Opportunities and challenges in developing geographic information science and technology in the era of the low-altitude economy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

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The rapid development and widespread application of UAVs have, to some extent, accelerated the utilization of low-altitude airspace resources. According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in 2023, UAVs operating at altitudes below 120 meters accounted for 99% of all UAV flights, making them the primary technology for the development of W-class low-altitude airspace in the low-altitude economy. With the advancement of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and flying cars, key application scenarios of the low-altitude economy now include Urban Air Mobility (UAM), low-altitude inspections and emergency response, as well as social development and comprehensive governance.

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Journal of Geo-information Science recently published an online article on research led by professor Xiaohan Liao, associate professor Yaohuan Huang(State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences), and researcher Xia Liu (Working Committee for UAV Applications and Regulation, China Association for Geographic Information Industry). Their study systematically reviews the role of geographic information science and technology in the development of the low-altitude economy, an emerging sector driven by UAV advancements and increasing airspace utilization demands.

As a representative of new-quality productivity, the low-altitude economy is gradually emerging as a new engine for economic growth in China. China’s low-altitude economy is projected to grow into a trillion-yuan industry by 2025, significantly impacting urban transportation, logistics, and environmental monitoring. This low-altitude economy is based on the development and utilization of low-altitude airspace resources. Geographic information science and technology are crucial in key areas of the low-altitude economy, including the refined utilization of airspace resources, the construction of low altitude flying environments, the design, construction, and operation of the new air-route infrastructure, as well as the safe and efficient operation and regulatory oversight of drones. Consequently, the geographic information industry will greatly benefit from development opportunities such as the integration and innovation of emerging scientific and technological advancements, growing market demand, policy support, industrial guidance, and industrial upgrading and transformation.

Despite these Opportunities, the study addresses the Challenges that geographic information science and technology must overcome to meet the development needs of the low-altitude economy. Top challenges include spatiotemporal dimensional expansion, 3-D map and location-based services, high-frequency & rapid data-acquisition systems, all-time and all-domain capabilities, and ubiquitous AI technologies. While the low-altitude economy offers vast potential for geographic information applications, strengthening the integration of geographic information science and technology with low-altitude economic activities will promote the field and deliver essential scientific support for the sustainable management of airspace resources.

 Geographic Information Science and Technology have established a mature system and advanced technical capabilities for acquiring, managing, analyzing, and applying geospatial information. The development of the low-altitude economy, which is based on the utilization of low-altitude airspace resources, urgently requires the support of Geographic Information Science and Technology, presenting new opportunities for its advancement. Geographic Information Science and Technology is expected to achieve significant breakthroughs in key aspects of the low-altitude economy, including the refined utilization of airspace resources and low-altitude environment construction, the planning, development, and operation of new air traffic infrastructure, as well as the safe and efficient operation and regulatory oversight of UAVs.

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Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd

For more details, please refer to the original article:

Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Geographic Information Science and Technology in the Era of the Low-Altitude Economy.

https://www.sciengine.com/JGIS/doi/10.12082/dqxxkx.2025.250028

（If you want to see the English version of the full text, please click on the “iFLYTEK Translation” in the article page.）

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DOI

10.12082/dqxxkx.2025.250028 

Article Title

Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Geographic Information Science and Technology in the Era of the Low-Altitude Economy

Proposes the idea and technical roadmap for the evolution from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Geographic Intelligent Agents

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

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The development of GIS and artificial intelligence has progressed through three main stages: the early combination of GIS and automation (1960–1980), the initial integration of GIS and machine learning (1990–2010), and the era of deep learning and big data-driven intelligent GIS (2010–2020).

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The Journal of Geo-information Science published an online article on research led by Bin Luo ,Wenhao Liu and Jin Wu (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences), recently. This research addresses the limitation of traditional Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which cannot achieve bidirectional interaction between physical and informational spaces in rapidly changing and complex three-dimensional geographic environments. The team innovatively proposed the "Geographic Intelligent Agent" framework, which integrates embodied intelligence, self-supervised learning, and multimodal large models. Through the collaboration of three core modules—multimodal perception, intelligent hub, and action manipulation—GIS evolves from an information-processing tool to an autonomous spatial intelligence system, significantly enhancing its decision-making capabilities in complex geographic environments.

Based on the "Geographic Intelligent Agent" framework, the research team developed the virtual digital human "EarthSage" as a prototype, demonstrating the practical effectiveness of the geographic intelligent agent. With natural language commands, users can automatically call relevant data, perform autonomous intelligent geospatial analysis, and generate standardized geographic data, greatly lowering the professional threshold. The introduction of the "Geographic Intelligent Agent" marks a key step in the transformation of GIS from a static information-processing tool to a system with autonomous learning, real-time adaptation, and dynamic decision-making capabilities, paving the way for true geographic-scale spatial intelligence.

For more details, please refer to the original article:

From Geographic Information System to Geographic Intelligent Agent.

https://www.sciengine.com/JGIS/doi/10.12082/dqxxkx.2025.240658

（If you want to see the English version of the full text, please click on the “iFLYTEK Translation” in the article page.）

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DOI

10.12082/dqxxkx.2025.240658 

Article Title

From Geographic Information System to Geographic Agent

The overall architecture of the Geographic Intelligent Agent includes three core modules: multimodal perception, intelligent hub, and action manipulation, providing real-time interaction channels between the physical world and the digital world.

Inspired by neurobiology and the structural design of the human brain, the cognitive map model is collaboratively constructed by the knowledge graph model (left brain) and the multimodal large model (right brain). The knowledge graph model provides precise representation of structured spatial relationships and logical reasoning within the cognitive map, while the multimodal large model processes unstructured multimodal data through deep learning, offering dynamic environmental predictions and global semantic enhancements. Through this organization, the cognitive map constructs a dynamic understanding of spatial and environmental attributes, providing efficient structured support for organizing spatial knowledge and environmental properties.

 "EarthSage" adopts a chatbot system architecture, enabling efficient interaction between users and the system through natural language processing and a GIS-based query response system

A large language model (LLM) and a cognitive map generation model (GeoGPT) are used to construct the intelligent core of "EarthSage," connecting the multimodal perception module, temporal processing module, memory storage module, planning and decision-making module, and action manipulation module, forming the architecture of the geographic intelligent agent brain.

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Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

 

Fossil study reveals oldest larval eyes with high-resolution vision

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

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Researchers studying 100-million-year-old fossils found in amber discover that Cretaceous lacewings had sophisticated larval eyes.

Adult insects are known for their fascinating complex eyes, which allow them to accomplish remarkable sensory feats when performing functions such as searching for food or mates. In many insect larvae, however, these eyes have not yet developed. “Simple eyes, known as stemmata, are usually sufficient for these larvae, as they are often just little eating machines at this stage of life,” explains PD Carolin Haug, zoologist at LMU’s Faculty of Biology. Yet some insect larvae are predators, and a small number of these have developed highly efficient imaging systems out of simple stemmata. At least three instances of this have been found in modern insect larvae: in antlions, tiger beetles, and water tigers.

New fossil finds reveal that insect larvae developed such highly specialized eyes during evolutionary history in at least two further cases. This occurred among the larvae of distant relatives of antlions – that is to say, lacewings. An expert in fossil insect larvae, Haug made this discovery together with her research team. The results were recently published in the journal Insect Science. “Lacewings and their larvae exhibited astonishing diversity during the period of large dinosaurs, especially in the Cretaceous, which they subsequently no longer attained,” says Haug.

The fossils were preserved in amber around 100 million years old, which allowed the team to conduct detailed investigations and measurements. They found that the size and orientation of the larval eyes are comparable to those of modern antlions and enable similar optical resolution. “This is the first fossil evidence, and thus the oldest, of such eyes,” smiles Carolin Haug. The findings support earlier work which had shown that lacewings were characterized by extraordinary diversity during the Cretaceous period.

