted layers carry this area, and the protocol functions it speaks are marked.

Reference systems and geodesy

Vector, raster and array formats

Tiling, maps and visual services

APIs, catalogues and discrete global grids

Spatial analysis and siting

GeoAI

3D, BIM and digital twins

Metadata, quality and publication

Platforms and orbits

Optical, spectral and thermal sensors

Radar, lidar and microwave sensors

Processing levels and analysis-ready data

Calibration and validation

Tasking, ground segment and access

Data cubes, analysis and archives

Frontier and research

01Join Identity, attestation quote, signed policy.

02Admit Admitted for a stated scope, nothing wider.

03Describe What, where, how and by whom, with calibration.

04Time One clock across the grid, with its error bound.

05Observe Every value with quality and provenance.

06Qualify Tested against the specification, state on record.

07Federate Signed exchange across grids and trust domains.

08Orchestrate Software and configuration by signed plan.

09Correct A correction marks what depends on it and publishes a new version.

10Exchange Products reach people and applications through versioned interfaces.

11Prove Signed proof receipts that an independent verifier can check.

12Exit and decommission An open exit path, and a record that closes.

03On the grid

The ground, measured before it is modelled.

Real elevation, line of sight, an orbit swath and a GeoAI pass, each an interactive explainer on open terrain data with its source shown.

04In the field

Where this runs, sector by sector.

Deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on earth twins.

Agriculture

Farm or cooperative agromet network with crop models

Compact stations and soil probes feeding irrigation, disease and frost models.

05Open and enterprise

Open by default. Enterprise by contract.

The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract.

Open, on the main site

Simulation methods with worked examples
Open terrain and grid layers

Enterprise, on this site

Drone survey and 3D site twins
Network planning studies
Scenario studies

06The rest of the line

Digital twins and simulation, area by area.

Digital twins and simulation

Site twins

The site in 3D, measured to scale.Digital twins and simulation

Network twins

Coverage, capacity, power and timing, simulated.Digital twins and simulation

Scenario simulation

Floods, heat, load and failure, run before they happen.Digital twins and simulation

Planning

From the twin to a plan you can tender.

Bring us the site.

Survey, design, deployment and operation for earth twins. The form names who receives your details.

Talk to us Ask for a quote

See it from every side.

Each opens as a full-screen presentation: deeper pages on the same subject, explainers, stories, guided tours of the places, network scenes and the observatories that came before.

All presentations for this page

In depth

Use case Utility grid-edge private LTE and wildfire weatherUse case Methane fenceline observatoryISIC section · ISIC E Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activitiesUse case Hybrid air-quality observatory

Explainers

Explainer · Environment and climate Environment and climate — SectorsMethane fencelines, acoustic biodiversity grids, flux towers, river sondes and smoke networks: an interactive explainer with the method behind every number.Explainer · Industrial IndustrialBlast vibration at the pit, fire weather at the grid edge, methane at the fenceline and tailings movement from GNSS.

Terrain, hydrology and atmosphere, on live observations.

Forecasting and nowcasting

Short-range forecasts of weather, water, load and traffic from local and regional observations. In Earth twins, part of Digital twins and simulation, the time-series and sensor AI layer holds forecasting and nowcasting, drawn against WMO WIGOS. We build it into every site for Earth twins against that standard, and keep its version and its test results on the site’s record.

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