GEOINT: Atlas AI Releases Critical Information for Crisis Management in Earthquake-Hit Turkey and Syria

Space tech and geospatial intelligence, also known as GEOINT, touted as the most exciting sectors, are growing rapidly under the realm of artificial intelligence. Lately, GEOINT is catching the attention of VCs who believe it to have massive potential. According to research, the market is projected to double by 2026.

Atlas AI, a leading provider of geospatial intelligence products informing investment in sustainable and inclusive growth, announced the release of critical information for crisis management in Turkey and Syria.

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Release of Atlas Of Human Settlements

The company’s public release of its Atlas of Human Settlements (AHS) 2021 data layers for Turkey and Syria in response to the recent earthquake. The AHS data offers crucial intelligence for crisis management bodies in their immediate efforts to respond to the disaster, as well as to help inform the most sustainable approach to long-term rebuilding efforts.

• Available on Google Cloud’s Analytics Hub and powered by BigQuery, the AHS provides a comprehensive and up-to-date view of human settlements around the world.
• It delivers precise information on the evolving footprint and density of human activity through the application of artificial intelligence to satellite imagery.
• With the outdated information offered by the best alternative source, the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) from 2018, the AHS layers offer the most up-to-date pre-crisis data from 2021, are of superior quality, and are delivered with annual updates at a spatial resolution of 10 meters.
• The ‘analysis of the built environment assets affected by a natural disaster can help guide search and rescue efforts, improve the distribution of humanitarian aid, and prioritize mid-and long-term reconstruction and investment planning, informs Abe Tarapani, CEO of Atlas, AI‘.

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Atlas AI is proud to make the Atlas of Human Settlements dataset covering Turkey and Syria freely available to government and humanitarian agencies supporting the response to this tragic crisis.

Atlas AI is committed to enhancing the product in the coming days and weeks as needs emerge.

Georgios Ouzounis, Head of AI Research at Atlas AI noted,

“Years of research and development have gone into the AHS solution, making it possible to produce high-resolution global settlement maps within hours of a crisis. Nothing can be more fundamental than ensuring we have an up-to-date and accurate picture of where people live on the planet to inform a wide range of investment and humanitarian activities.”

What is Geospatial Intelligence?

GEOINT comprises information extracted from data or images about a particular location. Typically, the images are captured by satellites and processed by high-power computers. Earlier, sending satellites into space was an incredibly expensive affair for most organizations barring governments, military, or media behemoths who were working on global positioning systems (GPS). With reduced costs, GEOINT is now more accessible.

Unlike other products that offer dynamic traces of population based on mobile phone records and app location traces, Atlas AI focuses on the relationship between the built environment and human settlement — where people have been known to be living and working. Knowing this with precision can help response efforts in prioritizing outreach to the most densely settled and built-up parts of the region, which are likely to be most affected by a natural disaster such as an earthquake.