Google said on Tuesday, it is acquiring Satellite Company Skybox imaging for $500 million as it works to enhance the online mapping services.
Skybox has built satellites set with sensors and camera electronics that acquire high-resolution photographs and video of the earth however which it claims are smaller and brighter in comparison with than traditional satellites. The company, which like Google is situated in Mountain View, Calif, has launched one satellite and had wanted to launch a constellation of 24 satellites, according to the company’s website.
Skybox catches exceptionally landscape pictures and video and offers analytics with satellites it outlined from the start.
Google is scouring the technological innovation offering deals that push into new markets and reinforce its traditional services, including mapping and search. The company is also looking for new approaches to offer online services to users through Project Loon, which it divulged last year to help connect people in rural or remote areas to the Web using balloons and other machinery.
Skybox said on in its website on Tuesday in a message announcing the deal with Google “The time is right to join a company who can challenge us to think even bigger and bolder, and who can support us in accelerating our ambitious vision.”
