SYDNEY, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban planning and land use allocation are critical for Australia's future economic growth. Current processes are often complex, time-consuming, and inconsistent across different jurisdictions, as evidenced from the substantial media attention on the issues of housing affordability and land development. The Urban Copilot project, spearheaded by Archistar, UNSW, MapAI, and PEXA Group, aims to transform this landscape using state-of-the-art Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies.
Urban Copilot is an innovative GenAI product suite designed to assist industry professionals in interpreting regulations and creating development applications that meet government requirements.
Archistar CEO, Ben Coorey, is leading this collaborative effort which is supported by a total project investment of $6.5 million including the announcement this week of $2.7 million in funding from the Federal Government through the Cooperative Research Centre's Projects Grants program.
"Urban Copilot will enable the adoption of GenAI in a regulatory and commercial environment, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in urban planning. It will make the lives of government, developers and homeowners easier" says Dr Coorey.
This project will leverage existing efforts to bring trust and transparency to GenAI already underway from partners UNSW and MapAI. Director of the City Futures Research Centre UNSW, Professor Chris Pettit says "Recognising some challenges other Generative AI solutions have in trustworthiness, we are developing a transparent GenAI that explains how it answers questions, and what data and processes were used along the way. This ensures traceability of decision making, referring back to authoritative sources."
The Urban Copilot project is expected to:
- Substantially reduce the time for users to navigate the property development and planning system
- Generate simplified workflows from site search to planning approval
- Optimise decision-making processes related to property development
- Provide tailored data insights integrating big data with user preferences
- Create an AI trustworthiness framework for regulatory and professional environments
Like Archistar and PEXA Group, MapAI is also an Australian grown innovation. "It is transformative to have the support of the Australian government in funding these advanced AI approaches. It shows that Generative AI can be developed in a way to support and grow the economy, and in way that benefits all Australians" MapAI CEO Phil Delaney said.
The project partners bring together a wealth of expertise and resources. Archistar, a pioneer in Property Tech and Planning Tech, provides the existing platform and user base. MapAI contributes its GenAI Geospatial Chat capabilities to enable the new products. UNSW leads the research efforts, accelerating GenAI accuracy and trustworthiness, and PEXA offers extensive property data and technological support.
PEXA Group's Australia CEO, Les Vance, said "we are proud to be part of this partnership focused on improving the property ecosystem through collaboration and innovation, and look forward to supporting the Urban Copilot project as it uses Generative AI to simplify urban planning processes"
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About Archistar
Archistar is a leading property and urban planning technology company, pioneering the use of AI to streamline and transform the real estate and construction industries. With products like eCheck for compliance automation and generative design tools, Archistar empowers developers, architects, and councils to visualize, plan, and implement projects faster and more efficiently, driving innovation in urban development across Australia and internationally.
About City Futures Research Centre, UNSW
Since its establishment in 2005, City Futures has provided a training ground for the next generation of urban thinkers, city shapers, and urban scientists. The Centre provides ethical, evidence-based inputs to contemporary urban policy debates and the planning of 21st Century cities. With a vision to create a better and more sustainable future
About MapAI
MapAI is an Australian grown, innovative business focused on making geospatial data accessible and actionable through conversational AI. Our platform, developed in collaboration with UNSW and FrontierSI, allows users to interact with maps using natural language, greatly simplifying the user experience. MapAI is committed to transparency, demonstrating AI processes clearly, and is designed to deliver tailored insights, enhancing user understanding.
About PEXA Group
PEXA Group is a world-leading ASX-listed digital property exchange platform and property insights solutions business. The PEXA Exchange is the leading digital property settlements platform in Australia and licenced operator of Australia's largest Electronic Lodgement Network. Since 2013, PEXA has facilitated more than 20 million property settlements through Australia, with 89% market reach, and in 2022 PEXA launched in the UK.