We have established a reputation as a trusted partner by our customers. Working closely with them, we tailor solutions to exactly what is needed within the budget available. This ranges from small-scale data exploration studies through to large-scale bespoke developments which deploy complex algorithms to deliver data intelligence to users.

We work with customers all over the world to deliver the solutions they need. Our staff have a wide range of expertise and experience, including with leading technology consultancies at senior level, so that we are capable of working from a strategic level down to technical project delivery. Clients range from multi-national corporates to SMEs, government and research agencies, and our engagements can last from days to longer-term strategic partnerships over many years.

Approach

Our approach is very much to build long-term, trusted relationships with our customers. We like to start with small scoping or feasibility studies to help understand our customer's requirements so that we can focus on exactly what is required and demonstrate value-for-money. These smaller studies can then lead to deeper interactions and larger-scale work once trust and concepts have been proven.

Engagement

We have the expertise to undertake strategic studies, small-scale data exploration and solution feasibility studies, provide technology advice and bespoke training, develop mobile, desktop and cloud-based software solutions, or even to integrate and develop bespoke sensors.

Case Studies & News

After COP 26

Measuring Progress

The 20,000 activists, diplomats, politicians, media, and businesspeople attending COP26 in Glasgow have the needs and focus of an expectant world on them. COP 26 is, after all, the forum to force climate change. When the summit ends, new goals will have been set.

November 2021

Announcing New Partner Channel

AWS Select Technology Partner

Digital Content Analysis Technology (D-CAT), the leading business intelligence and data analysis company is pleased to announce it is now a Select Technology Partner in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN).

November 2020

Cloud and Shadow Detection in Satellite Images

Removing uncertainty in Sentinel-2 images

There is a rapidly increasing demand for remote sensing capabilities, which calls for quick and efficient ways to transform raw data into useable insights. However, clouds and shadows in optical satellite images block the potential for creating usable insights. D-CAT offers a reliable cloud and shadow detection service which allows clients and users of Sentinel-2 imagery to identify them with ease and trust the processed results.

July 2020

Crop Classification

Accurate, scalable crop classification using remote sensing

With climate change posing a real threat to food supplies worldwide, sustainability of food production and the ability to feed the world's population are becoming increasingly critical - not only for for producers, distributers and sellers but also for governments and communities globally. Remote sensing can bring certainty to food supply estimation with its ability to detect what crops are growing and area coverage, enabling more accurate yield prediction months before harvest and also facilitating more accurate carbon footprint modelling of agriculture.

July 2022

Environmental, Social and Governance: Mining Sector Faces the Show Me Test

Guest Expert on Financial Services Analytics: Gary McCarthy

Gary McCarthy, a Financial Services Industry expert, is currently doing some work with D-CAT. In this latest article Gary shares insights on the challenges facing the mining sector with a future dominated by climate and environmental emergencies.

August 2021

Fallow Weed Detection

Saving costs, preserving moisture and reducing carbon footprint

Weed control is an important part of farming. Fallow weeds can hinder crop development if left untreated, using up valuable moisture which is scarce in many agriculture regions of the world. Treatments such as weed killer are expensive, often less effective if not applied at the ideal growth stage of the plant, and tend to be extensive across whole paddocks to ensure that no weeds survive before sowing (precision spraying devices remain large investments for most farmers). Wide area application can be avoided using a new service from D-CAT that affordably highlight weed patches in fallow ground and provide locations / mapped areas detailing where treatment is required. A cost calculator is also supplied along with percentage of the paddock to assist with the spraying decision.

February 2022

Frost Damage Detection

Detecting frost damage in crops

Frost can be a huge problem for farmers, causing irreversible damage to their crops and significantly reducing the amount of yield that is produced. Although aids such as weather reports can give an indication of when local regions are likely to experience frost, they are not able to tell if and where the crops have been damaged. This is vital as farmers need to know exactly which areas to treat as soon as possible to reduce the impact of frost. This is where remote sensing comes in, which can highlight regions on the farm that crops are most likely to be damaged.

