Mentions Were in the AI & Data and Best World Changing Idea NA Categories for NSL’s Groundbreaking and Innovative Work for Accessible Imaging for all Industries
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — May 4, 2022 – Fast Company announces the winners of its 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards and Near Space Labs, the cutting-edge geospatial imagery and Earth observation company, received honorable mention in two categories, AI & Data and Best World Changing Idea NA.
The awards honor companies driving clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises.
Near Space Labs’ autonomous wind-powered high altitude platforms, called Swiftys, are frequently flown into the stratosphere and capture 400-1,000 square km of imagery per flight (the equivalent of approximately 187,000 football fields.) Swiftys are easy to deploy, wind and software powered, and zero-emission.
The Swiftys collect optical imagery as they fly over cities and other strategic areas. The technology is capable of capturing a variety of details from above, including building characteristics, road conditions, roofing details, vegetation, and wildlife–all the way down to a soccer ball on the ground. Near Space Labs’ images are incredibly flexible and can be used across many industries.
Now in its sixth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 39 winners, 350 finalists, and more than 600 honorable mentions—with climate, social justice, and AI and data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,997 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. In addition, several new categories have been added this year including, nature, water, and workplace. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia.
Fast Company’s Summer 2022 issue (on newsstands May 10, 2022) will showcase some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling global challenges. The issues highlight, among others, probiotics for coral reefs, easy-to-assemble kit homes for refugees or disaster survivors, a 3D printed vaccine patch, an electric truck, a system to heat homes from the waste heat of a name-brand factory, and prosecutor-initiated resentencing for overly long prison sentences
Rema Matevosyan, co-founder and CEO of Near Space Labs, said, “We are ecstatic that our Swiftys were recognized among other innovative companies, specifically in the AI & Data and Best World Changing Idea NA categories. As a startup grounded in innovation and the belief that technology can level the playing field and be accessible to all, and be applied to the benefit of all, this recognition from Fast Company validates the continued efforts of the entire team at Near Space Labs. We are encouraged with the feedback of our customers and industry experts and will continue to work and provide the highest-quality cutting-edge geospatial data available on the market today. We are looking forward to building upon our success for many years to come.”
“We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society’s most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges,” says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution.
About the World Changing Ideas Awards
World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.
About Near Space Labs
Near Space Labs is a cutting-edge Earth observation company on a mission to provide universal access to high-quality information about our rapidly changing planet. Co-Founded by CEO Rema Matevosyan, CTO Dr. Ignasi Lluch, and Chief Engineer Dr. Albert Caubet, Near Space provides timely, wide-scale, commercially available imagery with the largest zero-emission balloon fleet in the stratosphere. Near Space Labs is revolutionizing the way that businesses, communities, municipalities and researchers gather data that can help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. For more information, visit nearspacelabs.com.
