https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/robot-balloons-capture-nyc-sized-areas
12-pound US robot balloons capture NYC-sized areas in jaw-dropping details
- These autonomous balloons operate at altitudes ranging from 60,000 to 85,000 feet.
Updated: Nov 28, 2024 07:36 AM EST
Mrigakshi Dixit
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As per Space.com, a single balloon can capture the same amount of data as 800,000 drones in a single flight.
Moreover, the balloons can map large disaster zones in detail within hours, rather than weeks.
“Many insurance companies are still relying on aerial data collection methods from the 1950s to assess 2024’s climate risks,” said Rema Matevosyan, CEO of Near Space Labs.
“When you consider that only six percent of the $250 billion in losses from Hurricane Helene may be covered by insurance, it becomes clear that outdated risk assessment methods are creating a domino effect: poor data leads to inadequate policy pricing, which leads to carrier losses, which ultimately forces insurers to abandon entire markets—leaving homeowners stranded and unable to secure mortgages,” Matevosyan added.
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While I don’t pity the “poor” insurance companies, it makes sense that better data can help EVERYONE properly assess risk.
My personal experience with “federal flood insurance” is dismal.
In the case of shore house, I carried the required policy even after the mortgage was paid off. When there was a flood, I wasn’t covered because it wasn’t my primary residence. So why did I pay those premiums for all those years? “You made a mistake” was their response. Luckily, all I lost was an outside hot water heater; my neighbor’s house, which was 4 inches lower than mine, had a ¼ of a million dollars in repairs. It literally killed him when he was ripped off by contractors.
In the case of my primary residence, I paid flood insurance for decades. When the flood hit, my neignborhood was three feet ABOVE the high water mark. Asking about that was another exercise in stupidity. “You’re in the flood plain.” Revise the map. “No, it’s set by the Federal Government.” Argh!
So maybe if had access to better topology, some politicians and bureaucrats could accurately assess my risk,
Argh! Sure as soon as pigs fly.
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Posted by reinkefj 
Reinke Faces Life 
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