Method
Method and honest limits.
How a report is made, what it is built on, how anyone can check it, and what satellites cannot show. Read this before you rely on a report.
How a report is made
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Send the addresses
Up to 3 addresses and the event date, by form or email. We confirm the exact building with you on a map before anything runs.
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Free imagery check
The same business day, we tell you whether sharp satellite imagery exists before and after the date. Radar from the twelve months before is compared with the weeks after, so the date must be at least 12 days in the past.
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Get the record
A PDF report with a plain-language result, imagery and limits, plus a JSON evidence bundle with scene IDs, capture dates, licences and SHA-256 hashes of every figure.
All products run on the Orakta Engine, our internal core: building identification, before-and-after imagery, the change measurement, the evidence log with hashes and the traceable PDF. The Engine is not sold separately and has no price.
Data sources and licences
| Source | Role | Resolution | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sentinel-1 (Copernicus) | Radar change measurement. Works through cloud and at night. | ~10 m | Free and open Copernicus data, attribution required |
| Sentinel-2 (Copernicus) | Optical context at the scale of the measurement. | 10 m | Free and open Copernicus data, attribution required |
| ESA WorldCover | Built-up mask: only built-up pixels are analysed. | 10 m | CC BY 4.0 |
| Maxar / Vantor Open Data | Sharp before-and-after imagery where the archive covers the place. | Sub-metre | CC BY-NC 4.0: never used in a paid report |
| Capella and Umbra open data | Sharp radar imagery where the archive covers the place. | Sub-metre to metre | Provider open-data licences, attribution required |
| Commercial imagery | 30 cm satellite imagery for paid reports, ordered only after you approve the exact total. | 30 cm | Commercial licence per report |
Built on: Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 · ESA WorldCover · Maxar / Vantor Open Data · Pixel-Wise T-Test (PWTT)
How anyone can check a report
- Every scene used is listed with its ID, capture date and licence, so anyone can fetch the same public data.
- Every figure in the report has a SHA-256 hash in the evidence bundle; a changed pixel changes the hash.
- The threshold comes from the same place a year earlier, not from a fixed rule, and the report shows both.
- The report says when sharp imagery is missing or when conditions (construction, flooding, vegetation) can mimic damage.
What a report is not
- Not a court opinion, an expert opinion or testimony. Orakta provides evidence reports, provenance logs and method documentation. Signed expert opinions and testimony only by licensed partner experts.
- Not a valuation, a loss estimate or an engineering assessment of a building.
- Not a replacement for an inspection, an appraiser, an adjuster or an engineer.
Limits of satellite evidence
- A radar pixel is about 10 × 10 m and can cover several buildings. The result is not a building-by-building damage assessment.
- Construction, demolition, debris clearing, vegetation and flooding also change radar and can look like damage.
- Light damage to windows, roofs or interiors is usually invisible from orbit.
- Sharp archive imagery exists only for some places and dates. When it is missing, the report says so.
- Viewing angles and seasons differ between images, so buildings can appear shifted.
Ask what the record can show at your address.
Send the addresses and the event date. The same business day, we tell you whether sharp satellite imagery exists and what a report would cost. Nothing is bought without your written approval.