It takes a smart person to develop an idea that is a game-changer across multiple business and government sectors. However, it takes someone like Soar CEO, Amir Farhand, to realise their idea will not only deliver increased business outcomes but can transform the lives of millions worldwide. And how Amir came to this point is a story worth telling, as his innovations are a direct outcome of his experiences.

Amir’s background as a migrant moving to Australia taught him two lessons — the value of human compassion and the importance of adaptation. These principles drove him to work with the Chinese Government to investigate the air pollution surrounding Beijing in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics, and its severe impact on public health and commerce.

Amir at MIT

Using his doctoral experience in Satellite Image Analysis and Earth Remote Sensing, Amir discovered that the issues were not solely from the urban sprawl as suspected, but were being magnified by sandstorms produced by deteriorating Mongolian grasslands. His pioneering work was instrumental in aiding the significant environmental and policy changes enacted by the Chinese Government and inspired him to start his own business to use this technology for the greater good of humanity.

His first effort, a digital map that could be downloaded to mobile devices for offline use, was taken up by a wide range of global corporations and attracted the attention of the US military in 2015. Expanding upon his existing work, the goal was to allow users to upload and modify data in real-time to provide more reliable and accurate data. The exacting requirements of the military forced Amir to research outside traditional mapping and imagery technology fields, leading to his investigation of Blockchain as a means of curating image data transparently, and with a greater historical range than traditional capture and storage techniques.

Using Blockchain — a public ledger distributed across multiple online sources so that it cannot be manipulated by individual users — image ownership is verifiable, secure, and transparent. In addition, Blockchain allows the creation of a ‘super-map’ where images and information can be accessed from any time period catalogued within the blockchain, rather than just the current iteration of a given map.

Mangroves of Malaysia. (Image provider:Afifi Zulkifle)

Realising the potential applications of this approach went far beyond the scope of his existing focus on government and corporate clients, Amir founded Soar to provide a means of extending his solutions to work for the public good. Soar’s technology is creating a new era in areas including smart agriculture, urban planning, emergency and disaster relief, natural resource management, and industrial development.

Rice fields taken by drone in Indonesia

From blue chip corporates to farmers in developing nations, the applications of Soar technology reach across all areas of human endeavour. By finding new ways to look at natural and created environments as a continuum of change rather than a snapshot, Amir is giving people a chance to positively control their future with more precision and consideration than ever before possible.

Image of Australian outback where our journey for Soar began.

Soar’s technology works to develop disaster relief technologies in China, protect rare plants and animals in Sumatra, and help deliver blood plasma, vaccines, and other medical supplies via UAVs to remote parts of Africa — and this is just the tip of the iceberg for Amir. His passionate belief in allowing all humans to control their own destiny will ensure that Soar uplifts the lives of millions for decades to come.