By combining data from Swedish authorities with AI, SLU researcher William Lidberg has opened up new ways of mapping everything from the location of soil damage in the forest to the number of woodpeckers in the environment.
The idea for William Lidberg’s innovation, which he has called Geographic Intelligence, began in the forest.
“I’m a soil scientist at heart, and my research relates to planning documents with the aim of avoiding soil damage. In relation to this, I started combining various maps using AI rather than doing it manually, which is extremely time consuming.”
The tool he developed for soil damage attracted attention, and he was subsequently contacted by various companies and authorities outside the forest sector, who wanted to test it in a number of areas.
Geographic Intelligence is based on available data, such as the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute’s runoff maps and maps provided by the Swedish Forest Agency. Together, they create a ‘digital twin’ of Sweden. The customer can then enter their data in this twin in order to produce a map within their specific area, for example regarding the distribution of Sweden’s woodpeckers.
“The user can enter coordinates for the locations where woodpeckers have been observed, and the tool then calculates the woodpeckers’ normal distribution. In the same way, forestry companies can produce maps identifying locations where there is the greatest risk of soil damage. You are only limited by your imagination and the data that is available.”
And fortunately there is plenty of data.
“We are spoilt in Sweden, because we have been collecting data for so long. The problem is that the threshold for using available data has been high until now, requiring expertise regarding both geographical data in the form of maps as well as AI. But my tool lowers this threshold.”
In addition, the availability of open data is expected to increase in the future.
“The EU has decided that all geographical data should be open, which means that a great deal will be available from different authorities.”
In 2023, William won SLU and Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland’s Innovation Award. William has used the prize fund of SEK 50,000 to start the work of implementing Geoint as a finished product on a national scale.
The end customers are to be found in the forestry and agriculture sectors, for example, although he has also received enquiries from county administrative boards and local authorities.
“One thing that all stakeholders have in common is that they have access to data that they want to both use for something meaningful as well as take to the next level.”
Early on in the process, William contacted SLU Holding, who, in addition to providing advice, have been able to offer support in the form of VFT funds to validate the concept. William has received assistance in straightening out various legal issues and launching the company. He has also established contacts, which have provided opportunities for networking and involvement in various competitions.
In addition to getting help from SLU Holding, William Lidberg also advises other researchers and contractors to make contact with prospective customers early on, in order to ascertain whether there is any interest in the product.
“It’s one thing for your product to solve the problem, but you need to find out if those who are going to be using it are willing to pay for it too,” he says.
The winners of Sparbanksstiftelsen Norrland’s Innovation Award 2024 will be announced during the Faculty of Forest Sciences’ faculty days in November.
Read more about William Lidbergs research
Find out more about GeoInt (in Swedish)
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