FILE PHOTO: Google DeepMind has unveiled a new AI model called AlphaEarth Foundations that can map the world’s land and coastal waters like a “virtual satellite.”
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Google DeepMind has unveiled a new AI model called AlphaEarth Foundations that can map the world’s land and coastal waters like a “virtual satellite.” This observation data can help scientists make decisions around serious issues like food security, deforestation, urban expansion and water resources.
The model integrates data into a unified digital representation or “embedding,” which is easily processed by computer systems. The team also released a dataset of annual embeddings in Google Earth engine to promote research and real-world use.
In a blog post, the team described how the model worked. “First, it combines volumes of information from dozens of different public sources— optical satellite images, radar, 3D laser mapping, climate simulations, and more. It weaves all this information together to analyse the world’s land and coastal waters in sharp, 10×10 meter squares, allowing it to track changes over time with remarkable precision,” it noted.
Google DeepMind said the AI model solved big issues that existed with mapping geospatial data, which were data overload and inconsistency.
The researchers also claimed that the AI model delivered 24% lower error rate than other leading AI models and required 16 times less storage.
Published – July 31, 2025 01:02 pm IST