97% of Buildings On Earth 3D-Mapped (nature.com)
- Reference: 0180365115
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/11/2333243/97-of-buildings-on-earth-3d-mapped
- Source link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04036-x
> Scientists have produced the [2]most detailed 3D map of almost all buildings in the world . The map, called [3]GlobalBuildingAtlas , combines satellite imagery and machine learning to generate 3D models for 97% of buildings on Earth. The dataset, [4]published in the open-access journal Earth System Science Data on December 1, covers 2.75 billion buildings, each mapped with footprints and heights at a spatial resolution of 3 meters by 3 meters. The 3D map opens new possibilities for disaster risk assessment, climate modeling and urban planning, according to study co-author Xiaoxiang Zhu, an Earth observation data scientist at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.
"Imagine a video game with the world's buildings already mapped in basic spatial dimensions!" writes Gilmoure.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~Gilmoure
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04036-x
[3] https://github.com/zhu-xlab/GlobalBuildingAtlas
[4] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04036-x?error=cookies_not_supported&code=43453a51-e3d8-46c4-97f6-25784eab73a6#ref-CR1
Gee, I'll download a copy (Score:2)
Me: "Hey, that looks cool... I'll download a copy!"
Server: "Entire Dataset: 36 TB total, 1844 Files"
Me: "Never mind, then..."
Re: (Score:2)
No low poly version? Its OK if everything looks like a Tesla truck.
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Put it up on Steam, just break it up into 72 500GB DLCs.
Disappointing (Score:2)
It just scales the footprint of a building on a given plot into the 3rd dimension by giving it a height.
Everything, of course, turns into little skyscrapers.
Re: (Score:1)
Yup, it has no concept of extensions it seems.
My own house is two-storey but with a small single-storey extension (containing the kitchen). This dataset has the whole house at 2.3m high, which is just plain wrong - the majority is around 4.6m high, with the extension being 2.3.
Going from cool to disturbing (Score:2)
I suspect there's several different versions of something like this, [1]only [gadgetreview.com] [2]with [futurism.com] [3]interior [theverge.com] [4]floorplans [technologyreview.com].
I mean, sure, the real estate industry. But I like to imagine high-tech cat burglars using them to plan their heists. More likely someone will turn it in to copware to sell to SWAT teams for planning drug busts.
[1] https://www.gadgetreview.com/how-robot-vacuums-quietly-build-and-share-maps-of-your-life
[2] https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-vacuum-broadcasting
[3] https://www.theverge.com/23293687/amazon-irobot-acquisition-purchase-smarthome-intelligence-privacy-analysis
[4] https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/07/25/150346/your-roomba-is-also-gathering-data-about-the-layout-of-your-home/
Obligatory... (Score:2)
"I can see my house from here..."
3m accuracy (Score:2)
Rats, as an architect I was hoping it might be useful to the general construction industry, but not at 3m accuracy.
Re: (Score:2)
> Rats, as an architect I was hoping it might be useful to the general construction industry, but not at 3m accuracy.
True, but I figure it'll be built into the next version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
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Do we get bombs?
Re: (Score:2)
You got Windows 11, what more do you want?
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I saw a video of a DJI drone with a [1]mounted LIDAR scanner [youtube.com] and it was mapping down to the power wires so that might just take another 10 years to get everything.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Eu6XrlpiOM
Re: (Score:2)
I'm wondering about that, because for years Google has had better resolution, but not 97% coverage.
Maybe that's the worst case, and it's better in areas with better satellite photographs available. I think Google uses aerial photography too, to get views from different angles.