Results

Three hands holding markers drawing green rectangles on printed maps on a table
  • In category: Research
New Paper: “Object-Level Detection of Hand-Drawn Annotations in Participatory Sketch Maps Using Paired Clean and Annotated Basemaps”
A new paper presented at the AGILE 2026 conference investigates how hand-drawn annotations in participatory sketch maps can be automatically extracted and digitized. The authors formulate annotation extraction as an…
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New Paper “Detour-based metrics of alcohol availability along walking commutes”
  • In category: Research
New Paper: “Detour-based metrics of alcohol availability along walking commutes”
This study introduces detour-based indices for alcohol exposure along walking commutes. Survey data estimate detour budgets to assess path-based availability. Results show how different retail regimes affect exposure, informing effective…
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New Paper: Analysis of the spatial and temporal pattern of COVID-19 incidence rate across Germany
  • In category: Research
New Paper: “Analysis of the spatial and temporal pattern of COVID-19 incidence rate across Germany”
This study analyzes five socio-economic factors shaping COVID-19 incidence rates across the 400 German districts. A regression analysis using spatial eigenvector mapping indicates that socio-economic factors might influence incidence less…
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Rural landscape with sparse trees, huts, and dry soil under a cloudy sky
  • In category: Research
New Paper: “Food Insecurity Projections for Anticipatory Action: Comparative Spatiotemporal Analysis of FEWS NET and the IPC in Somalia”
Food insecurity projections are a central component of anticipatory action frameworks, particularly in drought contexts. Presented at the AGILE 2026 conference, this paper compares FEWS NET and IPC food insecurity…
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Text panel with the title 'Filling In The World Map With Street-Level Imagery and Deep Learning MapSwipe and Hug-a-Panorama' alongside two inset images showing a street scene with highlighted areas and a heatmap over a landscape.
  • In category: Geoinformation for Humanitarian Aid
Filling In The World Map With Street-Level Imagery and Deep Learning: MapSwipe and Hug-a-Panorama

HeiGIT has been working with deep learning models and street-level imagery for some time, with the goal to contribute to “filling in the world map” by gaining high-resolution information about…

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Road scene showing multiple vehicles in traffic on a multi-lane road with a yellow delivery van on the right and Heig-IT logo and text about Openrouteservice and emission models on the left.
  • In category: Smart Mobility
Use-case: Combining openrouteservice with emission model data to visualize emissions along a route
This article is based on a talk presented by Leonie Größchen from the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) at FOSSGIS 2026 in Göttingen….
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the image shows people walking in a park and a screenshot of the shaded.openrouteservice dashboard
  • In category: Smart Mobility
Introducing the technology behind heat-avoiding routing: How a Heidelberg research initiative became a nationally scalable open-source tool

The origin In 2021, HeiGIT, the GIScience Research Group, and TdLab Geography launched HEAL (Heat Adaptation for Vulnerable Population Groups) – a transdisciplinary research project funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung…

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Aerial view of a flooded road with buildings and palm trees alongside text about dynamic routing for disaster response and integrating earth observation into humanitarian logistics systems
  • In category: Geoinformation for Humanitarian Aid
Dynamic Routing for Disaster Response: Integrating Earth Observation into Humanitarian Logistics Systems
As disasters grow more frequent and complex, the REER project aims at supporting the operational needs of humanitarian organizations. By combining Earth Observation outputs with data from the ground, the…
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Screenshot of a webpage titled 'One Year with the Climate Action Navigator' with the subtitle 'How Open Data is Powering Climate Action in Cities' showing a globe and a text box with information about the Climate Action Navigator.
  • In category: Climate Action
One Year with the Climate Action Navigator: How Open Data is Powering Climate Action in Cities
A year after its launch, the Climate Action Navigator has emerged as a growing open-data dashboard that helps cities, NGOs, and community initiatives target climate action through high-resolution assessment tools…
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Water surface with plants in the foreground and agricultural field
  • In category: Geoinformation for Humanitarian Aid, Research
New Paper “From Flood Risk to Caloric Loss: Compound Flood Impacts on Agriculture in Madagascar”
This study is based on Celina Thomé’s master thesis. It was presented at the ISCRAM 2026 conference, where it added to conversations about using data-driven methods to improve crisis management,…
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Aerial view of a parking lot with multiple parked cars and trees between parking rows with the text 'NEW PAPER Simulating Parking Choices Using Large Language Models: Experiments with GPT-4o Mini'
  • In category: Research
New paper “Simulating Parking Choices Using Large Language Models: Experiments with GPT-4o Mini”
A new Open Access paper published in the volume Geography According to Foundation Models by IOS Press explores how Large Language Models could help design stated-preference studies in urban mobility…
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Map showing color-coded socioeconomic groups and symbols for different housing types along a coastline
  • In category: Research
New paper “Hidden energy poverty and the energy performance gap: integrating building energy simulation, thermal comfort monitoring, and actual energy consumption”

