Operated and managed by Microsoft Azure, AI for Earth cloud-hosted software applies machine learning to remote sensing data to support forest inventory management, with the goals of reducing manual fieldwork and improving data quality and precision. Machine learning classification models are applied to high-resolution satellite imagery combined with pre-existing field data to create forest maps with unprecedented fine-grained resolution; their first initiative created 15-meter resolution forest maps covering the entire continental United States. Maps and data produced by SilviaTerra can help determine the impact that climate change has on land practices for supporting ecosystem health and biodiversity, and creating a more sustainable timber harvest. This is an innovative service for conservationists, governments, and landowners. By combining AI, cloud computing and machine learning, SilviaTerra allows stakeholders to quickly assess forest inventory maps and develop sustainable management plans at the fraction of the time and cost of traditional manual surveys.
Bourgoin, C., Betbeder, J., Couteron, P., Blanc, L., Baghdadi, N., Reymondin, L., Läderach, P., Sist, P. and Gond, V., 2018. Assessing degraded forest structures using UAV and SAR remote sensing data. Association for Forest Spatial Analysis Technologies.
Categories
Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Data, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Internet of Things
Air Pollution Robot
The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]
Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies