Bahrain is leveraging AI and satellite imagery to enhance smart city planning across the kingdom
The Survey & Land Registration Bureau (SLRB) is working with Planet Labs and Aetosky to implement AI-enabled change detection technology with high-resolution satellite imagery covering 850 sq km.
The system integrates Planet’s satellite data with Aetosky’s detection analysis to monitor and categorize various changes, including modifications to existing buildings, rooftop alternations, vegetation shifts and water changes.
‘Innovative strides in smart city planning’
By tracking and categorizing changes in urban development, infrastructure and vegetation, the system provides essential data for urban planners and policymakers.
This supports informed decision-making, promoting sustainable growth, optimizing resource allocation, and enhancing city functionality. The initiative aligns with smart city principles, contributing to more efficient, resilient and environmentally friendly urban spaces.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain is making remarkably innovative strides in enabling smart city planning by leveraging cutting-edge satellite data and AI,” said Will Marshall, CEO and co-founder of Planet.
“This project has demonstrated how governments can embrace smart change detection systems to automate their projects, saving time and resources. We look forward to helping countries across the world to follow suit.”
‘A significant leap forward’
The government of the Kingdom of Bahrain now receives regular biweekly updates, facilitating the tracking and analysis of developments, infrastructure changes and environmental alterations, such as urban greenspaces and coastline activities.
The new system incorporates proprietary data cube technology, enabling the cataloging and management of spatial-temporal datasets.
This technology empowers the SLRB to automatically extract and analyze changes across the entire country, significantly reducing monitoring time, identifying new activities on a national scale, and directing resources more cost-effectively.
The approach has led to an increase in the effectiveness of building permit validation activities by the municipalities.
“This advanced technology marks a significant leap forward, further enhancing our ability to track and manage construction and environmental changes across the Kingdom of Bahrain, with unprecedented efficiency, speed and accuracy. This, in turn, feeds into the development of the country’s smart cities, sustainable agricultural practices, and proactive environmental protection,” stated HE Eng Basim Yacob Alhamer, president of the Survey & Land Registration Bureau.
“This collaboration epitomizes the Kingdom of Bahrain’s dedication to harnessing the power of cutting-edge technology to propel our nation towards a future defined by sustainable development and intelligent urban planning.”
With access to Planet’s bi-weekly satellite data, analysis-ready time series data management solutions, and AI-enhanced Change Detection Analysis, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s SLRB now serves as a centralized data hub.
This hub supports various government departments. Leveraging Planet’s satellite imagery, this collaborative approach addresses environmental monitoring, transportation and municipal response throughout the region.
