Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Nomoko (A Digital Copy Of The Earth)
Período documentado: 2020-05-01 hasta 2021-01-31
These digitization solutions all share the need for a “resource” in order to function: data.
The problem we solve is that, today, there is no standardized data for the real world. Datasets about the real world exist (like maps), but the key missing element is their compatibility between each other. What we provide is the infrastructure that integrates all the data about the real world, to make it usable in a digital solution. We create a point of reference (our 3D models) on top of which all types of geo-referenced data can be integrated. We call this data infrastructure the Mirrorworld.
The first most obvious societal benefit from using the mirrorworld, is the empowerment of all the green technologies: the mirrorworld provides a unique real-life simulation tool for all players in the green energy sector. For instance, simulating solar panels using the mirrorworld allows a city to identify where they would yield the greatest amount of energy, and help companies in this sector to generate adoption, by “proving” the efficiency of their solution, using mirrorworld simulation. Another societal benefit will be the Smart City concept: providing an integrated grid that compiles data of the city, the Mirrorworld, we enable cities to use the data of the world to do data-driven decision making: they can simulate the impact of their construction projects on air pollution (traffic simulation), on the environment (fluid dynamics modelling), or even run analytics on energy consumption to see how to optimize recycling or how to better mutualise resources between neighbouroods.
Another key benefit to society is that the mirrorworld allows for the fastest technology transfer from the high tech countries to the least developed countries: by having a coherent dataset of the world, any solution created using the mirrorworld becomes instantly usable in all the locations where this mirrorworld is accessible.
To solve all these challenges, our objectives are straightforward:
- We want to create the mirrorworld “skeleton”
- We want to maximize their compatibility and integration with existing datasets
- We want to create tools for developer to start using our mirrorworld as a sandbox for all the smart digital solutions of the future
- We want to create an ecosystem of data providers, developers, and end-users that all access and use the mirrorworld through the Nomoko platform
To achieve these long term objectives, we focus on:
- Creating the first mirrorcities
- Integrating the data from 3rd parties
- Creating the first spatial applications that use this mirrorworld, to inspire others and showcase that the future can happen today
1. Keep improving our capability to create mirrorcities faster and with better quality
2. Capturing other mirrorcities in Switzerland
3. Maintaining and growing the ecosystem around our data and the mirrorworld
4. Designing, developing and launching the first spatial application : Praedia
5. Integrating the first 3rd party data layers in our MirrorWorld
To improve our capabilities to create mirrorcities:
- We conducted 1 new technical project linked to the performance of our capture system and pursued some improvements from the 8 previous projects. With these, we achieved a greater efficiency (less time per km2 captured) and more accuracy, specifically related to the georeferencing of our capture data, but also texturing and geometric accuracy.
- We conducted 6 new technical projects on our 3D reconstruction infrastructure, to integrate improvements made at each individual step of our pipeline, in terms of efficiency (speed of the reconstruction) and data quality (integration with other data layers and 3D software)
- We continuously worked on machine learning algorithms to automate a very time-consuming part of our reconstruction: segmentation of items.
Mirrorcities capture:
- We reconstructed new parts of Zurich
- We reconstructed part of Davos
- We reconstructed part of Stäfa
- We reconstructed part of Unterägeri
- For each mirrorcity, we have segmented tiles. These parts of the cities’ 3D models contain the data of the segmentation of the objects, which has been applied and can be used
Ecosystem buildup:
- We created a beta tester program around our first application, called the Real Estate Shapers program, to generate traction and gather feedback on our app;
- We participated to several webinars to extend our reach in the real Estate sector, including the ImmoForum, but also subscribed to Real Estate networks like Proptech Switzerland
- We released several updates of our website, that included communication about Praedia, our spatial application
- We signed more than 20 NDAs with companies in order to kickstart the platform play of Praedia : we entered into win/win relationships that aim at providing the value of our potential competitors on Praedia. We also validated the willingness of data providers to add their data to the mirrorworld, with 2 contracts already signed.
- We have validated that our data infrastructure can handle the data access and delivery for our first application and have successfully integrated our data in a 3D engine, Cesium, for the application visualization on the web, as well as the 3rd party data layers.
We also expected to grow our MirrorWorld. We successfully did so by adding more cities, integrating layers of public and private data for our app and entering in tangible conversations about the possibility to create add-ons for other real estate startups. We consider these elements to be the concretization of our MirrorWorld vision, where Nomoko is connecting various stakeholders around our data.
We expect to develop both the features and the geographic scope of Praedia (our first application), especially targeting features from 3rd party partners integrated in the ecosystem and a geographic growth within the EU.
Praedia rolls-out the first tangible societal benefit of our company: with the COVID pandemic, many businesses have been slowed down, when their entire workflow could not be digitized. This has been the case of the real Estate industry, where there is a disconnect between several parts of the workflow, from planning to building to selling. We now provide a digital solution, that allows users to get the same value from our application as they would get from several physical interactions, by integrating the work and value of architects, designers, brokers, into a single digital workflow.
We also consider a societal positive impact the fact that we are regrouping many players of a competitive sector together on our platform. We strongly believe in collaborative ecosystems as a way forward for European innovation and value creation, and we consider our application to be achieving just that. We look forward to onboard more partners in the future and show that collaboration and open paradigms can lead to win/win for everyone.