Space-tech and Earth observation lab
Clear answers about the ground, from satellites already in orbit.
Satellites capture images of almost every part of the planet every few days, and much of that data is free. Mitchi Labs turns it into simple, useful answers for the people who look after dams, mines, rail and other infrastructure.
Flagship product
Varve: see where the ground is moving at your site.
Varve shows where the ground is sinking or shifting at dams, mines, tailings dams, rail and pipelines. It is measured from satellite images taken every 6–12 days, with records back to 2015 for most sites. There is nothing to install on site.
- A movement map of your whole site, in millimetres a year.
- Movement over time for each point you care about, so you can see when it started and whether it is speeding up.
- A short, plain report on the areas that are moving more than normal, and what to check on the ground.
- A free site history to start, so you can judge it on your own site before paying anything.
How it works
Radar satellites can see the ground move by a few millimetres.
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Satellites pass over
The Sentinel-1 radar satellites, part of the European Union's Copernicus programme, image most of the world every 6–12 days. Radar works day and night and sees through cloud. The images are free and go back to 2015.
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We compare the images
By comparing images of the same place over time, we can measure how far the ground has moved, down to a few millimetres. The method is called InSAR, short for satellite radar interferometry.
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You get a plain answer
Is the ground moving, where, how fast, and is it getting worse? We send maps, charts and a short written note that an engineer can act on.
Satellite measurements are a wide-area screen. They show trends, not real-time alarms, and they do not replace on-site instruments or an engineer's judgement.
Why we exist
The data is already up there. The answers mostly aren't reaching the ground.
Space agencies now publish an enormous amount of high-quality Earth data, much of it free. It can show a dam embankment settling, a pit wall creeping or a rail line sinking, sometimes long before it is obvious on the ground.
Yet most of that data never reaches the people who could use it: the engineer checking a dam, the team running a mine, the crew looking after a rail line. Turning it into an answer still takes specialist software, a lot of computing and time that most teams don't have.
We started Mitchi Labs to close that gap. Our aim is to take what satellites already see and turn it into a clear answer about one site, at a cost that makes sense for routine checks, not only after something has gone wrong.
Plain answers
Maps and notes a busy engineer can read in minutes, without a remote-sensing background.
Honest about limits
We say what the data can and can't show, and where it gave no reading.
Built on open data
Starting from free public satellite data keeps the cost low enough to check sites regularly.
Contact
Talk to us.
Questions about Varve, a site you look after, or working together? We'd like to hear from you.