New data added: Down Under

Big news for Down Under: Microsoft’s Open Data department have just released a new dataset for Australia. Machine learning algorithms were used to detect 11 Million building footprints in the country.

Before diving right in and adding the data to our database, we ran our usual stringent QA checks to make sure that the data passes muster. Without giving too much away, we used various geometry checks for the task, including self-intersection testing, and checking to see whether any polygon rings are touching one another.

Then we ran manual visualization checks on the new source. This is necessary because we’ve found strange artefacts in Microsoft building data in the past, and we want to make sure we only have good stuff in our database. With this clean and comprehensive Antipodean dataset, we’re well on the way to our goal of 600 million buildings at your fingertips.

As always, to experiment with the 3dbuildings map, head to the website and use the search field to find the area that you need for your project. Enjoy!