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Water reservoirs represented with different geometries: (i) yellow polygons representing authoritative Vicmap water features, (ii) blue polygons representing para-authoritative water features generated by a ML model, (iii) green points representing authoritative Vicmap water features.

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Variation to the extent of a wetland-swamp area at different time periods. Green polygons illustrate the area extent included in the current Vicmap hydro dataset, while red polygons show the current and actual extent of the area for this hydro feature.

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Water features with multiple geometry representations as point and polygon.

13 December 2023

Our natural world is dynamic and always changing, and the demand for accurate and up-to-date data continues to grow. Dynamic Vicmap is tackling this challenge using cutting-edge artificial intelligence and space-based earth observation data to find new ways to build and maintain Vicmap datasets to make them more accurate, and easier to maintain and enhance.

Vicmap products are more than just maps; they are rich and dynamic data that spatially represent features across Victoria’s built and natural environments. Vicmap products are also interdependent. For instance, a property boundary change in one product may mean a planning zone area has to be changed in another.

These data products need constant revisiting and updates because of human interventions, interdependencies and environmental factors. The result is products that can’t always communicate the full complexity of the data.

Using the Vicmap Hydro product, the project is looking to solve this by tagging and linking data to enrich the contextual detail of Vicmap’s data. These tags might include what has changed, why it changed and who changed it. The process also makes it easier to find, sort and understand data in relation to other data and pieces of information.

Digital maps of information called Knowledge Graphs will be created to show how entities are interconnected, using nodes to paint a picture of how the different Vicmap datasets sit in context with each other.

This helps users understand the story of Vicmap data, such as what information sources were used to map different features on a map. The additional context supports better data-based decision-making and deeper insights.

A joint initiative of Vicmap and the Digital Twin Victoria program, supported by Frontier SI, SmartSat CRC and RMIT, Dynamic Vicmap will also look at using satellite technology for future earth observations. This will help improve current aerial imagery practices and deliver more frequent updates that are captured using consistent methods.

Page last updated: 18/12/23