Wegner says that making the software freely available goes beyond the goal of having comparable data sets: “I believe that remote sensing and machine learning have great potential to drive development in impoverished regions. Take farmland as an example – we could use satellite images and artificial intelligence to estimate yields and strike back against famine.”
Inspired by the Dalai Lama
Wegner was first drawn to physics and philosophy as fields of study. This combination was not possible, however, so he needed a plan B. As his father was a geomatics specialist with his own surveying office, he decided to study geodesy and geoinformatics. After completing his studies at Leibniz University Hannover, the German-born Wegner knew that he wanted to go into research. “When I was studying, I wanted more freedom to pursue my own ideas, but it was often just about working through assignments and tests, which wasn't my style,” says Wegner. “What I really wanted to do was be innovative and develop things that are useful to people.”
One of his sources of inspiration? The Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader visited Wegner's hometown of Oldenburg in 1998, and Wegner – then just 16 years old – had the opportunity to meet him and listen to his speech. “He truly impressed me with his balanced yet enthusiastic manner and his commitment to social issues,” recalls Wegner.
After completing his doctoral thesis and backpacking through South America, he decided to come to ETH, where he received a scholarship for postdocs initiated by the university to promote up-and-coming researchers. Since then, he has been part of Konrad Schindler's Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing research group, where he dedicates himself to issues close to his heart.
Just say no to illegal chocolate
Supporting less privileged regions is especially important to Wegner, which is why his EcoVision Lab is part of the ETH+ initiative “ETH for Development” (ETH4D). The programme develops alternative approaches for fighting poverty and trains future leaders who advocate for sustainable development around the globe.
As part of ETH4D, the EcoVision Lab is working together with Zurich-based chocolate producer Barry Callebaut – one of the world's largest – to stop deforestation with the use of artificial intelligence and satellite data. The software developed by Wegner's team uses satellite images to detect where cocoa is being illegally grown in nature reserves. Chocolate producers can then use this data to stop buying beans from these areas and to try to encourage farmers to seek out alternatives to illegal cocoa cultivation. ETH4D provides a network for this important initiative.
