Facebook Internet drones will work based on maps processed by Facebook AI

The map on the right is the population density map obtained by the algorithm, on the left is the source (photo: World Bank, Facebook)

Maps have always been valuable - they are needed by scientists, military, government agencies and ordinary citizens. Now maps and cartographic material are becoming an increasingly important source of information - they are used in a huge number of services. For example, Google robomobiles work on the basis of detailed maps (cartographic information is used with a number of other data).

Facebook Connectivity Lab has announced the creation of its own high-resolution population density maps for 20 countries. The accuracy of the maps is approximately 5 meters. Cartographic material will be used for Facebook dronesthat can provide residents of remote inaccessible regions with access to the Network. To know where to fly, drones will use these cards.

The original maps were obtained by the social network from the World Bank and Columbia University: 14.6 billion images totaling 350 terabytes. In order to determine exactly where people live, Facebook used an AI algorithm that identified objects. On shared maps, Facebook was able to identify homes, industrial buildings, roads.

To train the algorithm, the project team “fed” to the service about 8000 initially marked-up maps of the country, with a description of whether there are buildings in the photo or not. Then the algorithm was trained to determine the presence of buildings on their own. This method then improved the resolution of the source maps.


The original map from the World Bank (above) and the finalized map from Facebook (below) (photo: World Bank and Facebook)

What should be the resolution of the map? The main task is to identify objects whose size is close to the radius of a normal Wi-Fi network. It is approximately 5 meters. This permission for their cards and seeks Facebook.

Maps can be used for other purposes, soon Facebook will post them in the public domain. So other organizations will be able to determine where the completion of the existing energy infrastructure or water supply system is required.

Well, and the Internet in these regions is taken to provide Facebook.