Commercial Innovation Center (CIC)

We Are Better Together

Our Commercial Innovation Center (CIC) is a first-of-its-kind, online development and test platform that provides a secure, virtual, open ecosystem and test sandbox for developers and researchers. We do it by harnessing the combined powers of commercial remote sensing, unclassified open datasets, cloud technologies, in a secure development ecosystem fueled by new, emerging, and seasoned tools, services and data to create solutions that keep our nation safe. The Riverside Research CIC is the place where commercial subject matter experts come together securely to collaborate and create the best commercial solutions to real world scenarios before they're integrated and deployed in the field.

Together, we win

It’s not as much fun to play in the sandbox by yourself, right? We know from experience that it’s the collective work of many people with diverse experiences and backgrounds that create the most effective solutions. By design, the CIC encourages partnerships, increases data accessibility, integrates app development, and facilitates the creation of transition-ready prototypes. Because of our unique position as a nonprofit in the defense space, we can provide the neutral environment where collaborative innovation thrives. As demonstrated on this video, capitalizing on all commercial sensors available improves our progress towards persistent observation.

Access to rich datasets

Data is the one thing that is guaranteed to continuously grow and change. Technology entrepreneurs’ success revolves around access to these data and developing improved AI and machine learning tools creating integrated and advanced applications for businesses in support of (United States Government) USG needs.

Advanced tools and applications

Advanced tools and applications

Technology innovation in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented and virtual reality present significant entrepreneurial opportunities, yet all require geospatial data for development. Early-stage entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and innovators will now have access to the large datasets that are traditionally only available to large, established industry players. Such datasets are often too costly for early-stage entrepreneurs and researchers to acquire, and even if the datasets are made available, they are often not packaged in a manner that allows innovators to work with the data—they are overwhelmingly unwieldy and non-standardized. The CIC data environment seeks to solve that problem, allowing researchers and entrepreneurs new opportunities for experimentation, testing, and training.

The CIC pairs this data with tools and services to streamline development timelines by ensuring flexible licenses are available for your R&D activities within the CIC ecosystem. As new tools and services become available, we negotiate with the vendors for early and shared access amongst our CIC participants to the latest and greatest capabilities from established vendors in the remote sensing market. This visual shows a few or our early integrators, and as new vendors are integrated, we’ll let the community know!

CIC Data Search and Discovery

Your all-access pass

The CIC supports and enables industry, scientific, academic, and governmental R&D activities by facilitating access to commercial remote sensing data. Riverside Research integrates the hardware, software, processes, data, tools, internet accesses, demonstration capabilities, and other IT infrastructure required to execute CIC participant SIBR projects and meet R&D objectives. Our CIC offers:

  • Exposure to diverse and emerging data and data types for more data scientists
  • Increased interaction between content providers and new application developers; enables cloud-hybrid, multi-INT applications
  • Lowered entry barriers by eliminating the need for a user-developed system
  • Integrated orchestration-to-analysis workflow
  • Timely teaming, technology, and tipping
  • Accelerated access and use of commercial remote sensing solutions and innovation
Right where you want it

Right where you want it

Are you looking for a cloud-hosting environment where you can easily access commercial data for development and test—all from one place to safely develop, load, and test capabilities?

Our trusted, unclassified, virtual development platform provides access to R&D-licensed commercial remote sensing phenomenologies (e.g., EO, radar, IR, RF), connects emerging and established vendors with shared application tools and services, and facilitates GEOINT, MASINT, and Multi-INT research and development. The CIC includes:

  • An ecosystem of commercial data providers (CDPs)
  • A network of application developers
  • Common R&D data and COTS/GOTS tools (e.g., loading, discovery)
  • Common testing data (curated, tagged)
  • Robust DevOps environment
  • Hybrid cloud-ready infrastructure
  • Protected intellectual property and data rights
  • Maturing secure data fabric
CIC mission, vision & values

CIC mission, vision & values

Mission: Provide data scientists and algorithm developers with a virtual development and test platform and access to new and diverse commercial remote sensing data to develop algorithms, tools, and services.

Vision: Work in the Nation’s interest to offer proven expertise and experience in commercial remote sensing to solve problems through innovation, agility, and creative thinking.

Values: Encourage partnerships and connect emerging and established users across USG and industry with shared application tools, services, and diverse commercial constellation data.

Participant Agreements: We offer access to a secure, virtual, cloud-based ecosystem to perform R&D using existing and emerging commercial sources to develop and test algorithms, tools, and services accelerating USG objectives.

Commercial Experts: We offer our commercial experience, data scientists, and phenomenology experts to support efforts using the CIC to perform commercial utility assessments, new sensor development, synthetic data V&V, data value/usability studies, and more.

