Glasgow firm launches Spelfie, the selfie taken from space

‘World’s longest selfie stick’ created for major global sporting or cultural events, such as the Fifa world Cup, Expo 2020 in Dubai and the Olympics

Everyone’s familiar with the selfie, but a Glasgow firm has taken what it claims to be the world’s first Spelfie, and out of this world selfie taken from space via satellites.

Spelfie has been created for people attending major global sporting or cultural events such as the Fifa world Cup, Expo 2020 in Dubai and the Olympics.

Dubbed ‘the world’s longest selfie stick’, Spelfie was launched by teenager and environmental campaigner Isabel Wijsen to highlight her fight against plastic pollution in Bali.

In June, a village in Bali spelt out ACT NOW on a polluted beach for Wijsen’s Saving Our Beautiful Bali campaign.

Spelfie’s satellite image from space captured the moment and beamed the message out to the world.

Spelfie is completely free for users. It uses Airbus satellites to capture images on earth from space which can be posted and shared with friends and family.

Once an event has been confirmed on the Spelfie app by partners and sponsors, the user then chooses the event they wish to attend.

They then take a selfie at the designated time and place and wait for their Spelfie image to land from space on the same day.

Chris Newlands, Spelfie chief executive, said: “Spelfie is a movement of people who want to change the world and make a difference through social media and imagery.

“The power of a Spelfie can help raise awareness globally, encouraging others to join in and want to make a difference too just as Isabel did for the Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement in Bali.”

Spelfie’s partnership with Airbus means it can use optical cameras on Earth Observation satellites to take pictures with less than a metre in detail. It is possible to see individual cars and trees.

Like a normal camera, it is not possible to see through clouds using optical satellite images and Airbus’ Vision-1 image of the ACT NOW Spelfie event was taken when the satellite passed over the beach location at just the right time.

Airbus operates a fleet of satellites whose day job is to capture images of many of the environmental challenges that society faces today including deforestation, natural disasters such as fires, floods and drought, and pollution monitoring.