Image of white water surfaces and cloud tops contrasting with Hispaniola. (Image Credit: NASA)
NASA and Microsoft collaborated to develop the Earth Copilot AI, a chatbot that provides easy accessibility to NASA’s Earth science data. By combining Microsoft’s advanced AI technology with NASA’s data, users can ask it a question and gain more insights about the planet. It also allows policymakers to make choices about climate change, disaster preparedness, and urban development.
Earth Copilot runs on Microsoft Azure and OpenAI technologies, making it easier to access complex datasets. Its natural language interaction ensures that the tool doesn’t require technical expertise, which means more people can access Earth observation data. The AI tool is expected to be incorporated into NASA’s Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis (VEDA), enabling improved performance with AI tools that provide enhanced environmental data visuals and analysis.
Currently, NASA researchers, scientists, and industrial professionals are the only ones trialing it to improve features and see how it functions. This helps ensure Earth Copilot will be ready for worldwide use in sectors like disaster response, agriculture, and urban planning. The platform is set to be made available to the public early next year after the trial period ends.
Educators, researchers, industries, and policymakers can take advantage of the AI platform. It enables farmers to monitor weather conditions and soil for crop yield optimizations. Data is easily accessible for emergency responders for disaster recovery efforts. This tool can also analyze climate trends, leading to better city designs.
“For many, finding and extracting insights requires navigating technical interfaces, understanding data formats and mastering the intricacies of geospatial analysis — specialized skills that very few non-technical users possess. AI could streamline this process, reducing time to gain insights from Earth’s data to a matter of seconds,” according to the Microsoft blog post.
NASA and Microsoft plan to integrate additional datasets into Earth Copilot and make it accessible to other sectors. They also want to add updates to improve the platform’s capabilities.
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