Products and Services: We offer access to CIC-based products and services such as synthetic data generation, data tagging, AI/ML V&V, data compression, data geo-registration, and more.

Work With the Commercial Innovation Center
Press Inquiries About the CIC

Commercial Innovation in the News

  • Commercial Imagery
  • Satellite Launches
  • EO-MSI
  • SAR
  • HSI
  • RF
  • SSA
Commercial Imagery
New Year's storm is just getting started in California. Here's a timeline of impacts

Satellite water vapor imagery captured a low-pressure system spinning off the California coast Wednesday afternoon. The system was spreading light ...

Dec 31,2025
Secretive Taiwanese Land Attack Cruise Missile Seen On The Move - The War Zone

Anti-Satellite Capabilities · Launch Vehicles · Show More... Nuclear ... New imagery of Chinese catapult-capable low-observable combat drones, or ...

Dec 31,2025
The Decline of Fertility Rates in OECD Countries (1950-2025) - Visual Capitalist

Since 1975, Guangzhou, China's population has grown by 1,948%, standing at a projected 43 million in 2025 based on satellite imagery and national ...

Dec 31,2025
Gusty winds and rain likely to interrupt New Year's plans on the Central Coast - KSBW

THE INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOW WHERE THE STORMS SYSTEMS, THE COAST FOR THE NEXT 8 DAYS. HERE IS A LOOK AT YOUR HIGH NEXT 8 DAYS. KSBW logo.

Dec 31,2025
Samsung's Breakthrough Exynos Modem 5410 Could Unlock Satellite Calls on Galaxy S26

Still, everything depends on approvals and local rules. samsung exynos modem 5410 Image Source: semiconductor.samsung.com. Will Satellite Calling Work ...

Dec 31,2025
Tropical Cyclone 09S (Grant) / Retiring Tropical Cyclone 10S (Hayley) / Invest 99P / Invest 90S

... satellite imagery. TC Grant continues to track westward into a drier environment and increased vertical wind shear (20-25 kts). TC 09S will ...

Dec 31,2025
Teen Develops Flood-Detecting CubeSat - IEEE Spectrum

The CubeSat takes a high-definition image of its surroundings every 2 minutes and transmits it to the laptop. The satellite transfers up to 1,500 ...

Dec 31,2025
Multi-Scale Pooling Convolutional Neural Network for Automated Disaster Assessment from ...

In recent years, automated disaster assessment from satellite imagery represents a crucial advancement for real-time emergency response and ...

Dec 31,2025
SouthPAN Advancing DFMC GNSS in Australasia

Linkedin · European, Australian and New Zealand partnership in navigation. ... satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) in the Southern Hemisphere ...

Dec 31,2025
Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers claw down their West Bank homes | 10tv.com

... satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch. Troops have also forced out the camps' populations, leading to the largest displacement in the West Bank ...

Dec 31,2025
The Blogs: Israel's Conflict With Iran Is Simmering Ominously | Sheldon Kirshner

As for Iran's nuclear program, the Institute for Science and International Security says that satellite imagery indicates that Iran's uranium ...

Dec 31,2025
Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers claw down their West Bank homes - WRAL

... satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch. Other WRAL Top Stories. Troops have also forced out the camps' populations, leading to the largest ...

Dec 31,2025
Europe's time to shine in space? 2026 preview - Breaking Defense

... Intelligence Community for spy satellite data. At the moment, only a handful of EU countries (notably France, Germany, Italy and Spain) operate ...

Dec 31,2025
Fact Check: British investor's house tour mislabelled as migrant flaunting accommodation

Reuters confirmed the location of the house in the video by matching its features with satellite imagery. Advertisement · Scroll to continue. It ...

Dec 31,2025
Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2026 | International Crisis Group

The U.S. and Iran should shore up the shaky truce. Read More. The Mrauk-U hospital building was damaged by regime airstrikes. Satellite imagery ...

Dec 31,2025
China lofts Tianhui 7 geological survey satellite on Long March 4B - Space Daily

... Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The ... imaging and long-term environmental monitoring. Tianhui 7 was built ...

Dec 31,2025
Seoul says it will seek to confirm status of separated families in North Korea | NK News

An NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery last week found that North Korea has largely demolished a South Korean government-funded hotel at the ...

Dec 31,2025
Gameday update: Pelicans at Bulls (12/31/2025) | New Orleans Pelicans - NBA

article-image: Knicks 130, Pelicans 125: Zion Williamson 32 points | Postgame ... DIRECTV (Stream 676, Satellite 676-6) | U-Verse (759 SD, 1759 HD). New ...

