RS Metrics announced today that the company is entering into a partnership with ICEYE to provide SAR MetalSignals™, the world’s first synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) powered iron ore inventories dataset. This dataset will be available through RS Metrics and its partners including CME, Bloomberg, and Nasdaq / Quandl. RS Metrics and ICEYE are also exploring their expansion into energy markets by covering coal inventories globally through SAR.
MetalSignals™ interprets satellite imagery through advanced AI and machine-learning models to generate timely measures of global metals stockpiles from over 500 smelters, refineries, terminals, mines, and storage facilities. ICEYE SAR satellites form a constellation that enables unmatched imaging revisit rates on a global scale. Specifically, ICEYE will provide RS Metrics multi-angle SAR satellite imaging – and derived volumetrics to cover a majority of the global iron ore supply chain. In addition, RS Metrics will be able to track supply disruptions and quantify the impact more frequently through the ICEYE constellation. As the ICEYE SAR Constellation grows, it will provide RS Metrics MetalSignals™ previously unavailable imaging capabilities and access, allowing quick tactical acquisitions as well as global revisit rates of on average 3 hours.
By introducing SAR MetalSignals™, quantitative and fundamental analysts, traders, and portfolio managers will now have access to here-to unavailable iron-ore inventories information to predict metals commodity futures prices and model associated movements in equities, currencies, and foreign exchange prices.
“RS Metrics’ patented and market leading MetalSignals™ platform has always been at the cutting edge of geo-spatial analytics” said Maneesh Sagar, CEO of RS Metrics. “Our partnership with ICEYE allows us to address customer’s key pain-points around optical imagery data – reliability and frequency – because radar imaging makes it possible for us to track metal locations through clouds and even in total darkness, we can now provide our customers almost real-time access.”
“Moreover, as the world’s forerunner in small SAR satellites, ICEYE’s mission aligns closely with that of RS Metrics, which pioneered the geo-spatial data analytics market in 2010 as reported by CNBC. We are always excited to provide our customers access to disruptive new technologies that enhance their modelling and analysis, and our partnership with ICEYE fulfills that promise.”
“The commodities sector is an early example where the availability of high-resolution SAR imaging can have dramatic impacts,” said Pekka Laurila, CSO and co-founder of ICEYE. “It is now possible to track specific locations, often, with high reliability, and at an incredible level of detail. The potential benefits for RS Metrics’ customers are immense, as the competitive edge our data provides is still very fresh in the market.”