Groundbreaking innovation redefines traditional geographic information systems like Google Maps, enabling faster, more consistent and more secure data processing for next-generation applications
At a time when Canada is investing heavily in digital infrastructure, a Calgary professor is being recognized for his cutting-edge work to develop a made-in-Canada, next-generation 3D digital mapping system that not only helps us understand what's going on at the earth's surface, but beneath our feet and above the ground as well.
The innovative work has earned Professor Faramarz Samavati a Mitacs Innovation Award Outstanding Research Leadership, awarded by Mitacs, a leading innovation organization that connects businesses and researchers with unrivalled access to talent, financial support, and the partnerships needed to turn ideas into impactful innovations. The award will be presented at a ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on November 17.
Dr. Samavati a Computer Science Professor at the University of Calgary is being recognized for more than two decades of ongoing research and innovation. His work spans multiple Mitacs-supported projects involving dozens of Mitacs interns. Among these is the development of a first-of-its-kind 3D digital earth system, launched as an alternative to traditional geographic information systems (GISs) like Google Maps that represent the Earth as flat.
Dr. Samavati's team has created the Discrete Global Grid System (DGGS) in partnership with Calgary-based software company Vivid Theory. The technology is now being commercialized by BigGeo, a Calgary-based startup building the Spatial Cloud,
a privacy-secure, agentic intelligent cloud computing system for location-based data.
"We started with a very small project to prototype the use of DGGS for efficiently performing searches across geospatial data, but once our research team demonstrated its ability to tackle complex challenges and the potential of our DGGS framework the initiative quickly scaled to a much larger Mitacs project," said Dr. Samavati, who serves as BigGeo lead scientist. "This led to more than $1 million in Mitacs funding and support over 4.5 years to help bring this technology out of the lab into the real world."
Because the Earth is curved, processing geospatial data on flat maps introduces distortions in scale, shape, and distance, Dr. Samavati explained. "Rather than working on simple flat maps, our model operates on curved surfaces, which is more mathematically challenging but ultimately more efficient and capable of consistent, distortion-free data processing," he said.
The team is now assessing the 3D digital earth system in real-world, high-speed geospatial searches in fields such as agriculture, climate resilience, wildfire simulation and prediction, drone path planning, and more.
"Whether you're a consumer searching for a house online, a developer of applications like Uber to plan and track a driver's route, or a business in the oil and gas sector scoping out a pipeline, you rely on geospatial queries and our platform does it faster and more consistently," said Dr. Samavati, who hopes to see the technology become as universal as Google Maps in the future.
The innovative system divides the earth into highly uniform, multi-resolution cells on a globe, creating a digital quilt that is scalable, consistent, and distortion-free. Unlike traditional GIS systems that struggle to integrate data from different sources especially across varying resolutions and formats the DGGS supports deeper and more consistent analysis of localized regions, drawing on diverse data sources. This includes inputs from satellites, smartphones, drones, and other sensors, even in challenging environments like Canada's Arctic.
According to Dr. Samavati, the goal is to understand what's happening beyond the earth's surface, from underground to atmosphere including soil moisture, reservoir volumes, road networks, wildfire risk indicators, atmospheric wind fields, and high-resolution satellite imagery in order to provide users with the geospatial insights they need to make well-informed decisions.
An added benefit is that the system enables seamless regional subdivision of data. In Canada, for example, this means all data is stored and managed within infrastructure located within national jurisdiction, reinforcing the country's commitment to data sovereignty and secure geospatial governance.
The Mitacs Innovation Award Outstanding Research Leadership is presented to a post-secondary supervisor with an exemplary record of developing collaborations with business partners, providing valuable research and training experiences to their interns, and utilizing Mitacs funding to initiate impactful projects. Mitacs programs are supported by funding from the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments across the country.
Samavati is one of 11 Mitacs award winners nationally, nominated from a pool of thousands of researchers who take part in Mitacs programs each year. Additional 2025 award categories include: a second winner for Research Leadership, five winners for Outstanding Innovation, Inclusive Innovator of the Year, two winners for Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year, and Canadian Enterprise Innovator of the Year.
In congratulating the winners, Mitacs CEO Dr. Stephen Lucas reflected on the importance of innovation talent in shaping Canada's future. "At a time when we need to build a stronger and more resilient economy, these eleven innovators and organizations demonstrate what's possible when we invest in ideas, talent, and innovation," Dr. Lucas said.
For more information about the Mitacs awards and a full list of winners, visit www.mitacs.ca/newsroom.
