DUNIA launches Continental Scale Sentinel-2 Archive over Africa and Browser-Based Index Calculations

We are proud to announce a major advancement in the DUNIA Platform: the integration of continental-scale Sentinel-2 streaming and the introduction of browser-based index calculations. These new capabilities reflect our vision of building an EO ecosystem inspired by the spirit of the early Internet - one that is open, decentralized, and built for accessibility at the edge.

Thanks to our EarthStreamer technology, users can now interact with high resolution Sentinel-2 Earth Observation (EO) data as effortlessly as streaming a movie. Highly compressed EO datasets can be downloaded efficiently- even over low-bandwidth networks, making this solution ideal for users in remote or bandwidth-constrained areas. To illustrate the performance gain: downloading one month of Sentinel-2 data for three 10m bands takes less than 30 minutes on a 10 Mbit/s connection - compared to over two hours using traditional methods.

Alongside streaming, we are also introducing a new WebAssembly (WASM) module suite that brings EO analytics directly into your browser, whether Desktop or mobile. This enables users to calculate key surface indices for specific scenes and timesteps - without any cloud computing dependencies.

The following indices are currently supported:

• NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) – Indicates vegetation health and biomass.
• NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) – Highlights water bodies and changes in surface moisture.
• NDBI (Normalized Difference Built-Up Index) – Detects built-up (urban) areas and infrastructure.
• MNDWI (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index) – Enhances the visibility of water features in urban landscapes.
• NDMI (Normalized Difference Moisture Index) – Measures vegetation or soil moisture content.

For full-time series or tile-based analysis, our Python Toolbox will support all indices via configurable switches in its upcoming update.

With this release, DUNIA supports two key principles at the core of our development approach:

• Democratized Data: Open, accessible EO data shared across a decentralized network.
• Empowered Edge: Local analysis on personal devices, reducing costs, cutting delays, and unlocking true accessibility for all.

These updates position DUNIA as a next-generation EO platform, tailored for use in the field, in the lab, or anywhere in between - bringing scalable, real-time EO data to those who need it most.

Explore more at: dunia.esa.int/streaming