Dec 31,2025
Features of interest from a multi-season satellite survey of baleen whales on the West ...

The application of very high-resolution satellite imagery for the purpose of studying wildlife, particularly in remote regions, ...

Dec 31,2025
How Israel's Multi-Ton Truck Bombs Ripped Through Gaza City - U.S. News & World Report

Satellite imagery analysis by Reuters showed that about 650 buildings in Sabra, Tel-al-Hawa and surrounding areas were destroyed in the six weeks ...

Dec 31,2025
Satellite Launches
China launches Shijian-29 satellites for space technology verification - CGTN

China successfully launched two satellites from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on ...

Dec 31,2025
Ocean Infinity Launches New Search for Lost Flight MH370 - The Maritime Executive

... imaging of the bottom - as well as magnetometer detection for metal ... satellite. These pings ended about seven hours after it took off ...

Dec 31,2025
Funeral planned for victim in fatal bar crash, petition to rename skate park launched in his honor

Chambers, 32, died in a fatal DWI incident, after being struck by a vehicle at Satellite Bar and Lounge on Tuesday, Dec. 30. READ MORE: Woman ...

Dec 31,2025
Teen Develops Flood-Detecting CubeSat - IEEE Spectrum

The satellite transfers up to 1,500 images daily and stores them on a 16-gigabyte SD card. The algorithm then analyzes patterns, including changes in ...

Dec 31,2025
Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers claw down their West Bank homes | ktvb.com

... satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch. Troops have also forced out the camps' populations, leading to the largest displacement in the West Bank ...

Dec 31,2025
SPACE ALLIANCE: Russia launches Iranian satellites after war fallout | Fox News Video

Iranian state TV says satellites entered orbit from Russia, spotlighting growing military and space cooperation. (AP via Roscosmos.)

Dec 31,2025
Iran launches satellites on Russian rockets as Moscow-Tehran ties deepen - Fox News

(Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images). The exchange highlights how Iran and Russia are increasingly positioning themselves as partners pushing ...

Dec 31,2025
Secretive Taiwanese Land Attack Cruise Missile Seen On The Move - The War Zone

... launched land-attack cruise missile. The limited available imagery points to a long cylindrical missile with what looks to be a relatively blunt ...

Dec 31,2025
Russia deploys hypersonic Oreshnik missiles in Belarus amid Europe tensions - Al Jazeera

They credited Russian military blogger Dmitry Kornev with first connecting the video to satellite imagery and posting the results on X. Although ...

Dec 31,2025
China Launches The Next-Gen Fengyun-4C Meteorological Satellite - Orbital Today

During severe weather conditions, this instrument performs its scans every five minutes to provide images of critical zones. In comparison with its ...

Dec 31,2025
SpaceX shatters its rocket launch record yet again — 167 orbital flights in 2025 | Space

Together, those missions lofted more than 3,000 satellites for the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 9,300 active ...

Dec 31,2025
Top 5 of 2025: Out of Stealth - Payload Space

... fully reusable satellite bus that can fly a mission, re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and fly again. Besxar Emerges From Stealth with SpaceX Launch Deal ...

Dec 31,2025
India's space industry gears up for human spaceflight tests, commercial expansion in 2026

In 2025, India's space sector had over 300 startups operating in rocket launches, satellites, analysis ... satellite imagery and artificial intelligence ...

Dec 31,2025
Synspective Wins Japanese MoD Satellite Constellation Project - Orbital Today

Related: China Launches The Next-Gen ... Synspective on its part will provide satellite imagery data for the satellite constellation project.

Dec 31,2025
Space and defense boom lifted these satellite stocks by more than 200% in 2025 - CNBC

... satellite imagery and space analytics. The company, which ... launched two of its Pelican satellites and 36 earth imaging SuperDove satellites.

Dec 31,2025
K-shaped economy. China's East-West data and energy economy & mourning a hoplite.

Great links, images, and reading from Chartbook Newsletter by Adam Tooze · the “Eastern Data and Western Computing” initiative was launched in 2022 as ...

Dec 31,2025
Israel deployed massive truck bombs in Gaza City prior to ceasefire - TRT World

Satellite images show multiple buildings in the same block were ... RelatedTRT World - Israel launches renewed air strikes across Gaza, violating ...

Dec 31,2025
Iran's parliament hails triple satellite launch as major milestone in space program - Press TV

Three Iranian satellites, Zafar-2, Paya and Kowsar-1.5, are seen in released images after being launched aboard a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Russia's ...

