Google Acquires Skybox Imaging

One of Google’s more recent acquisitions is Skybox Imaging, an intelligence company that has been making vast inroads in satellite technology which Google will harness to use in mapping. The technology could however also have other far reaching  implications on privacy and business to business competition and spying.

From the Sauce:

‘By the time its entire fleet of 24 satellites has launched in 2018, Skybox will be imaging the entire Earth at a resolution sufficient to capture, for example, real-time video of cars driving down the highway. And it will be doing it three times a day.’

Cool cool, right? But they also rather casually mention:

‘ They are already looking at Foxconn every week and are able to pinpoint the next iPhone release based on the density of trucks outside their manufacturing facilities.’

Oooooh…. Interesting? Useful? A waste of technology? Kinda creepy? NOBODY KNOWS! We appreciate the map stuff though, because just how the hell did people know how to get places before?