Use case: mobility and logistics

Monitoring global traffic hubs for critical logistics processes

Several satellite sources show the state of ports and traffic hubs worldwide. Satellite AIS reports where ships are, also far from the coast. Radar images show ports by day and night and in any weather. Very high resolution images show yards, containers and vehicles. GNSS trackers and satellite links report where your own goods are.

Reference
UC-19
Technologies
  • Earth observation
  • Satellite navigation
  • Satellite communication
  • Artificial intelligence
Industry
Challenge
Supply chain and logistics
Updated
Published by
LETO SPACE

01When you need it

The task

Critical logistics processes depend on a few hubs: the ports, rail terminals and depots through which goods have to pass. When a hub is congested or closed, the delay can spread through the supply chain before reports arrive.

Satellites observe these hubs wherever they are. Earth observation and GNSS support traceability in maritime value chains Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 20242024Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu), and GNSS enables the tracking and tracing of vehicles and goods, flow monitoring and the monitoring of assets in transit Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).

02Data

Which data shows the state of a hub

DataWhat it showsTechnology
Satellite AISIdentity, position, course and speed of ships, also far from the coastSatellite reception of ship signals
Radar imagesShips and port surroundings, by day and night and in any weatherEarth observation (SAR)
Very high resolution optical imagesYards, containers, vehicles and ships in portEarth observation, for example 30 cm
GNSS trackersWhere your own containers, wagons and trucks areSatellite navigation
Satellite linksTracker data from places without mobile coverageSatellite communication

Sources: ESA for satellite AIS Source: European Space Agency (ESA), 15 July 2014European Space Agency (ESA)Boosting marine traffic monitoring via satellite15 July 2014Open source (opens esa.int), EUSPA for radar Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu), ESA for Pléiades Neo Source: European Space Agency (ESA), Earth Online, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), Earth OnlinePléiades Neoaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens earth.esa.int), ESA for GNSS tracking and satellite links in land logistics Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobilityaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).

Satellite AIS fills the gap of terrestrial reception, which ends about 74 km from shore Source: European Space Agency (ESA), 15 July 2014European Space Agency (ESA)Boosting marine traffic monitoring via satellite15 July 2014Open source (opens esa.int). Satellite imagery checks AIS messages and finds vessels that do not send them Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for maritimeaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). In rail freight, EUSPA estimates the number of tracking devices that use European GNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) at more than 200,000; wagon telematics report the location of the wagons, their loading status and cargo conditions such as temperature Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 20242024Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).

  • L1 Base mapTerrain, river and parcels
  • L2 Roads and routeMain roads, with the tracked route in blue
  • L3 HubsRiver port and depot with container yards
Illustrative map, not real data. A river port and a depot with container yards, connected by the main roads, as hub monitoring would show them.

03Technology

How the monitoring works

  1. Choose the hubs and indicators: for example the number of ships waiting off a port, the occupancy of a container yard or the dwell time of your own wagons.
  2. Combine the sources: ship positions from satellite AIS, images of the hub and the positions of your own shipments.
  3. Detect objects: machine learning detects ships, harbour structures and vehicles in images; research datasets for this task contain these object types Source: CVPR 2018, Xia et al., IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2018, 2018Xia et al., IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2018DOTA: A Large-scale Dataset for Object Detection in Aerial Images2018Open source (opens arxiv.org).
  4. Set a baseline: the indicators are compared with the normal state of each hub.
  5. Alert and plan: deviations from the baseline trigger an alert, and planners decide whether to reroute, reschedule or hold stock.

04Deliverables

What you get

  • a status view of the hubs your supply chain depends on
  • time series of indicators per hub, such as the number of ships in and around a port
  • alerts when a hub deviates from its normal state
  • the position of your own shipments, also beyond mobile coverage, as explained in tracking fleets beyond mobile coverage

05Limits

Limits

06Our work

Our client project in this sector

One of our four anonymised client projects covers this topic, in mobility and logistics. It used Earth observation, AI, satellite navigation and satellite communication.

07Next steps

How we help

Hub monitoring combines several data sources and usually several providers. In strategy and use cases we define which hubs and indicators matter for your logistics decisions. In implementation we run the pilot on a few hubs and connect the indicators to your planning and control tower.

The marketplace on Spacegraph, our discovery platform, has an industry category for transport and logistics.

08Use cases

Frequently asked questions

Q1What is satellite AIS?

AIS is the automatic identification system that ships use to transmit their identity, position, course and speed. Large vessels and all passenger ships must carry it under IMO rules. From the ground, AIS signals reach only about 74 km from shore; satellites record them far beyond that and send them to ground stations for processing and distribution Source: European Space Agency (ESA), 15 July 2014European Space Agency (ESA)Boosting marine traffic monitoring via satellite15 July 2014Open source (opens esa.int).

Q2Can satellites see ships that do not send AIS?

Yes, to a degree. Satellite imagery is used to verify AIS messages and to detect vessels that do not send them Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for maritimeaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). Radar satellites observe by day and night in all weather conditions, and high-resolution radar data give port authorities recent information on changes in cargo and passenger ports Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). An image is a snapshot of one moment, though, so it complements AIS rather than replacing it.

Q3How do we start?

Choose the two or three hubs whose disruption would hurt your supply chain most, and define what you need to know about them, for example how many ships are waiting. Then compare a few weeks of satellite indicators with what your logistics partners report. Our consulting overview shows the path from the problem to operation.

Sources (7)

  1. European Space Agency (ESA), 15 July 2014Boosting marine traffic monitoring via satellite (opens esa.int)
  2. European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026ESA Space Solutions: Space for maritime (opens business.esa.int)
  3. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  4. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 2024 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  5. European Space Agency (ESA), Earth Online, accessed 6 October 2026Pléiades Neo (opens earth.esa.int)
  6. Xia et al., IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2018, 2018DOTA: A Large-scale Dataset for Object Detection in Aerial Images (opens arxiv.org)
  7. European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026ESA Space Solutions: Space for land mobility (opens business.esa.int)

Contact

Tell us which hubs your supply chain cannot do without.

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