Advancing human security
ORNL is the nation’s geospatial research laboratory. Our scientists and engineers are breaking new ground in geospatial science and technologies, advancing the state-of-the-art and scaling science for global impacts. From designing advanced sensing platforms and autonomous systems, to characterizing global population risk with increasing spatiotemporal clarity, to designing geoAI models for supercomputer-scale applications, geospatial science at ORNL is establishing new horizons for global geospatial intelligence and human security.
Research Expertise
Research Expertise
Computing and Emerging Tech
Computing and Emerging Tech
National security challenges often take place in diverse, austere environments. Our geospatial computing and emerging technologies capabilities are transforming the ability gather and send information about the world to provide real-time, dynamic solutions to strengthen our infrastructure and improve the well-being of communities.
Imagery Science
Imagery Science
Our team is dedicated to the comprehensive collection, advanced analysis, interpretation, and efficient management of visual data capturing Earth’s surface. We develop algorithms that work across multimodal sensors and platforms using photogrammetry and remote sensing to discover changes to our world and provide critical insights that support both national and global security.
Geospatial AI
Geospatial AI
ORNL is developing AI foundation models that enable global mapping and characterization of geographic features, places, and activities. We're exploring complex geospatial analytic workflows to deliver actionable insights for real-world applications in emergency management, disaster response, military precision, and more.
Critical Infrastructure Modeling
Critical Infrastructure Modeling
Critical infrastructure modeling teams use geospatial science Â鶹ӰÒôs to forecast and enhance situational awareness about the risk of natural, built, and social systems to extreme events. We're creating novel datasets that provide decision-makers with detailed insights on people, places, events and environments to protect US critical infrastructure and the people who rely on it.
Population Dynamics
Population Dynamics
ORNL is a world leader in population dynamics, focusing on high-resolution global population datasets, characterization, and modeling. We're delivering global-scale understanding of human populations and their environments to support precision military operations, disaster response, and community resilience.
Stories of Impact
A new kind of first responder
Amid back-to-back disasters in late 2024, a specialized ORNL team was deployed across 3 states, conducted over 100 drone flights, collecting more than 400 gigabytes of geospatial data for both immediate recovery and future preparedness.
The future data economy
We helped DOE launch an experimental platform for energy sector-related data from various sources including federal, state, academia and private sector entities that provides information and visualizations on details such as energy usage, supply and availability.
A waterfall lost, a river found
Our drone and geospatial team became the first to map the Coca River in the Amazon basin The team’s visual, thermal and multispectral imagery will be used to update Ecuador's national maps and create better engineering models to mitigate erosion.
Synthetic populations
Human mobility researchers are providing information on access to essential services in communities by creating synthetic populations that mirror real neighborhoods and observing how transportation routes around the area impact residents’ quality of life.