BDC-Favelas paper receives award at INPE Workshop
The Center for Favela Studies (CEFAVELA-Cepid/Fapesp) and INPE presented the first proof of concept of the BDC-Favelas platform during the Applied Computing Workshop (WorCAP), an annual event organized by INPE’s Graduate Program. The paper “BDC-Favelas Explorer: Web portal for access and dissemination of information on favelas from Earth observation data”, authored by Fabiana Z. Vieira, Gabriel Sansigolo, Flavia Feitosa, Miguel Monteiro, Karine Ferreira, and Gilberto Queiroz, received the Best Paper Award in the senior category.
BDC-Favelas is based on the technologies developed by the Brazil Data Cube project, which produces medium-resolution remote sensing data for all of Brazil. The BDC-Favelas integrates high-resolution data and local knowledge to generate indicators about favelas using machine learning techniques. The platform aims to address the lack of precise and accessible information on the extent, location, and evolution of these territories.
In the pilot phase, BDC-Favelas Explorer, presented at WorCAP, was tested with drone data collected in the Jardim Zaíra and Vila Carlina areas in Mauá (SP). The flights, coordinated by Isabel Escada and Sidnei Sant’Anna from INPE and CEFAVELA, validated the platform’s functionalities and helped define data processing and dissemination protocols. The system is expected to be available for public access by the end of 2026.
The BDC-Favelas Explorer portal seeks to create a platform for accessing open geospatial data about favelas. One of its distinguishing features is the use of drones, which capture finer details and increase spatial resolution, thereby enhancing the analyses.
Read the full paper at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17186759.