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.

Capella Space Active RF
Capella Space Active RF
the CIC encourages partnerships, increases data accessibility, integrates app development, and facilitates the creation of transition-ready prototypes
the CIC encourages partnerships, increases data accessibility, integrates app development, and facilitates the creation of transition-ready prototypes

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
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
4 Signals from the Munich Security Conference Showing Geospatial Intelligence Is the Next ...

ESA's new European Resilience from Space initiative is a direct response to the recognition that without independent Earth observation and satellite ...

Feb 16,2026
This remarkable satellite footage from late last week shows gravity waves appearing over ...

SATELLITE SCENE 🛰️: Satellite imagery captures mesmerizing gravity waves dancing over Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. more. View all 8 ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite images show Trump's US aircraft carrier miles off Oman coast - The US Sun

The behemoth USS Abraham Lincoln was seen in the Arabian Sea off Oman, according to open-source intelligence and satellite pictures. The Nimitz ...

Feb 16,2026
Is the US preparing to strike Iran? The BBC has confirmed the location of US aircraft carrier ...

... satellite imagery, as Washington continues to put pressure on the country over its military program and recent deadly crackdown on protesters. US ...

Feb 16,2026
Some Central Coast peaks could see 20 inches of snow - KSBW

THE INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOW WHERE THE STORMS SYSTEMS, CLOUDS AND RAIN ARE RIGHT NOW. A LONG WAVE TROUGH REMAINS LOCATED OVER THE WEST ...

Feb 16,2026
Lake Champlain fully freezes for the first time in 7 years - VTDigger

On Friday, the National Weather Service declared the lake officially iced over and closed. Aerial photography and high-resolution satellite imagery ...

Feb 16,2026
Russia's Lipetsk Air Base Sees Growing Number of Decommissioned Military Jets

Open-source satellite imagery has shown close to 100 Russian military aircraft parked at a storage site in the Lipetsk airfield, including Su-34 ...

Feb 16,2026
Large-Scale Fog over Lake Superior

... imagery as viewed by SSEC's Real Earth. ... Buoys have generally been removed to protect them from damage from the ice, and satellite-based wind ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite Imagery Shows ~70+ Warships Lined Up in Formation off Visakhapatnam for IFR 2026.

Satellite imagery from 15th Feb shows long, organized rows of naval vessels positioned off the coast of Visakhapatnam as part of International ...

Feb 16,2026
North Korea's new Congress to reset arms goals as gaps seen in 2021 plan | WKZO

... intelligence be prioritised for modern warfare. ... A later attempt to launch another reconnaissance satellite in May 2024 ​failed when the ⁠rocket ...

Feb 16,2026
NASA choses UC San Diego to lead satellite mission to explore environmental sensitive ...

NASA has chosen a prominent UC San Diego scientist to lead a satellite mission that will more clearly map the edges of ice sheets and ice packs in ...

Feb 16,2026
The New York Times Still Gives Israel the Benefit of the Doubt on the USS Liberty

The CIA knew from satellite intelligence that Egyptian planes in Egypt were parked on airfields wingtip-to-wingtip, which pointed to no plans to ...

Feb 16,2026
Central Intelligence “Mission to Save the Satellite System” Brings Action and Comedy to truTV - IMDb

Central Intelligence returns with the episode “Mission to Save the Satellite System,” airing on truTV on February 20, 2026, at 4:45 Pm. The ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite image confirms US aircraft carrier off Oman as pressure builds on Iran - MSN

The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is now confirmed to be in the Arabian Sea off Oman, according to satellite imagery; After the US ...

Feb 16,2026
Yandex Obscures Burial Sites Linked to Russian Losses in Ukraine - Caspianpost.com

Satellite imagery shows the cemetery has expanded dramatically since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, additional land has been ...

Feb 16,2026
Amazon's Ring wanted to track your pets. It revealed the future of surveillance

... intelligence became more valuable. This happened with the rise of online forums, social media platforms and commercial satellite imagery.

Feb 16,2026
US build-up of warships and fighter jets tracked near Iran - BBC News

BBC Verify has confirmed the location of US aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln near Iran using satellite imagery, as Washington continues to ...

Feb 16,2026
Empowering Youth in AI Governance: Council of Europe Joins International Student Workshop

Artificial Intelligence · Home · News · Framework Convention · HUDERIA ... An official satellite event of the India AI Impact Summit – “Empowering ...

Feb 16,2026
Supercharge regulated workloads with Claude Code and Amazon Bedrock - AWS

Doug Hairfield is a Senior Solutions Architect on the AWS Aerospace & Satellite team who helps organizations harness the power of AI to solve real- ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite images indicate that the Doñana Marshland will disappear within 60 years

In this context, remote sensing and digital processing of satellite images emerge as key tools in the face of growing water scarcity and the ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite Launches
Iran launches navy drills to 'control' Strait of Hormuz - The Telegraph

Satellite images showed the USS Abraham Lincoln, which was deployed to the Gulf last month, was south-east of the Strait on Sunday, 150 miles from ...

Feb 16,2026
New tool could reduce collision risk for EO satellites - Room The Space Journal of Asgardia

Many applications that support the SDGs rely on very high-resolution satellite imagery. ... SpinLaunch conducted the first test launch of its ...

Feb 16,2026
China Completes In-Orbit Testing of “Three-Body” AI Computing Constellation - SatNews

The Shift to “Answers over Images”. Traditionally, remote sensing satellites act as “data pipes,” capturing massive amounts of raw imagery for ...

Feb 16,2026
Russia Is Increasing Its Nuclear Presence Along Finland's NATO Border - UNITED24 Media

Finland launched a broader reform of its land defense in 2025 ... Russia Builds Up Military Bases Along Finland Border, Satellite Images Show.

