Space Data Launches "Storm Simulator" for AI-Powered Prediction of Typhoon, Heavy Rainfall, and Flood Damage for Governments, Municipalities, and Businesses

Space Data Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kohei Sato; hereinafter "Space Data") has released "Storm Simulator," a new function within "Geo-Resilience," the resilience domain of its space AI platform "SpaceBrain." This tool uses AI to predict and assess damage from weather disasters, and is now available for governments, municipalities, and businesses. "Storm Simulator" functions as Typhoon, Extreme Rainfall & Flood Intelligence, combining satellite data with digital twin technology to quantitatively assess the population at risk, assets at risk, and estimated economic losses from typhoons, heavy rainfall, and floods. The company plans to expand its scope to include lightning and strong winds, covering all types of weather disasters, including wind and water-related hazards.

"Storm Simulator," the First Offering in Geo-Resilience, Wind and Water Hazard Intelligence

"Storm Simulator" is a Disaster Risk Intelligence AI implemented in "Geo-Resilience," the resilience domain of the space AI platform "SpaceBrain." SpaceBrain is a platform that understands and predicts the Earth from space, and "Geo-Resilience" is its concept for handling the Earth-side resilience. Within this, "Storm Simulator" specializes in wind and water-related disasters and weather events, including typhoons, heavy rainfall, and floods.

"Storm Simulator" integrates diverse space and ground data, combining AI with physical simulations to connect disaster prediction, damage assessment, early warning, and decision support within a single workflow. Targeting typhoons, heavy rainfall, and floods (inundation), it quantitatively assesses the affected population, assets, and economic losses, making them intuitively understandable in 3D. In the future, its scope will be expanded to cover all weather disasters, such as lightning, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes.

Background of Development

In recent years, driven by climate change, typhoons and concentrated heavy rainfall have become more severe, leading to escalating damage from water-related disasters globally. In Japan, the Reiwa 1 (2019) East Japan Typhoon (Typhoon No. 19) caused the Tama River to overflow, inundating homes and urban infrastructure in various areas, including Tokyo, resulting in significant damage even in urban centers.

However, conventional damage estimations and hazard maps have primarily been presented in a two-dimensional format, making it difficult to intuitively grasp the overall picture of damage, such as "how deep the water will reach in which buildings," or the impact on daily life and the economy. Another challenge has been the significant manual effort and cost required to quickly assess damage over wide areas.

Space Data leverages its strengths in satellite data analysis and planet-scale digital twin technology. By applying this technology to disaster prevention and mitigation, the company aims to create an environment where even non-experts can share an understanding of potential damage and prepare accordingly.

Key Features of "Storm Simulator"

3D Reproduction Based on Real-World Data: Integrates numerical elevation models from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (terrain data with approximately 10m mesh), actual building shapes from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's 3D city model "PLATEAU," and population distribution data, to reproduce events like the Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon (Tama River overflow) and the Tokai Heavy Rainfall (2000) on realistic cityscapes.

Visualization of Inundation "Spread" and "Depth": Calculates where water will accumulate and to what depth along the terrain, representing water depth with varying shades of color. By three-dimensionally depicting the approach of water to buildings, it intuitively conveys the scale of damage.

Quantitative Risk Assessment (People at Risk / Assets at Risk / Economic Loss): Goes beyond visualizing water depth to calculate indicators such as the population within the inundated area, assets like buildings and infrastructure, and estimated economic losses. It quantitatively presents "who, what, and how much" will be affected.

Wide-Area and Rapid Processing: Processes large areas at high speed, starting from satellite data. It possesses scalability to be deployed in various regions, both domestically and internationally, not just in specific cities.

*This simulation utilizes Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles, Cesium World Terrain / Imagery, map and elevation data from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, MLIT's PLATEAU, GPWv4 population density grids, inundation records, and public performance values for past disasters, among other data sources.

Future Outlook

Space Data plans to expand the scope of "Storm Simulator" from typhoons, heavy rainfall, and floods to all weather disasters, including lightning, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes. Furthermore, as part of the "Geo-Resilience" initiative as a whole, the company aims to broaden its coverage to include landslides, wildfires, tsunamis, and climate change adaptation, developing it into a foundational disaster risk assessment platform that supports the entire process from prediction and damage assessment to early warning and decision support. The company anticipates its use in various fields related to disaster prevention and mitigation, including government and municipal bodies, urban development, infrastructure, and insurance.

Additionally, in collaboration with "Space4Resilience," an international framework for strengthening climate resilience through satellite data utilization launched jointly by Space Data, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the Commonwealth Secretariat, Space Data aims to expand the advancement of early warning and damage prediction using satellite digital twins from Japan to the rest of the world.

"Storm Simulator" is provided to organizations engaged in disaster prevention and crisis management, such as governments, municipalities, and infrastructure operators. Detailed service explanations and demonstrations of the demo environment are available. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us via the inquiry form below.

About Space Data Inc.

Space Data Inc. is a technology startup that aims to create new industries and social infrastructure by fusing space and digital technology, driven by the belief that "the universe should be accessible to everyone." The company is building digital platforms that will support the future, from space and the Earth's environment to urban development, disaster prevention, and national security, by utilizing digital twin technology that precisely reproduces the terrestrial and space environments. Furthermore, through the development of operational infrastructure for space robots and space stations, Space Data is working towards the realization of a space society.

Latest initiatives and announcements are available in the "NEWS" section on the Space Data official website.

For details, please visit https://spacedata.jp/news.

Company Name: Space Data Inc. Representative: Kohei Sato Location: 15F, Toranomon Hills Business Tower, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Capital: 1.513 billion JPY Business Activities: Investment and research related to space development HP: https://spacedata.jp NEWS: https://spacedata.jp/news X: https://x.com/spacedatainc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacedatajp/ Recruitment Information: https://www.wantedly.com/companies/spacedata/projects

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