Munich Urban Innovation Challenge 2026

Student-powered
urban tree
intelligence system

Munich maintains 300,000+ public trees. Professional surveys can't keep up. BauMap turns students into a distributed sensor network — collecting structured, AI-validated tree data through gamified field missions that feed directly into the city's GIS.

Try Demo Map
ENGAGEMENT ENGINE

City priorities become
student missions

Each mission originates from a real request by the Grünflächenamt. The system translates inspection priorities into location-specific, reward-bearing tasks that students complete on foot.

DIS
Verify 3 trees near you
Maxvorstadt · Disease check
Photograph and assess three oaks within 500m. The AI model flags likely pest infestation for city follow-up within 48h.
Urgent
+350 XP · Badge
INV
Find missing trees in your area
Schwabing · 23 unmapped trees
The GIS inventory shows gaps in this district. Walk the route, photograph each unregistered tree, and tag it to fill the dataset.
Ongoing
+180 XP · Cartographer
STM
Check storm damage zone
Nymphenburg · Post-storm survey
After last week's storm, 12 sites need damage assessment. