Case Study: LiveEO detects tree height near railway tracks with UP42 satellite imagery

Enabling LiveEO to determine the height of trees surrounding railway tracks

LiveEO, an award-winning geospatial analytics startup, needed to map German railway tracks and measure the height of adjacent trees to assess the risk of them falling. They faced a challenge because the radar data they had access to lacked the necessary resolution for accurate tree height detection. UP42 provided a solution by supplying high-resolution stereoscopic optical imagery from Airbus’ Pléiades satellite constellation.

Using this data from UP42, LiveEO was able to run its tree height detection algorithm and generate accurate digital surface models. This enabled them to scale their analysis across all 33,000 kilometers of track in Germany, improving safety, identifying high-risk trees, and helping their client, Deutsche Bahn, reduce tree clearing costs and save an estimated 25 percent in operational expenses.

LiveEO