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Satellites are capable of accurately monitoring such swathes of the Earth it’s no surprise we’re seeing innovations taking advantage of the images they can capture, as we’ve seen with a startup that uses them to spot illegal deforestation practices, and now homeowners can harness that power to keep their roofs weather-proof.

Canada-based Roofr is an online platform that offers free quotations and arranges contractors for roof repairs — all users have to do is fill in their address to receive a free, accurate quote within seconds. Roofr achieves this using images captured via Google Earth satellite surveillance, from which roof area and gradients are calculated. Roofr will then contact local contractors with the details and arrange an onsite inspection, after which users receive a final valuation for the job and decide whether to proceed. The whole process of using Roofr is free for users, they only pay the contractors, who in turn pay to be listed on Roofr’s registry after a strict vetting process, thereby avoiding the time and labor-consuming process of searching through directories and calling various contractors for erroneous quotes. While Roofr is currently only available in most large towns and cities in Ontario, its estimate that using the platform could save users 20-percent on roof repairs could see Roofr appearing elsewhere soon.

Many platforms are popping up that make the traditional call-around for home repairs obsolete, such as a text service for on-demand small home repairs, so in what other ways could we see technology cutting out that search for the ideal home improvement?