Google DeepMind Launches AlphaEarth Foundations
Google DeepMind has just launched a new AI tool called AlphaEarth Foundations, which acts like a “virtual satellite”.
This powerful system can look at the Earth from space using different types of satellite data and create super-detailed maps of the land, coastlines, and natural changes happening over time.
What is AlphaEarth Foundations?
- AlphaEarth Foundations is a geospatial AI model.
- It was trained on petabytes of data (that’s millions of gigabytes!) from satellites like Landsat, Sentinel-2, and many others.
- It doesn’t just use images it combines:
- Optical images (like regular photos).
- Radar data.
- 3D maps of the Earth’s surface.
- Climate information.
- Even text-based labels from maps and studies.
All of this is merged to create something called “embeddings”—64 numbers that represent what’s happening in every 10×10 meter square on the Earth’s surface.
How It Works
It covers every year from 2017 to 2024 and builds one set of embeddings per year.
It works in Google Earth Engine, which means users can search, explore, and analyze maps using this new AI data.
It also supports “similarity search”. You can pick an area and find other regions in the world that look or behave the same.
It uses AI clustering, so users can group areas into categories (like wetlands or drylands) without needing thousands of labels.
Real-World Use
Cases Over 50 partner organizations tested AlphaEarth in real projects:
- MapBiomas in Brazil used it to map forests and monitor illegal logging in the Amazon.
- Harvard Forest used it to study forest cover changes.
- Stanford University and the Global Ecosystems Atlas used it to explore unmapped natural zones.
- These groups found AlphaEarth was 24% more accurate than other AI models, especially in places with very little existing data.
Future Possibilities
- Google calls this part of its broader “Earth AI” mission to help the planet using artificial intelligence.
- Other AI projects under this umbrella include tools to:
- Predict floods and wildfires.
- Monitor urban growth and carbon emissions.
- Support climate research and sustainability goals.
- AlphaEarth Foundations is now available for free use in Google Earth Engine, making it accessible to scientists, educators, and decision-makers around the world.
News Gist
Google DeepMind has launched AlphaEarth Foundations, an AI-powered “virtual satellite” that maps Earth in high detail using multi-source satellite data.
It enables advanced environmental monitoring, change detection, and climate research through Google Earth Engine, with free access for researchers.