September 2021

Land Recovery after Forest Fires

Kangaroo Island, South Australia

There is an increasing need for affordable, effective monitoring of damage and recovery related to wildfires, with the recent incidents in Perth, Australia being only the latest example. Understanding the damage done to land, rivers and other parts of the vital environmental eco-system is critical to decisions made in the months and years thereafter, from monitoring run-offs to soil recovery and vegetation regrowth. With forests covering millions of acres of land worldwide, and bushfires generally impacting large tracts of land, satellite-based imaging services from D-CAT can play a key role in decision making during and after the event.

February 2021

Monitoring Deforestation

Tracking changes in forests with Sentinel-1

The Earth’s forests are some of our biggest tools in combatting the effects of climate change, with huge potential for carbon sequestration. However, forests are simultaneously being ravaged by the effects of extreme weather events, global temperature rise and deforestation. Remote sensing is an important tool that can be used to monitor deforestation, providing rapid insight into which areas are suffering the most and a timeline of changes to the forests.

April 2022

Monitoring Land Surface Temperature

Smart processing for higher resolution images

The challenge to monitor changing temperatures in urban and rural areas has never been more real or important. Most commonly, temperature readings are taken by measuring the temperature of the air. However, this has a major drawback in that it cannot account for variation of temperature on different surfaces and materials. To do so, Land Surface Temperature (LST) is required. LST readings are generally obtained through remote sensing observations from satellites, which offer the benefit of monitoring cities, regions and nations at scale and at regular intervals. What differentiates D-CAT’s LST product is the unparalleled spatial resolution of 15m enabling more precise spatial insights.

March 2021

Monitoring Oceans and Coasts with Remote Observations

Detecting Oil Spills

There is an increasing need for using insightful remote sensing to monitor the environment. Rising levels of pollution and temperature in oceans have caused concern for the impact on aquatic life and coastal regions. With oceans covering over 70% of the Earth's surface, solutions are needed that allow large regions to be monitored quickly and effectively, providing more than imagery alone. D-CAT offer services which help clients to manage and protect fragile ecosystems.

August 2020

Monitoring Wildfires

Western USA, Oregon State

There is an increasing need for affordable, effective monitoring of the environment, with the recent wildfires in the western US states being only the latest example. Each year the number of wildfire outbreaks across the globe increases, as does the need for faster detection of fires and the ability to reliably monitoring them through degraded conditions. With forests covering millions of acres of land worldwide, satellite-based imaging services from D-CAT can play a key role in monitoring fire risk for all stakeholders, including fire-fighters.

September 2020

Pasture Biomass Mapping

Accurate mapping irrespective of cloud cover

Trusted, accurate mapping of pasture biomass bring another level of decision making to anyone working with pastures, and offers the potential for more efficient practices, optimised feed management and the avoidance of over-grazing. Removing the need to estimate biomass by eye, plate-meter or drone/aircraft flights, satellite-derived biomass mapping saves time and money. Here we share our latest case study, where a best-practice test farm in Australia has finished trialling our pasture biomass service and is utilising it to develop optimal stock movements, improve sustainability and drive greater efficiencies.

August 2021

Predicting Crop Yield

Forecasting wheat production months before harvest

A strong and stable agriculture sector is important at a national level as a source of food, and beneficial as a source of economic gain through exports. Early prediction of harvest yields at national and regional scales is therefore important as an influencer of commodity trading pricies, a means of ensuring adequate food supplies, managing logistics, and as a component of balance of trade. At a smaller scale, accurate estimates of likely yields allow farmers to better manage budgets, plan seed retention versus sales, assist with insurance cover judgements, and crop management decisions through the latter part of the growing season. Crop yield prediction is possible using remote sensing from satellite imagery, and accurate predictions of wheat yield are shown below to be possible months before harvest.

March 2022

See Risk in a Very Different Way

Guest Expert on Financial Services Analytics: Gary McCarthy

Gary McCarthy, a Financial Services industry expert, is currently doing some work with us at D-CAT. In this article, Gary shares some telling insight on the challenges financial markets have in spotting real change.

June 2021

Soil Monitoring for Sustainable Land Use

Satellite-Derived Top-Soil Mapping: Uses & Benefits

Understanding soil is vital for good agricultural outcomes and sustainable land use management, but methods for mapping and monitoring typically require manual intervention. Satellite-derived top-soil indices do not, and are therefore offer an attractive alternative – or addition – to other data gathering methods.

