Exciting news: TUM just released the GlobalBuildingAtlas – the first open-source dataset with 2.5D models of ALL 2.75 billion buildings on Earth!
Why it matters: While countries like Switzerland have excellent public building/terrain data, much of the world (including Germany) has lacked this. This dataset helps bridge that gap for urban analytics, planning, and facility management globally.
At ioLabs, we also connect building models with GIS in ioFM – letting you view buildings in spatial context and gain insights about surrounding areas for smarter facility management decisions.
TUM Press Release: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/all-the-worlds-buildings-available-as-3d-models-for-the-first-time
Explore & Compare: https://sites.run8n.xyz/building-compare/
More about ioFM: https://iolabs.ch/de/iofm/
ESG reporting is now a standard expectation for real estate owners and facility managers. Yet one of the most common obstacles is the lack of structured, verifiable building data to support it. The good news: in most cases, that data already exists — and ioFM turns it into a single source of truth.
Point clouds are accurate but hard to use. Meshes are powerful but heavy. This article compares point clouds, meshes, and Gaussian splats, and explains when splats enable faster, smoother, photoreal previews.
Last week in Basel was a good opportunity to meet with partners and clients, and see what's moving in the industry.