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Journal

Insect Science

DOI

10.1111/1744-7917.13509 

Article Title

Cretaceous lacewing larvae with binocular vision demonstrate the convergent evolution of sophisticated simple eyes

 

An autonomous tractor traverses olive groves: How its capacity to navigate between rows of trees was optimized

A team from the University of Córdoba is developing an autonomous tractor with three different steering modes, allowing it to drive in straight lines, make turns efficiently, and shift modes in response to its trajectories

University of Córdoba

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The team of the University of Cordoba

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Credit: The team of the University of Cordoba

One of the possible meanings of the name Sergius is "one who serves," hence the name of the robotic tractor that can autonomously perform agricultural tasks in fields of woody crops. This one-of-a-kind vehicle, designed by the University of Córdoba, is part of an Agriculture 4.0 context in which agricultural tasks are being automated. The researchers, with the Rural Mechanization and Technology Group at the University of Córdoba, Sergio Bayano and Rubén Sola, designed the vehicle from the ground up, in collaboration with two companies charged with its mechanical manufacturing and programming.

"On the national market, there are some small autonomous vehicles that can be applied to agriculture, but there were none with a tractor's functionality," explained researcher Rubén Sola. "This vehicle has the same functions as a tractor, but is groundbreaking in that, in addition to being autonomous, it features two independent self-leveling axles with steerable wheels, which makes its control more versatile."

Sergius boasts multiple steering modes: front (or rear) steering, in which a single axle turns; reverse front-rear steering, in which both axles turn, for a smaller turning radius; and a new hybrid steering system in which the front axle turns, and the rear axle also turns, but to a lesser extent, allowing the vehicle to move forward in parallel, correcting the front trajectory and, thus, obtaining enhanced performance in straight lines when the tractor is followingwaypoints.

To evaluate the different modes, the tractor was tested in an intensive olive grove, where it was determined that the inverted mode was optimal for completing turns precisely, and the hybrid mode was the most suitable for straight sections. The tractor is able to shift between its different steering modes according to the needs of its maneuvers.

Sergius, body and "mind"

"The technology we have incorporated is necessary for autonomous navigation: two LiDAR sensors, one in the rear and one in the front; an inertial unit, which measures acceleration and inclination; a digital compass, to monitor the tractor's direction; and a high-precision GPS system," explained researcher Sergio Bayano. "All the programming was carried out using the ROS (Robot Operating System) environment, which, being open source, allows other algorithms to be implemented and code to be shared with other research teams," he stressed.

The vehicle employs a diesel and hydraulic propulsion system because, as the researchers explained: "we know that the future is electric, but agricultural machinery demands a lot of power and torque, so an electric motor would have to be huge, and there would be no batteries that could last a whole day of work."

To control the robot, which can be done using a computer, tablet or mobile, they incorporated two panels: one for the hydraulic system and the robot's different actuators (thebody), and another for its programming and decision-making ("mind"). "We could simplify by saying that one part decides the direction, and the way to head in it, and the other simply caries that out," they clarified.

This work shows that the scientific development is already there, just waiting to be adopted and adapted by companies in the sector that could commercialize it, with researchers willing to collaborate with industry to promote the technology and knowledge generated.

Reference:

Bayano-Tejero, S., Sarri, D., & Sola-Guirado, R.R. (2025). Design and field validation of a Dual-Axle steering system for autonomous tractors. Comput. Electron. Agric., 231, 110000.

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Journal

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

DOI

10.1016/j.compag.2025.110000 

Article Title

Design and field validation of a Dual-Axle steering system for autonomous tractors

 

African young adults balance self-determination and communalism

University of Zurich

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Most of the psychological research on the transition to adulthood has been conducted in Europe and North America – similar Western, industrialized contexts. As a result, we often don’t know which of the findings capture human universals, and which capture Western-specific phenomena. A new study from the University of Zurich examines emerging adulthood among the Ovambo people of Namibia, who are the largest ethnic group in the country mostly residing in the northern regions of the country. The research team interviewed about fifty Ovambo Namibians between the ages of 18 and 25.

This period of entry into adulthood is important to understand because it helps to discern what a society expects of a full adult. In Western contexts, early adulthood is often defined as a time of individual exploration and delayed assumption of responsibility. “In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the phase of individual exploration is infused with communal values, interdependence and responsibilities, and this is what defines adult personhood,” says Selma Uugwanga of the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich and lead author of the study.