June 2021

Spectral Indices

Indicators Derived from Remote Monitoring

Analysis of imagery of the same place captured at different wavelengths can reveal a lot about the content of the scene being viewed. When comparisons are made of scene content at different wavelengths spectral indices are the most common form of image enhancement and there are indices that support a broad range of applications, from minerals to soil to vegetation.

March 2021

UK-Australia Space Bridge Project Announced

Harvesting hyperspectral satellite data to improve crop production

We're proud to be part of one of only 5 consortia funded under the inaugural UK-Australia Space Bridge program. This exciting new collaboration between Australia and the UK is designed to foster partnerships between the two countries, and we're delighted to be working with our partners from the University of Adelaide and InterGrain to do so. Our project is an important step towards improved region-wide yield forecasting, and the incorporation of hyperspectral satellite imagery into plant breeding programmes for better crop production in increasingly challenging growing environments.

October 2021

Vegetation Indices

Monitoring Vegetation Growth

D-CAT offers a wide range of imagery-derived vegetation indices that are used in various applications, including agriculture monitoring, offering food producers and farmers invaluable insights to help them sustainably manage their crops and soil.

March 2021

Water Indices

Monitoring Moisture Changes

D-CAT offers a variety of different imagery-derived water indices that are used in various applications, including agriculture monitoring where they offer food producers and farmers invaluable insights to help them sustainably manage their crops and soil.

April 2021

Capabilities

Algorithm Development

Advanced algorithms for smart processing

We take a systematic approach to understanding how to solve customer problems. By focusing on the data which is available and the insights they bring, we develop and apply a range of algorithms to extract the knowledge that is required by our customers.

Data Analytics & Machine Learning

Detailed analysis using the most advanced techniques

Our core capability is being able to understand and exploit data from a variety of sources. This requires a systematic approach to data exploration, preparation and processing to achieve the desired outcomes. Our particular expertise is in finding and combining the right data to solve customer problems, whether that be from satellite imagery, IoT sensors or bespoke data soruces.

Platforms & APIs

Robust cloud platforms and API solutions

Being able to extract insight from data is not enough to be useable by customers to solve their problems. Needed alongside clever algorithms is the ability to develop robust, secure and useable solutions which, for example, integrate with customer systems, or provide stand-alone systems which can be used by end users.

Publications

Manulis, M., Treharne, H., Newton, C., Casey, M.C. (2020) "Beyond Passwords: the Future of Web Authentication" New Statesman Spotlight: Cyber Security: Adapting to the Pandemic

Sallal, M., Schneider, S., Casey, M., Dragan, C., Dupressoir, F., Riley, L., Treharne, H., Wadsworth, J., Wright, P. (2019) "VMV: Augmenting an Internet Voting System with Selene Verifiability" arXiv:1912.00288 [cs.CR]

Whitefield, J., Casey, M.C, Chen, L., Giannetsos, T., Newton, C., Sasse, R., Treharne, H., Schneider, S., Wesemeyer, S. (2019) "Direct Anonymous Attestation in the Wild" Real World Crypto Symposium 2019 contributed talk Download

Al-Khalili, J., Smith, A., Sen, P. (2017) "Gravity and Me: the Force that Shapes our Lives" BBC 4 science programme using an iOS and Android app to measure local relativity effects

Treharne, H., Casey, M.C., Schneider, S., Wesemeyer, S., Ross, T., May, A., Blainey, S., Pritchard, J. (2016) "Integrating Data Sources to Enhance the Experience for Passengers with Special Needs and/or Disabilities through Privacy Aware Mobile Applications" Data to Improve the Customer Experience, RRUKA, 20/09/2016 Download

Arscott, D., Venturini, B., Cheong Took, C., Templeton, M., Babatunde, A., Casey, M.C. (2016) "Delivering Water Security for All During Shale Gas Production" A report co-funded by Innovate UK, DECC and NERC and undertaken by the PyTerra Research Consortium Download

Hickman, D.L., Smith, M.I. (2016) "Mathematical Modeling and Validation in EO System Development" SPIE Press Book

Hickman, D.L., Smith, M.I. (2015) "The Use of Algorithmic Behavioural Transfer Functions in Parametric EO System Performance Models" Proceedings of SPIE 9648, Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications XII; and Quantum Information Science and Technology, 964807