Hidden Energy Poverty (hEP) represents an underestimated form of energy vulnerability in which households consume less energy than required to achieve adequate indoor thermal comfort conditions. This phenomenon is particularly…

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Map of Rwanda with colored squares showing OpenStreetMap data quality by district and a chart showing data quality development over time.
  • In category: Big Spatial Data Analytics
Introducing ohsome quality API country reports for OpenStreetMap data quality on the Humanitarian Data Exchange platform
The new ohsome quality API (OQAPI) country reports are a meta-dataset designed to provide an overview of whether OpenStreetMap (OSM) data quality for a country or region of interest is…
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Aerial view of a multi-lane highway with traffic and trees alongside
  • In category: Climate Action
Assessing Road Traffic Emissions with the Climate Action Navigator
A new assessment tool for traffic emissions has just been released on the Climate Action Navigator, HeiGIT’s open, interactive dashboard offering high-resolution, open data-based insights into key climate action indicators….
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Text 'Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships at HeiGIT & GIScience CALL 2026' next to a stylized pink portrait of Marie Curie and schematic hexagonal lines.
  • In category: General
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships at HeiGIT & GIScience related to Climate Action and Humanitarian Aid

HeiGIT together with the GIScience Research Group at Heidelberg University are open to hosting postdoctoral researchers through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) 2026. The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships support excellent…

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Asphalt road with visible cracks and white text reading 'NEW PAPER Automated road crack localization for spatially guided highway maintenance'
  • In category: Research
New paper “Automated road crack localization for spatially guided highway maintenance”
Leveraging openly available airborne imagery this study presents a scalable framework for automated road pavement crack detection for spatially guided highway-maintenance….
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Satellite with extended solar panels orbiting Earth with text 'Why access to satellite imagery continues to limit humanitarian aid and research'
  • In category: General
Why access to satellite imagery continues to limit humanitarian aid and research

Satellite imagery has become so embedded in research and humanitarian work, yet access remains uneven and inconsistent. Even when imagery is nominally available, its coverage varies across regions, resolution is…

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Close-up of a mosquito on a green plant leaf with text about a scientific study on Ae. albopictus and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis in Heidelberg, Germany
  • In category: Research
New Paper “Fine-scale temporal and spatial dynamics of Ae. albopictus response to larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis in Heidelberg, Germany”
A new study published in Scientific Reports examines the effectiveness of biological larviciding in controlling invasive mosquito populations in Heidelberg, Germany. Using detailed data, the research highlights how treatment effects…
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Bridge over a river with several cars on the roadway and trees along the roadside
  • In category: Big Spatial Data Analytics, Smart Mobility
OpenStreetMap data as a basis for routing—how well does it really work?
The article is based on the talk Benjamin Herfort (HeiGIT) and Benjamin Würzler (Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie) presented at FOSSGIS 2026 in Göttingen….
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Weltkarte mit farblich markierten Regionen und Text 'Global Data on Healthcare and Education Accessibility with OpenAccessLens' neben einer sitzenden Person an einem Tisch mit Schreibmaterial.
  • In category: Geoinformation for Humanitarian Aid
Global Data on Healthcare and Education Accessibility with OpenAccessLens
The new OpenAccessLens platform provides open, global data on accessibility to healthcare and education. Built on OpenStreetMap data and openrouteservice modeling, it can support accessibility research, humanitarian work, public health…
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