Discover the Open Buildings dataset! 
To support applications for social good, Google AI
[https://ai.google/] published the Open Buildings dataset. This
extensive open dataset includes building footprints, which are
detections of buildings on an area of land. These detections are
created with high-resolution satellite images and machine learning
tools. Currently, the dataset includes 516 million building
detections, across an area of 19.4 million km2 on the continent of
Africa (64% of the continent). 

Knowing whether or not a building is present is extremely useful
for: 

 	* POPULATION ESTIMATION when there is rapid change, or census
information is not up to date
 	* COORDINATING THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE in case of emergencies and
measure the consequences,  to natural disasters by estimating the
number of buildings or households affected. 
 	* UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN IMPACT ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, by
estimating energy needs and carbon emissions in a certain area, or
pressure on protected areas and wildlife due to urbanisation.
 	* SETTING UP AN ADDRESSING SYSTEM as the absence of a formal
addresses limits access to social benefits and economic opportunities.
 	* VACCINATION PLANNING by knowing the density of the population and
settlements, demand can be anticipated, and resources can be allocated
accordingly. 
 	* CALCULATING STATISTICAL INDICATORS and combining datasets to
predict the mean travel time to the nearest hospital for instance. 

Curious to learn more? Find more information and explore the dataset
and visualisations
[https://sites.research.google/open-buildings/#explore]!

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Publication Date/Time
2021-09-03T06:00:00+00:00
A Google AI initiative to guide humanitarian efforts