Geo data annotation
What is geo data annotation?
Geo data annotation refers to the labeling of objects in geographic locations captured in satellite and aerial imagery. The data commonly includes three components. First is the object’s location information, which is usually represented as earth coordinates. Location information can be either static, such as a building, or dynamic, like a moving vehicle. The second component is a description of the object’s attributes. For example, the name and length of a street. Finally, the object’s temporal information depicts the time span during which the object was situated in a specific location.
Types of geo data annotation
Geo data annotation involves labeling satellite photos and aerial images using a variety of methods, such as the following:
- Semantic segmentation: A label or class is associated with every pixel in an image in order to recognize collections of pixels that form distinct objects of the same class.
- Polygon annotation: For annotating objects with irregular shapes, polygon annotation is useful for training object localization and detection algorithms.
- Lidar annotation: A process that involves labeling objects, such as cars, pedestrians and more, within a 3D point cloud (a set of data points in space that represent a 3D object).
- Landmark and keypoint annotation: This method is used to detect small objects and shape variations through the marking of key point locations.
- Point of interest (POI) tagging: Includes the tagging of key features, buildings and landmarks of a geographic area. Use cases range from labeling buildings based on satellite imagery to adding business information for local businesses.
- Address verification: Helps in the maintenance of accurate contact data by filling in missing information, correcting mistakes, updating outdated information and eliminating duplicate or unnecessary information.
- Car and pedestrian routing: Provides accurate routing guidance by verifying driving, cycling and walking directions.
- Geo search relevance: Analyzes local search queries to judge accuracy and relevancy. This helps users find what they’re looking for no matter where they are in the world.
Applications of geo data annotation
Geo data annotation helps to improve the accuracy of map and navigation software, and is useful across a range of industries. A few examples include:
- Autonomous vehicles: This data helps these vehicles in navigating their environments in both rural and urban areas.
- Precision agriculture: Geo data annotation helps to improve farming techniques and optimize cost efficiencies in terms of irrigation levels and the usage of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
- Construction: The data is used to improve processes and enhance worker safety.
- Disaster management: Geo data annotation is used to map areas affected by natural disasters and help with rescue and reconstruction efforts.