Africa lacks up-to-date, reliable maps, which makes it hard to plan infrastructure, deliver services, and respond to emergencies.
The Map Africa Initiative aims to create accurate digital base maps for all 54 African countries.
Base maps are the core reference maps that show things like roads, buildings, rivers, and boundaries. They are the starting layer for almost every mapping and planning task.
The project uses satellite imagery, AI, and GeoAI (artificial intelligence applied specifically to location data and maps) to generate these maps faster and more cheaply than traditional methods.
Space42 provides satellite data and leads project management and fundraising; Esri designs and runs the mapping workflows and GeoAI; Microsoft supplies cloud computing and AI tools through its Azure platform.
Regional data hubs across Africa will train local specialists so that countries can update and manage their own maps over time.
The new maps will support sectors such as transport, ports, logistics, renewable energy, agriculture, conservation, disaster response, and smart cities.
National governments will license and control their data, hosted in local data centers, to preserve data sovereignty (the principle that countries own and control their own data).
The project aims to be a model that can be reused in other regions such as South America and parts of Asia.
Leaders involved frame this as both an economic opportunity and a moral responsibility: using advanced technology to reduce inequality and give developing nations better tools to plan their futures.
Source:
https://www.fastcompany.com/91446202/this-project-is-using-ai-and-satellite-data-to-create-the-first-definitive-map-of-the-entire-continent-of-africa?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user/FastCompany