Dec 31,2025
Russia Rattles Sabers With Claims of Big Missile Stationed in Belarus - Kyiv Post

... launch from a new base in Belarus. Per Moscow claims, the advanced ... Open-source satellite overflight images of the site confirmed intense ...

Dec 31,2025
YEAR-ENDER - Asia's space ambitions accelerate as China pulls ahead - Anadolu Ajansı

In 2024, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to launch three additional reconnaissance satellites, but no further launches were reported.

Dec 31,2025
EO-MSI
Features of interest from a multi-season satellite survey of baleen whales on the West ...

... satellite imagery and the lack of published records to collaboratively ... WorldView-3 imagery acquired between 2018 and 2022 to expedite the ...

Dec 31,2025
15 Striking Satellite Images Which Defined 2025 - NDTV

15 Striking Satellite Images Which Defined 2025. In 2025, these images ... In this image released by US earth imaging firm Vantor (earlier Maxar ...

Dec 31,2025
Upcoming Webinar: An Overview of the National Civil Applications Center | NASA Earthdata

Worldview · Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) ... Civil Applications Committee seal over blended satellite imagery, symbolizing ...

Dec 31,2025
Space and defense boom lifted these satellite stocks by more than 200% in 2025 - CNBC

Will Marshall is the Co-Founder and CEO of Planet Labs Inc. with a model of the Dove satellite ... SuperDove satellites. In 2025, Planet Labs ...

Dec 31,2025
12 NASA Satellite Images That Tell the Story of Earth in 2025 - Visual Capitalist

... Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). This NOAA-20 VIIRS image from February 24, 2025, captures von Kármán vortex streets forming ...

Dec 31,2025
First Cohort Begins Training with NITA as part of Space Academy programs, Delivered by Serco

Future programmes will cover remote sensing, satellite ... Neo Space Group. We are proud to join the Academy's inaugural cohort ...

Dec 31,2025
Samsung Galaxy S26 Series May Bring Satellite Voice and Video Calls; Hands-on Images ...

Realme Neo 8 Infinite Edition Retail... Highlights A leaked image of the Realme Neo 8... Read more. CATEGORIES. Tech NewsTech TrendsIn-FocusPhones ...

Dec 31,2025
A SpaceX satellite just lost control and is tumbling through orbit. Here's what another ... - Facebook

Source: Vantor. (2025). SpaceX Starlink Satellite Imaging: Rapid Response with WorldView-3. May be an image of text that ...

Dec 31,2025
A SpaceX satellite just lost control and is tumbling through orbit. Here's what another satellite ...

... Satellite Imaging: Rapid Response with WorldView ... SpaceX Starlink Satellite Imaging: Rapid Response with WorldView-3.

Dec 31,2025
SAR
Japan approves record defence budget for 2026 as spending rises towards 2% of GDP goal ...

ICEYE and IHI sign agreement to build satellite constellation for Earth Observation in Japan · Lockheed Martin has begun critical testing of the AN/ ...

Dec 31,2025
India's Space Sector in 2025: Major missions and key breakthroughs - CNBC TV18

On 18 May 2025, ISRO attempted the 101st mission of its space programme, using the PSLV-C61 rocket to launch the EOS-09 Earth observation satellite.

Dec 31,2025
Tranzpay and INTX unveil unified payments for insurers

ICEYE and Munich Re Unite for Improved Flood Risk Analysis InsurTech company ICEYE, known for its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite... Read ...

Dec 31,2025
India's space industry gears up for human spaceflight tests, commercial expansion in 2026

Another mission will be EOS‑N1, where ISRO and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation will launch an Earth observation satellite for ...

Dec 31,2025
Plan your weekend with our picks for Brevard's 10 best events for Jan. 2-8 - Florida Today

in Satellite Beach. Space Coast Symphony Orchestra presents the Yale Spizzwinks(?), the zany a capella underclassmen from Yale, at Satellite High ...

Dec 31,2025
ICEYE Expands SAR Constellation with Four New Satellites - Draper Decentralized - 1.20.25

UAE's Space42 also launched its second satellite, Foresight-2, as part of ICEYE's growing constellation.

Dec 31,2025
NASA Earth science faces rollback as Mission to Planet Earth era winds down - Space Daily

... EOS era. The symbolism is backed by hardware reality. Terra, launched in ... Landsat Next, originally planned as a three satellite constellation ...

Dec 31,2025
The Philippine Space Agency confirms the launch of the Long March 7A rocket from the ... - Facebook

... satellite constellation. The current launch time occurs 29 minutes ... satellite- missions/p/paz. admin.qsl.net. Maria Carolina Lobo and 12 ...

Dec 31,2025
SSA

Questions about Commercial Innovation Center (CIC)