33 guides Discover: geospatial data and physical AI, explained Plain-language guides to the data, formats, and methods behind AI for physical world data, from LiDAR and Landsat to change detection and catastrophe modeling. Raster Vector Earth Observation Joins Physical AI Risk Modeling Tutorials Partitioning Tax Context Engineering for Physical AI Ontology H3 Geospatial Data Geospatial Analysis Topics A–Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z B Building Footprint A building footprint is the outline a building occupies on the ground. C Catastrophe Modeling Catastrophe modeling, or cat modeling, is the practice of estimating the financial losses that a portfolio of buildings and insurance policies could suffer… Change Detection in Satellite Imagery Change detection is the process of comparing two or more images of the same place, captured at different times, to find where and how the surface has changed. Context Engineering for Physical AI Context engineering is choosing what an AI model receives at each step. Coordinate Reference System A coordinate reference system (CRS) ties coordinates to places on Earth. D Data Center Site Selection Data center site selection is the process of finding land where a facility of tens to hundreds of megawatts can be powered, connected, cooled, permitted, and… Digital Elevation Model A digital elevation model (DEM) is a raster in which every cell holds a height, on a regular grid with a known cell size, horizontal coordinate system, and… E Earth Observation Data Earth observation data is the imagery and measurements of the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere collected by satellites, aircraft, and drones. F Flood Risk Map A flood risk map shows where flooding is likely, how deep the water could get, and how often a flood of that size is expected. G Geospatial AI Geospatial AI, also called GeoAI or spatial AI, is the use of machine learning and AI agents on data tied to places on Earth: satellite and aerial imagery… Geospatial Analysis Geospatial analysis, or spatial analysis, examines where things are and how location shapes patterns. Geospatial Data Geospatial data describes things tied to a place on Earth. GeoTIFF A GeoTIFF is a TIFF image file that carries georeferencing metadata in standardized tags, so each pixel maps to a coordinate on Earth. H H3 H3 is Uber's open-source hexagonal grid for indexing locations on Earth. Havasu Catalog The Havasu Catalog is the Wherobots spatial data catalog: open geospatial datasets, RasterFlow models, notebooks, and apps, stored as Apache Iceberg tables… HRRR Model The HRRR model, NOAA's High-Resolution Rapid Refresh, is a numerical weather prediction model that runs every hour on a 3 km grid over the contiguous United… Hyperspectral Imaging Hyperspectral imaging records a continuous spectrum for every pixel: typically 200 to 450 narrow bands, each 5 to 10 nanometers wide, across visible… L Land Cover Classification Land cover classification labels every part of the Earth's surface by what covers it, such as water, forest, crops, or pavement. Landsat Landsat is the joint USGS and NASA Earth observation program that has imaged the Earth's land surface continuously since July 1972, the longest record of its… LiDAR Data LiDAR data is a set of 3D points measured by a laser scanner that times the round trip of each light pulse to find the distance to a surface. N NDVI NDVI, the normalized difference vegetation index, measures how green and dense vegetation is from red and near-infrared light. O Ontology An ontology is a formal model of the things in a domain and how they relate. P Parcel Data Parcel data records every piece of land: its boundary, parcel number, owner, land use, and assessed value. Partitioning Tax The partitioning tax is the cost of splitting spatial data into tiles when it outgrows one machine: tile loops, seam errors at tile edges, and reruns. Physical AI Physical AI is artificial intelligence that perceives, reasons about, and acts in the physical world: robots, autonomous vehicles, drones, world models, and… POI Data POI data lists the places people go: shops, restaurants, hospitals, schools, and landmarks. Probable Maximum Loss (PML) Probable maximum loss (PML) is the largest loss an insurer expects from one property or a portfolio at a chosen probability. R Raster vs. Vector Data Raster data is a grid of pixels. S Satellite Imagery Analysis Satellite imagery analysis turns satellite and aerial pixels into maps, counts, and alerts. Sentinel-2 Sentinel-2 is the Copernicus optical satellite mission that images Earth's land and coasts in 13 spectral bands at 10 to 60 m every five days. Spatial Join A spatial join matches rows from two tables by where their geometries sit. Stochastic Modeling Stochastic modeling simulates thousands of possible outcomes from random variables. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images the ground with microwaves, day or night, through cloud. Sort By Most Recent Most Recent Oldest Categories What is? View All Context Engineering Classification Segmentation Change Detection Stochastic Modeling Site Selection Risk Modeling Earth Observation What is? Physical AI Tabular Joins Vector Raster Tutorials Sort By Most Recent Oldest Categories View All Context Engineering Classification Segmentation Change Detection Stochastic Modeling Site Selection Risk Modeling Earth Observation What is? Physical AI Tabular Joins Vector Raster Tutorials 19 Mins Read 3 Oct 2026 What Is a Spatial Join? Predicates, Types, and SQL A spatial join matches rows from two tables by where their geometries sit. How spatial joins work, the predicates and join types, and how to write one in SQL. 19 Mins Read 3 Oct 2026 What Is a Spatial Join? Predicates, Types, and SQL A spatial join matches rows from two tables by where their geometries sit. How spatial joins work, the predicates and join types, and how to write one in SQL. 17 Mins Read 2 Oct 2026 What is Physical AI? Definition, Examples, How It Works Physical AI is artificial intelligence that perceives, reasons about, and acts in the physical world: robots, autonomous vehicles, drones, world models, and Earth-scale models. 20 Mins Read 5 Oct 2026 What Is the Partitioning Tax? Tiles, Seams, and Reruns The partitioning tax is the cost of splitting spatial data into tiles when it outgrows one machine: tile loops, seam errors at tile edges, and reruns. How it shows up and how distributed spatial engines remove it. 14 Mins Read 5 Oct 2026 What is Context Engineering for Physical AI? Context engineering is choosing what an AI model receives at each step. How it works, how it compares to RAG, and what changes when the context is real places. 14 Mins Read 4 Oct 2026 What is an Ontology? Definition, Parts, Spatial Ontologies An ontology is a formal model of the things in a domain and how they relate. Its parts, how it differs from a taxonomy or knowledge graph, and what makes one spatial. 17 Mins Read 4 Oct 2026 What is H3? Uber’s Hexagonal Spatial Index H3 is Uber's open-source hexagonal grid for indexing locations on Earth. How the H3 index works, its 16 resolutions, H3 vs S2, geohash and quadkeys, and H3 in SQL. 16 Mins Read 4 Oct 2026 What is Geospatial Data? Types, Formats, Examples Geospatial data describes things tied to a place on Earth. The two main types, vector and raster, plus formats, sources, and examples. 17 Mins Read 4 Oct 2026 What is Geospatial Analysis? Methods and Examples Geospatial analysis, or spatial analysis, examines where things are and how location shapes patterns. Core methods, hot spots, examples, GIS vs spatial analysis, and SQL. 1 2 3 … 5 Next » Sign up for our newsletter Be the first to know about releases and industry news. We care about your data; read our privacy policy. SUBSCRIBEΔ