Feb 16,2026
Why China is being urged to integrate commercial space tech with military systems - SCMP

Musk's company SpaceX recently applied to launch one million satellites ... images to governments and armed forces for tasks such as battlefield ...

Feb 16,2026
NASA, SpaceX Florida rocket launch images. View from West Palm Beach

... launch from Cape Canaveral Saturday, June 13, 2020. Aboard are 58 Starlink communication satellites, on the ninth Starlink mission for SpaceX.

Feb 16,2026
NASA choses UC San Diego to lead satellite mission to explore environmental sensitive ...

Glaciologist Helen Fricker will use a cutting-edge Lidar imaging system to study some of the world's most isolated spots.

Feb 16,2026
China's Satellites Expose US THAAD Deployment In Mideast | WION Originals - YouTube

Chinese commercial satellite imagery from the MizarVision satellite ... Hormuz Horror Show: Missiles Launch, Ships Explode - IRGC's Drill Video Sends ...

Feb 16,2026
Iran's Closest Ally Quietly Amasses Nuclear Weapons While Shipping Rocket Fuel To Arm...? | China

Fresh satellite imagery has intensified scrutiny of China's expanding nuclear infrastructure ... Hormuz Horror Show: Missiles Launch, Ships ...

Feb 16,2026
Yandex Obscures Burial Sites Linked to Russian Losses in Ukraine - Caspianpost.com

Satellite imagery shows the cemetery has expanded dramatically since ... SpaceX conducts 14th Starlink launch of year - VIDEO · French police ...

Feb 16,2026
US build-up of warships and fighter jets tracked near Iran - BBC News

BBC Verify has confirmed the location of US aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln near Iran using satellite imagery, as Washington continues to ...

Feb 16,2026
New tool could reduce collision risk for Earth-observation satellites - Phys.org

Many applications that support the SDGs rely on very high-resolution satellite imagery. ... New astronauts launch to the International Space ...

Feb 16,2026
Southern California sky is lit up by Valentine's Day SpaceX launch - Phys.org

Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet provider, has launched about ... Social media images help fill 'major gaps' in global biodiversity data.

Feb 16,2026
Satellite images reveal nuclear reactivation in the Sichuan mountains of China at Zitong and ...

... launched missiles. The available evidence doesn't provide a definitive diagnosis, but it points to an investment curve that's hard to ignore. The ...

Feb 16,2026
Butterfly Completes Its Entire Metamorphosis While Orbiting Earth on Chinese Experiment

On December 13, a rocket rose from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ... Weeks later, images transmitted from orbit confirmed that the ...

Feb 16,2026
Uzbekistan to launch first 6U-format scientific satellite in 2028 - US Muslims

Uzbekistan to launch first 6U-format scientific satellite in 2028 ... All rights of the content and images used on our site are reserved ...

Feb 16,2026
Trump's War Assets Exposed? Chinese Satellites Map Key Covert Bases To Help Tehran?

Chinese commercial satellite imagery shows a surge of U.S. Air Force KC-135 refueling tankers at Al Udeid Air Base, while reports indicate the ...

Feb 16,2026
IRGC launches 'smart control' naval drills in Strait of Hormuz - The Cradle

According to satellite imagery viewed by BBC, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is now confirmed to be in the Arabian Sea off Oman in ...

Feb 16,2026
Satellite image confirms US aircraft carrier off Oman as pressure builds on Iran - BBC News

We use an artificial intelligence tool to narrow it down by flagging ship-like shapes in satellite images. ... launch platforms for helicopter ...

Feb 16,2026
NYT: Satellite images reveal China's nuclear expansion in Sichuan - MSN

Armed gunmen on motorcycles launched an attack on three villages in northwestern Nigeria, leaving at least 30 people dead, police and residents said ...

Feb 16,2026
SAR
Umbra Plans Reston, Virginia, Operations - OODAloop

The company's new 20,000-square-foot office will support its remote sensing data and custom satellite systems divisions. “As demand increases for high ...

Feb 16,2026
Namibia accepts Chinese satellite ground data station - Telecompaper

China marked another step in its expanding overseas space programme by ⁠handing over a ⁠satellite ground station to Namibia, Xinhua reported.

Feb 16,2026
Satellite and Space Projects Newsletter February 2026 - Fieldfisher

UK Government responds to House of Lords' space economy report: · Blue Origin to pursue TeraWave constellation: · ICEYE supports Ukraine with SAR ...

Feb 16,2026
The 16 June 2024 landslides in Wuping County, Fujian, China - Eos

Many thanks to the wonderful people at Planet Labs for providing access to the satellite imagery. Return to The Landslide Blog homepage. Text ...

Feb 16,2026
Snow or rain? hybrid AI deciphers surface precipitation phase from satellite observations

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), NASDA's contribution to the EOS for global energy and water cycle ...

Feb 16,2026
Axa platform enhances satellite imaging - Insurance News - insuranceNEWS.com.au

The collaboration, using real-time satellite data to improve claims monitoring, follows a partnership with Finnish satellite group ICEYE, announced ...

Feb 16,2026
Singapore Opening Marks Milestone in EOS High Energy Laser Programme

Satellite Laser Ranging · Space Sustainability · Precision Optics · WORK WITH ... EOS. “It is a blueprint for further facilities we will build as ...

Feb 16,2026
Al Jazeera: Are lasers the future of anti-drone warfare? - Electro Optic Systems

For their laser weapons, EOS is aiming to cooperate with local defence companies as a growth strategy. In Europe, for example, they are working ...

Feb 16,2026
SSA

Questions about Commercial Innovation Center (CIC)