An AI-powered mapping platform developed through three years of research at UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre has launched in Australia, aiming to make complex geospatial data easier to analyse and verify.
Called MapAI, the platform allows planners, governments and businesses to ask questions about places in everyday language and see the evidence behind the answers.
Users can ask which schools are in bushfire-prone areas, how much land within 800 metres of a train station is zoned for housing, or where demand for affordable housing is greatest.
MapAI searches relevant datasets, combines the information and runs spatial analyses.
It then generates maps showing the sources, assumptions and steps behind each result, allowing users to inspect the evidence and judge whether the findings suit their decisions.
Lead researcher Scientia Professor Christopher Pettit, director of UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre, says the technology could help planners assess housing developments, transport networks and infrastructure needs without spending hours gathering information from different sources.
“Bringing this information together takes significant time and specialist expertise before analysis can begin,” said Professor Pettit.
“MapAI brings together disparate datasets to fast-track the process.”
The platform draws on publicly available government datasets, including Australian Bureau of Statistics data and NSW property, infrastructure and zoning data.
Users can create maps tailored to their needs, refine their questions and review the datasets used in each analysis.
They can also integrate their own data, save workflows and export geospatial information for planning, reporting and consultation.
MapAI combines generative AI with geographic information systems (GIS), allowing users to analyse geospatial data alongside their existing mapping tools.
It is designed to work with established software and the specialists who use it, rather than replace them.
Compatible systems include ArcGIS, a commercial GIS, and QGIS, an open-source GIS, as well as spatial databases and an organisation’s own data.
The platform handles repetitive tasks such as finding, checking, reconciling and combining data, and creates a transparent evidence trail. Responsibility for interpretation, uncertainty and accountability remains with the professional.
MapAI CEO Steve Taitoko stated that the aim is to widen access to spatial information, with the goal of helping more people contribute to the development of liveable and sustainable cities.
Chief Technical Officer Balamurugan Soundararaj said that MapAI makes evidence faster to assemble and easier to check, while leaving the specialists who run existing GIS systems firmly in charge.
The technology is also being used to help people explore first-hand accounts of disaster recovery from around the world.
A map called HowWeSurvive brings together more than 1300 accounts, highlighting the experiences of communities often overlooked in disaster planning.
Users such as the NSW Reconstruction Authority can filter stories by location, disaster type, year and stage of recovery.
They can also explore themes and locations of interest on the map and identify common experiences and challenges across communities.
The platform is intended to help policymakers and disaster response organisations better understand people’s experiences and take them into account when planning future responses.
MapAI Explore launched in Australia in November.
Individuals can start using the platform for free, with a monthly credit allowance, while organisations can request structured trials.
