A DETAILED 3D map of all the buildings in the world has been modelled – can you guess these famous landmarks?
Combining nearly 800,000 satellite images, the map shows the location and size of 2.75 billion buildings in this interactive map.
Created by researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany, the authors say the site has had over 280,000 visits since its launch a few days ago.
The GlobalBuildingAtlas contains over a billion more houses than the previous biggest dataset and is 30 times finer than comparable datasets.
For buildings that could not be picked up by satellite imagery, researchers used AI to fill in the gaps.
An algorithm was used to predict the size of missing buildings based on the heights of the neighbours.
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As well as being fun to use and test your geography knowledge, the detailed map also has an important scientific function.
It can be used to study development, prepare for disasters, and plan new city developments.
Lead author Professor Xiaoxiang Zhu said: “3D building information provides a much more accurate picture of urbanization and poverty than traditional 2D maps.
“With 3D models, we see not only the footprint but also the volume of each building, enabling far more precise insights into living conditions.”
The map shows that Asia is home to 1.22 billion buildings – half of the world’s total supply.
This is followed by Africa with around 540 million building and 403 million in Europe.
Names of pictured locations
Picture 1 – Canary Wharf and the O2 stadium
Picture 2 – New York’s towering skyscrapers
Picture 3 – The town of Lajamanu, deep in Australia’s Northern Territories
Picture 4 – The Forbidden City in Beijing
Picture 5 – The River Thames
Picture 6 – Edinburgh Zoo
Picture 7 – Tower of London
Picture 8 – Shanghai’s Bund district
