Automated Analysis of Satellite Imagery to provide Information Products for Humanitarian Relief Operations in Refugee Camps - from Scientific Development towards Operational Services

Assistance to displaced people in crisis situations requires coordinated and timely action. The latest generation of very high resolution satellite imagery, previously limited in terms of availability and/or resolution, has opened new possibilities for aid organisations to enhance their own reconnaissance. This paper documents the development of algorithms for automated satellite imagery based analysis of refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps, and their application over several years under varying conditions, i.e. different sensors and different areas. At fourteen sites VHR (very high resolution) satellite data of four different sensors were used to analyse camps by applying automated dwelling extraction including dwelling differentiation, dwelling density calculation and camp outline estimations, as well as camp monitoring over time. Ranging from experimental stage research, over real-time and benchmarking exercises to pre-operational information provision, the OBIA (object-based image analysis) processing routines greatly matured in terms of transferability, usability and operability.