43 guides Discover Guides: spatial data and physical AI, explained Plain-language guides to the data, formats, and methods behind context engineering for physical world data, from LiDAR and Landsat to change detection, catastrophe modeling and more. Raster Vector Joins Physical AI Earth Observation Tutorials Risk Modeling Change Detection Geofence Map Matching Geospatial Big Data Isochrone Geospatial Database Map Projection 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 Engine A context engine is the system that computes, stores, and serves the context AI models and agents receive. 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 for a facility of tens to hundreds of megawatts. 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 Geofence A geofence is a virtual boundary that triggers an action when a device enters or leaves it. 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. Geospatial Analysis Geospatial analysis, or spatial analysis, examines where things are and how location shapes patterns. Geospatial Big Data Teams struggle to scale geospatial analytics for five reasons: data volume, mixed formats, many coordinate systems, spatial joins and pipeline upkeep. Geospatial Data Geospatial data describes things tied to a place on Earth. Geospatial Database A geospatial database stores geometry, indexes it by location and runs spatial SQL queries. Geospatial Intelligence Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) analyzes imagery and map data to describe activity on earth. GeoTIFF A GeoTIFF is a TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) image file that carries georeferencing metadata in standardized tags, so each pixel maps to a coordinate on… Ground Truth Data Ground truth is information collected by direct observation at a known place and time, used as the reference standard to calibrate sensors, assess map… 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 High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model is a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Hyperspectral Imaging Hyperspectral imaging records a continuous spectrum for every pixel. I Isochrone An isochrone is the area reachable from a place within a set travel time. 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 U.S. LiDAR Data LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data is a set of 3D points measured by a laser scanner, which times each light pulse's round trip to a surface. M Map Matching Map matching places each GPS record on the road a vehicle drove. Map Projection A map projection flattens the Earth onto a map and distorts area, shape, distance or direction. 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. W World Model A world model is an AI model that predicts what happens next from the current situation and an action, so an agent can test a move before it makes one. Sort By Most Recent Most Recent Oldest Categories View All View All AI Infrastructure World Models 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 AI Infrastructure World Models Context Engineering Classification Segmentation Change Detection Stochastic Modeling Site Selection Risk Modeling Earth Observation What is? Physical AI Tabular Joins Vector Raster Tutorials 17 Mins Read 30 Sep 2026 What is Earth Observation Data? Types, Sources Earth observation data is the imagery and measurements of the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere collected by satellites, aircraft, and drones. It includes optical and radar imagery, elevation, land cover, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric gases, delivered as dated rasters: grids of pixels tied to map coordinates. Open programs such as Copernicus, NASA, and Landsat […] 17 Mins Read 29 Sep 2026 What is a Digital Elevation Model? DEM vs DSM vs DTM 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 vertical datum. The term covers two kinds of model. A digital terrain model (DTM) records the bare ground. A digital surface model (DSM) records the first surface […] 19 Mins Read 29 Sep 2026 Data Center Site Selection: Criteria, Data Layers, Process Data center site selection is the process of finding land for a facility of tens to hundreds of megawatts. On suitable land, the facility can be powered, connected, cooled, and permitted, and kept clear of natural hazards. Analysts screen candidate land against grid capacity, transmission, fiber, water, hazards, zoning, and latency to users. They then […] 18 Mins Read 29 Sep 2026 What is Catastrophe Modeling? Cat Models Explained Catastrophe modeling, or cat modeling, is the practice of estimating the financial losses that a portfolio of buildings and insurance policies could suffer from rare, severe natural events. They are hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and severe convective storms, the thunderstorms that bring hail, tornadoes, and damaging straight-line wind. A cat model is a stochastic model, […] 17 Mins Read 24 Sep 2026 What is 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. Ashbindu Singh's review Digital change detection techniques using remotely-sensed data (International Journal of Remote Sensing, 1989) gave the definition most papers cite. It defines change detection as […] « Previous 1 … 5 6 7 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