Sub-Saharan Africa coming of age will have global impact

Emerging adulthood is also a vulnerable time, when opportunities and support can shape a person’s future, and when mental health disorders are most likely to emerge. “This issue is particularly important in sub-Saharan Africa because it is the region with the youngest population in the world, with 70% of people under the age of 30,” says Uugwanga.

Sub-Saharan Africa is also home to more of the world’s population than all Western contexts combined. Much of the region’s social and economic future is reliant on the development and well-being of this generation, and they will have an impact on the world as a whole.

In contrast to Western countries, the researchers found a strong focus on altruism among the 18- to 25-year-old Ovambo Namibians in both rural and urban areas: Self-determination in the pursuit of educational and career goals is ultimately intended to serve others. The importance of the family in the identity of Ovambo young adults is strong, which connects them to a long tradition throughout Africa. For example, older children assist caregivers, leading to earlier recognition of their competence and independence.

Gender differences in the transition to adulthood

“Being recognized as an adult in this context is shaped by traditional gender roles, birth-order-associated responsibilities, ability to care for others and psychological maturity in terms of reflexivity, resilience and independence. This is coupled with humility and respect for the wisdom of elders,” explains Uugwanga.

Traditional gender roles still prevail among Ovambo emerging adults and shape the expectations of adulthood. Women often take on caregiving responsibilities earlier, which results in them being perceived as adults sooner. However, they are also seen as more protected and supported by their families. Men have more autonomy but face higher expectations to become financial providers before being fully recognized as adults.

Both genders emphasize the importance of education as a new rite of passage that will help them secure better opportunities for their families and communities, especially in today’s knowledge-based economy. This may be particularly true for women, whose protective elders may allow them greater independence in pursuing education. Overall gender equality in the labor force is increasing in Namibia with 56% participation for women, 64% for men, which is about average for middle-income countries (The World Bank Gender Data Portal, 2023).

Challenges for young adults in sub-Saharan Africa

Education and career development are key concerns for young adults in Africa, according to the study. Individuals are striving to live up to communal values and expectations, but unemployment limits their ability to earn enough to care for others, let alone themselves. “The lack of stable employment means that even those who complete their education may experience delays in achieving full adult status. Nevertheless, our study shows that African young adults are resilient in the face of these adversities, as they seem to thrive on the support of their families and communities,” says Uugwanga.

The findings highlight the need for initiatives that promote economic opportunities for youth, while respecting the cultural values of communal responsibility that are fundamental to the identity of African young adults. They also advocate community-based approaches to promoting the well-being of this population. As Africa continues to globalize, balancing tradition with new opportunities will be key to fostering a generation of empowered and socially responsible adults.
 

Literature
Selma N. Uugwanga et al. Becoming an Ovambo Adult: Growing Into Agentic Communalism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Psychological Science, 10 February 2025. Doi: 10.1177/09567976241311920

Selma Uugwanga
Department of Psychology
University of Zurich
+41 78 256 27 76
E-Mail: selma.uugwanga@psychologie.uzh.ch

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Journal

Psychological Science

Method of Research

Case study

Article Title

Becoming an Ovambo Adult: Growing Into Agentic Communalism in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

News article or big oil ad? As native advertisements mislead readers on climate change, Boston University experts identify interventions

A sneaky form of advertising favored by oil giants influences public opinion with climate action misperceptions, but researchers are studying potential solutions.

Boston University

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In the battle against climate disinformation, native advertising is a fierce foe. A study published on March 4, 2025 in npj Climate Action led by Boston University (BU) researchers, in collaboration with Cambridge University colleagues, evaluates two promising tools to fight misleading native advertising campaigns put forth by big oil companies.

Many major news organizations now offer corporations the opportunity to pay for articles that mimic in tone and format the publication’s regular reported content. These ‘native advertisements’ are designed to camouflage seamlessly into their surroundings, containing only subtle disclosure messages often overlooked or misunderstood by readers. Fossil fuel companies are spending tens of millions of dollars to shape public perceptions of the climate crisis.

“Because these ads appear on reputable, trusted news platforms, and are formatted like reported pieces, they often come across to readers as genuine journalism,” said the study’s lead author Michelle Amazeen, an associate professor of mass communication and director of the Communication Research Center at BU’s College of Communication. “Research has shown native ads are really effective at swaying readers’ opinions.”

