xMap data

Satellite images

Satellite images finds recent satellite pictures (Sentinel-2, about 10 metres a pixel, a new pass every few days) of each place that reaches it, of a point you type, or of the cities and areas in the Area of interest. It says when each picture was taken and how cloudy it was, and makes the picture itself in natural colour, saved and linked, so emails show it and maps put it in the pop-up. Use it to see a site, a port, a field or a construction area as it is now, or to compare it over time.

In the editor: Recent satellite pictures (Sentinel-2, about 10 m per pixel, a new pass every few days) of each incoming place, a point or the Area of interest: when it was taken, how cloudy, and the picture itself. Use it to see a site, a port or a construction area as it is now.

Settings

Where

Pick one

Uses the places that reach this block when they have a location, otherwise the Area of interest before it. Pick A point to type a position instead.

  • Automatic
  • Each incoming place
  • Area of interest
  • A point

Point (latitude, longitude)

Text

The point to look at, as latitude, longitude.

Area around it (m)

A number

How far the picture reaches from the centre: 1,500 m shows about 3 km across.

Needed before the flow can run.

Taken in the

Pick one
  • Last 7 days
  • Last 14 days
  • Last 30 days
  • Last 90 days
  • Last 12 months
  • Between two dates The two dates below, for example before and after an event.

From

A setting

With Taken in the set to Between two dates: the first day.

Needed before the flow can run.

To

A setting

With Taken in the set to Between two dates: the last day.

Needed before the flow can run.

Most cloud cover (%)

A number

Pictures with more cloud than this are skipped.

Needed before the flow can run.

Pictures

Pick one

One row per location.

  • The latest one
  • Every one in the period

Get the picture

On or off

Makes the image (natural colour) and adds a link to it, satellite_image. Up to 25 pictures a run. Off: only the dates and cloud cover.

Picture size

Pick one

The picture’s width and height in pixels. 1024 px shows more detail in emails and maps.

  • 512 px Smaller, quicker, enough for an email.
  • 1024 px Sharper.

What comes out

Each item that leaves the block carries these fields, to use in the blocks after it as {{field}}.

Added to each incoming place

Where is Each incoming place, or Automatic with places that have a position.

  • satellite_taken: The day the latest clear picture was taken. Empty when none was clear enough in the period.
  • satellite_cloud_pct: How cloudy that picture was, in %.
  • satellite_count: How many pictures in the period were clear enough.
  • satellite_id: The picture’s own ID.
  • satellite_image: A link to the picture (with Get the picture on).

For a point, a city or an area

Where is A point or Area of interest. One row per picture: the latest one, or every one in the period (up to 10 per place).

  • name: The place and the day.
  • place: The point, the city or the area.
  • category: Always Satellite picture.
  • satellite_taken, captured_at: The day, and the exact time in UTC.
  • satellite_cloud_pct, satellite_id: As above.
  • platform: Which of the Sentinel-2 satellites took it.
  • satellite_image: A link to the picture.
  • lat, lng: Where the picture is centred.

How to use it

Real estate and construction

Weekly satellite picture of a site

One point, the latest picture under 20% cloud from the last 14 days, emailed every Monday with the date it was taken.

Ports and logistics

How full are the container yards

A port operator wants a weekly picture of each of its four container yards to see how full they are before planning the next week.

Before: Planners relied on counts phoned in from each yard.

With the flow: Every Sunday the planners see each yard from above, picture by picture.

Insurance

Each insured site after a storm

After a storm, an insurer wants the first clear picture of every insured warehouse in the region, to plan site visits.

Each warehouse gets satellite_taken and a link to its picture; up to 50 places are looked at a run.

Retail real estate

Is the new mall finished yet

The expansion team sees a competitor’s mall take shape and plans its own opening around it.

Agriculture

A field-by-field picture before harvest

The map puts each field’s latest picture in its pop-up, so the agronomist checks them all in one place.

Government and cities

Building activity on public land

A municipality wants to spot new structures on plots it owns, without sending inspectors to each one.

Before: Inspectors visited each plot once a year.

With the flow: The land office gets a monthly picture of each plot and visits only where something changed.

Energy

Solar farm under construction

Every one in the period gives a row per pass, so the board sees the panels go in, week by week.

Good to know

  • Pictures come from Sentinel-2: about 10 metres a pixel, so you see sites, yards, fields and buildings, not cars or people. A new pass comes every few days; clouds can hide it, so a period of 14 or 30 days finds a clear one more often than 7.
  • Each incoming place: up to 50 places a run. Area of interest: the centre of each city or shape, up to 20.
  • Up to 25 pictures are made in a run (about 7 seconds each). With Get the picture off, you get only the dates and cloud cover, much faster.
  • Where two tiles overlap, the same pass can come back twice: one per pass is kept, the clearer one.
  • Pictures are saved for 180 days and the same picture is never made twice. Emails show them; maps put them in the pop-up.
  • Credits: for each place or location looked at, pictures included, as shown at the top of the page.

Works well with

  • Area of interest: Sets where the flow looks: countries, cities or specific places, or areas you draw on a map.
  • My data: Brings in a table you uploaded or a list you saved on the My data page: your stores, customers, target accounts or sites.
  • Email: Sends one email per run with all the items, or one email per item.
  • Show on a map: Shows the results as points on a map, with the area of interest.
  • xMap LLM: Tell the AI what to do in plain words.
  • Slack: Channel-based messaging platform
  • Map business scan: Finds businesses on online maps live: name, category, rating, address, phone, website and whether it is open.
  • Weather forecast: The weather forecast (Open-Meteo, from national weather services) for up to 16 days: temperature, rain, wind and UV.

Templates that use it

And 2 more in the template gallery.

Stories with it

Help articles

Guides and terms

Industries that use it

Real estate · Government & cities · Investors & consultants · Energy & EV · Construction & facilities · Agriculture & food supply · Media & publishing · Events & venues · Non-profits & humanitarian · Security & emergency services · Environment & climate · Ports & shipping · Manufacturing & industrial · Home services & trades · Mining, oil & gas · Water & waste utilities · Insurance · Fishing & aquaculture

Try it

Build a flow with Satellite images on the home page, no account needed, or book a call. Try it live