Artificial Intelligence: AI Applications for Comprehensive Base Mapping of Africa

VHO - According to a VNA correspondent in Africa, on July 29, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) space technology company Space42 announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft and Esri to implement the "Map Africa Initiative" to build a high-resolution basemap system for all 54 African countries, serving more than 1.4 billion people.

Space42, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) space technology company, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft and Esri to implement the “Map Africa Initiative”. Photo: x.com

The five-year project aims to create the most comprehensive base map for Africa, helping to overcome fragmented, outdated or inaccessible data and promote economic development and infrastructure planning based on accurate data.

Under the agreement, Space42 will lead the fundraising, project management and satellite data provisioning. The data will be processed using a “Digital Twin” model using artificial intelligence (AI), creating specialized maps serving areas such as logistics, renewable energy, security, smart cities and the digital economy.

Esri is responsible for producing maps with GeoAI and remote sensing technology and supporting local team training. Microsoft is providing cloud computing infrastructure and an AI platform on Azure, enabling large-scale data processing and sharing.

The initiative will license data to national governments , promote long-term updation by national mapping agencies, and support the development of a geospatial startup ecosystem in Africa. The data will be stored in data centers managed by G42 and Microsoft.

The project fits into the global investment strategy of the UAE - the country is the largest investor in Africa with 44 billion USD in 2024. Space42 expects this initiative to not only expand its presence in Africa but also strengthen the UAE's role in the global space technology and AI sector.

According to NGUYEN AN (VNA)/Tin Tuc and Dan Toc Newspaper

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