The new study is the first to investigate how two mitigation strategies — disclosures and inoculations — may reduce climate misperceptions caused by exposure to native advertising from the fossil fuel industry. The authors found that when participants were shown a real native ad from ExxonMobil, disclosure messages helped them recognize advertising, while inoculations helped reduce their susceptibility to misleading claims.

“As fossil fuel companies invest in disguising their advertisements, this study furthers our understanding of how to help readers recognize when commercial content is masquerading as news and spreading climate misperceptions,” said study co-author Benjamin Sovacool, a professor of earth and environment in the BU College of Arts & Sciences and director of BU’s Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS).

Amazeen is also a core faculty member at IGS, which provided funding and support for this research in partnership with BU’s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

The research builds on a growing body of work by Amazeen and colleagues at the College of Communication assessing how people recognize and respond to covert misinformation campaigns. By better understanding these processes, they hope that they can prevent misinformation before it takes root and changes people’s beliefs and actions on important issues like climate change.

‘The Future of Energy’ Ad

Starting in 2018, readers of The New York Times website encountered what appeared to be an article, titled “The Future of Energy,” describing efforts by oil and gas giant ExxonMobil to invest in algae-based biofuels. Because it appeared beneath the Times’ masthead, in the outlet’s typical formatting and font, many readers likely missed the small banner at the top of the page mentioning that it was an ad sponsored by ExxonMobil.

The ad, part of a $5-million-dollar campaign, neglected to mention the company’s staggering carbon footprint. It also omitted key context, The Intercept reported, like that the stated goal for algae-based biofuel production would represent only 0.2% of the company’s overall refinery capacity. In a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Massachusetts cited the ad as evidence of the company’s “false and misleading” communications, with several states pursuing similar cases.

Putting Two Promising Interventions to the Test

The BU-led research team examined how more than a thousand participants responded to “The Future of Energy” ad in a simulated social media feed.

Before viewing the ad, participants saw one, both, or neither of the following intervention messages:

• An inoculation message designed to psychologically ‘inoculate’ readers from future influence by broadly warning them of potential exposures to misleading paid content. In this study, the inoculation message was a fictitious social media post from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminding people to be wary of online misinformation.
• A disclosure message with a simple line of text appearing on a post. In this study, the text “Paid Post by ExxonMobil” accompanied the piece. Studies have shown that more often than not, when native ads are shared on social media, this disclosure disappears.

“Each of these two approaches can be beneficial in its own way, and each has shortcomings,” said study co-author Arunima Krishna, an associate professor of mass communication, advertising, and public relations at the BU College of Communication and an associate director at IGS. “With this study, we got a clearer understanding of how each message type can work to counteract climate disinformation. We also studied how the two interventions can work together.”

Bolstering Psychological Resilience to Native Ads

The team found that the ad bolstered opinions on ExxonMobil’s sustainability across the study’s many participants, regardless of which messages they saw, but that the interventions helped to reduce this effect. Some of the key findings include:

• The presence of a disclosure more than doubled the likelihood that a participant recognized the content as an ad. However, the participants who had seen a disclosure and those who had not were equally likely to agree with the statement “companies like ExxonMobil are investing heavily in becoming more environmentally friendly.”
• Inoculation messages were much more effective than disclosures at protecting people’s existing beliefs on climate change, decreasing the likelihood that participants would agree with misleading claims presented in the ad.

“Disclosures helped people recognize advertising. However, they didn’t help them recognize that the material was biased and misleading,” Amazeen said. “Inoculation messaging provides general education that can be used to fill in that gap and help people resist its persuasive effects. Increasing general awareness about misinformation strategies used by self-interested actors, combined with clearer labels on sponsored content, will help people distinguish native ads from reported content.”

This study is part of the Boston University Climate Disinformation Initiative, interdisciplinary research on how climate lies spread, who they mislead, and how to stop them. It was jointly funded by the Institute for Global Sustainability and the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

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Journal

npj Climate Action

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The “Future of Energy”? Building resilience to ExxonMobil’s disinformation through disclosures and inoculation

Article Publication Date

4-Mar-2025