GIScience News Blog

  • Accurate road surface data for transportation, safety, and economic development

    Accurate road surface data for transportation, safety, and economic development

    Researchers at HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology) have publicly released a first of its kind planet-scale dataset on road surface type (paved or unpaved) using state-of-the-art GeoAI methods based on street-view imagery from Mapillary, in order to support humanitarian response, urban planning and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.  Road surface information plays an essential…

  • Mapathon on November 18

    Mapathon on November 18

    As part of the annual “Geography Awareness Week”, we are organizing a mapathon together with Doctors Without Borders, the German Red Cross and the University of Würzburg. When: Monday, November 18th, 7p.m. Where: Heidelberg, Berliner Straße 48 in the “Hörsaal” lecture hall What is a Mapathon?In order to be able to help people in crisis…

  • Strengthening humanitarian efforts with the German Red Cross

    Strengthening humanitarian efforts with the German Red Cross

    A few days ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming our longtime partners from the German Red Cross (GRC) to HeiGIT. Together, we not only mapped out our future priorities but also took a moment to look back on the journey we’ve shared since our partnership began in 2017. The strategic partnership was established to develop GIS…

  • HeiGIT at the Global Dialogue Platform Berlin

    HeiGIT at the Global Dialogue Platform Berlin

    Stuntmen, jugglers, humanitarians stacking and climbing boxes, wildcard sessions – not the usual things you would expect at a conference. But all of these shaped this year’s Global Dialogue Platform and helped participants to leave their usual comfort zones. In dynamic discussions, interactive workshops, plenaries and side sessions, humanitarian practitioners, policymakers, tech experts and many…

  • HGG (Heidelberger Geographische Gesellschaft) Lecture Series in Winter Semester 2024

    HGG (Heidelberger Geographische Gesellschaft) Lecture Series in Winter Semester 2024

    Latin America: Energy Powering the Future. For years, opinions and reports on Latin America have varied greatly between stagnation, political risks and hope, for example with regard to the supply of energy sources, food and raw materials. “Who still cares about Latin America?” asked Paul Ingendaay on April 24, 2024 in the Frankfurter Allgemeine. The…

  • Openrouteservice Feature Updates: Export and Snap Endpoints

    Openrouteservice Feature Updates: Export and Snap Endpoints

    The openrouteservice (ORS) continuously evolves, bringing a suite of new features: the export and snap endpoints. These new features will change the way users interact with and process routing data, making it easier to handle complex use cases or pre-process points for routing queries. Export Feature While openrouteservice does not directly provide tools for network…

  • Balancing Walkability and Climate Mitigation in Urban Design

    Balancing Walkability and Climate Mitigation in Urban Design

    Recently, our colleague Kirsten von Elverfeldt attended the Walk21 Conference in Lisbon, an inspiring event dedicated to reimagining cities by transforming car-centered spaces into active, livable, and vibrant environments for people. The conference was filled with innovative ideas and strategies from around the world, showcasing how urban mobility can improve quality of life. One standout…

  • Kick-off: Extract4D Project

    Kick-off: Extract4D Project

    Last week, we, 3DGeo Heidelberg (Prof. Dr. Bernhard Höfle), had a kick-off meeting for our new joint research project Extract4D, led by Prof. Dr. Katharina Anders (TU Munich, Remote Sensing Applications). Here is a sneak peek at this exciting research project. Background The Earth’s surface is constantly being shaped by wind, water and gravity. Observing…

  • New Features for the ohsome Quality API and Dashboard

    New Features for the ohsome Quality API and Dashboard

    *Title image: Fig. 1: New UI of the ohsome dashboard In the last few weeks, a lot of work has been put into expanding the functionalities of the ohsome Quality API. Most notably, the ohsome dashboard now has a new Quality indicator ready for use: the Attribute Completeness indicator. The ohsome quality API and the…

  • Sketch Map Tool Updates and Video Introduction

    Sketch Map Tool Updates and Video Introduction

    We are happy to share new developments on our ongoing work with the Sketch Map Tool! To help you better understand the tool, its key functionalities, and potential applications, we have included an introductory video. We require your explicit consent to use your Sketch Maps for training purposes. Sharing your data is entirely optional, and…

  • Meet HeiGIT and Discover Our AI and Anticipatory Action Related Projects at the Global Dialogue Platform in Berlin

    Meet HeiGIT and Discover Our AI and Anticipatory Action Related Projects at the Global Dialogue Platform in Berlin

    Join us at this year’s Global Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Humanitarian Action, themed “Mainstreaming Anticipatory Action: Collaboration in Complex Contexts.” This topic has been a focal point for HeiGIT over the past few years, and its prominence as the core theme of this year’s event underscores its relevance in today’s humanitarian landscape. How can we best…

  • Mapathon on October 22

    Mapathon on October 22

    When: Tuesday, 22.10.2024, at 7 p.m. Where: Berliner Straße 48, Hörsaal After a short introduction into the region and subject of this mapping task, you will also get instructions how to map. The Mapathon will be a collaboration with the Missing Maps project. Everyone is welcome and no previous knowledge is needed!Do bring your laptop…

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