Ioannou, P., Casey, M.C., Grüning, A. (2015) "Spike-Timing Neuronal Modelling of Forgetting in Immediate Serial Recall" Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) 2015. Killarney, Ireland: IEEE Download

Smith, M.I., Casey, M.C. (2012) "Solving the Big Data Problem - Smart Ways to Work Together" Big Data: Turning Big Challenges into Big Opportunities, IET Seminar, 05/12/2012 Download

Casey, M.C., Pavlou, A., Timotheou, A. (2012) "Audio-Visual Localization with Hierarchical Topographic Maps: Modeling the Superior Colliculus" Neurocomputing, vol. 97, pp. 344-356, doi: 10.1016/j.neucom.2012.05.015 Download

Casey, M.C., Yau, C.Y., Barfoot, K.M., Callaway, A.J. (2012) "Data Mining of Portable EEG Brain Wave Signals for Sports Performance Analysis: An Archery Case Study" International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS 2012). Glasgow, 19-24 July 2012 Download

Barfoot, K.M., Casey, M.C., Callaway, A.J. (2012) "Combined EEG and Eye-tracking in Sports Skills Training and Performance Analysis" World Congress of Performance Analysis of Sport IX. Worcester, 25-28 July 2012 Download

Casey, M.C., Hickman, D.L., Pavlou, A., Sadler, J.R.E. (2011) "Small-scale Anomaly Detection in Panoramic Imaging using Neural Models of Low-level Vision" Proceedings of SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing Conference 2011 on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision, volume 8042B. SPIE, Florida, 25-29 April 2011 Download

Casey, M.C., Pavlou, A., Timotheou, A. (2010) "Mind the (Computational) Gap" Proceedings of the UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence (UKCI 2010), Essex, 8-10 September Download

Bamber, D.C., Page, S.F., Bolsover, M., Hickman, D.L., Smith, M.I., Kimber, P.K. (2010) "Adaptive Image Kernels for Maximising Image Quality" Proceedings of SPIE 7696, Automatic Target Recognition XX; Acquisition, Tracking, Pointing, and Laser Systems Technologies XXIV; and Optical Pattern Recognition XXI, 769608

Heather, J.P., Smith, M.I. (2010) "New Adaptive Algorithms for Real-time Registration and Fusion of Multimodal Imagery" Proceedings of SPIE 7689, Enhanced and Synthetic Vision 2010, 768908

Heather, J.P., Smith, M.I., Sadler, J., Hickman, D.L. (2010) "Issues and Challenges in the Development of a Commercialised Image Fusion System" Proceedings of SPIE 7701, Visual Information Processing XIX, 77010A

Alsudani, F., Casey, M.C. (2009) "The Effect of Aesthetics on Web Credibility" Proceedings of the 23rd BCS conference on Human Computer Interaction (HCI 2009). Cambridge, UK Download

Pavlou, A., Casey, M.C. (2009) "A Computational Platform for Visual Fear Conditioning" Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) 2009. Atlanta, Georgia: IEEE Download

Casey, M.C. (2007) "Sensible Machines" Financial Sector Technology, vol. 13(3), pp. 25 Download

Bernhardt, M., Heather, J., Smith, M.I. (2005) "New Models for Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection and Un-mixing" Proceedings of SPIE 5806, Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XI

Taskaya-Temizel, T., Casey, M.C. (2005) "A Comparative Study of Autoregressive Neural Network Hybrids" Neural Networks, vol. 18(5-6), pp. 781-789, doi: 10.1016/j.neunet.2005.06.003 Download

Dwyer, D.J., Smith, M.I., Dale, J.L., Heather, J.P. (2005) "Real-time Implementation of Image Alignment and Fusion" Proceedings SPIE 5813, Multisensor, Multisource Information Fusion: Architectures, Algorithms, and Applications 2005

Bernhardt, M., Smith, M.I., Whitehead, P.G., Hunt, L.N., Hickman, D.L., Dent, C. (2004) "A Statistical Sea-surface Clutter Model in the Long-wave Infrared" Proceedings of SPIE 5431, Targets and Backgrounds X: Characterization and Representation

Clare, P.J.C., Gulley, J.W., Hickman, D.L., Smith, M.I. (1997) "Design and Tuning of FPGA Implementations of Neural Networks" Proceedings of SPIE 3069, Automatic Target Recognition VII

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