Skip to main content

Define an Area with Tiles and Minitiles Ordering

This page applies to tile and minitile ordering. For freeform geometry orders, see Define an Area with Polygon Ordering.

When Tile-Based AOI Definition Is the Right Choice​

Tile and minitile ordering is usually the better fit when:

  • You monitor large, contiguous areas over time.
  • You need predictable expansion to neighboring areas next month.
  • You want lower EUR per km2 than polygon baseline pricing.
  • You still want to mix broad coverage (tiles) with finer control (minitiles).

Understand Tiles​

Tiles are predefined grid cells identified by GUID.

  • Most tiles are 5120 x 5120 pixels.
  • Tile dimensions can vary near UTM zone edges.
  • Tile placement is fixed, so AOI definition is done by selecting GUIDs, not drawing custom boundaries.

Except for AOI geometry definition and pricing multiplier, ordering flow is the same as polygon mode: model, constellations, cadence, and historical or recurring settings are unchanged.

Why Tiles Are Often the Right Choice​

  • Lower cost per km2: tiles apply the strongest grid-based multiplier (20% of polygon baseline).
  • Easier expansion: adding adjacent coverage is straightforward because grid alignment is fixed.
  • Better operational consistency: repeated monitoring stays on the same footprint over time.

Pricing at a Glance​

Tile and minitile pricing is applied as a multiplier on the model baseline rate.

  • Polygon: 100% baseline
  • Tile: 20% of baseline (80% discount)
  • Minitile: 50% of baseline (50% discount)

For model-specific rates and spend tiers, see Model pricing, Monthly spend tiers, and Tile and minitile discounts.

Explore Tiles on the Map​

Draw a rectangle to load intersecting UTM zones and display orderable tiles for those zones.

note
  • Hover on the map on a tile to see its GUID and EPSG metadata.
  • This map is for tile visualization (not global minitile visualization). You can inspect all tiles and minitiles in the ordering UI at dashboard.clearsky.vision.

Understand Minitiles​

Minitiles are smaller predefined units that can be ordered alone or mixed with full tiles.

  • Typical minitile size is 320 x 320 pixels.
  • Minitiles also follow UTM-zone-specific placement and can vary near zone edges.
  • Use minitiles to trim edges or add finer granularity within a tile-based program.

Download the Global Tile Catalogue​

The global catalogue is available as a GeoPackage (.gpkg) containing naming, placement, and EPSG metadata for all ClearSKY tiles.

info

The GeoPackage is about 2 GB and lists all ClearSKY tiles.

Search Tiles and Minitiles via API​

You can resolve orderable tiles (and optional minitiles) from geometry using:

  • POST /api/tasking/search/tiles

Example request:

{
  "Wkt": "POLYGON((7.6 51.9,7.6 52.0,7.7 52.0,7.7 51.9,7.6 51.9))",
  "Guids": ["{tile-guid-1}", "{tile-guid-2}"],
  "IncludeMinitiles": true
}

Example response:

{
  "foundTiles": [
    {
      "guid": "{tile-guid-1}",
      "utmZone": "33N",
      "geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [] }
    }
  ],
  "foundMinitiles": []
}

Each returned tile includes spatial metadata such as EPSG and geographic geometry fields, which can be used directly in downstream selection and ordering logic.

For endpoint context, see Tasking / Order Endpoints.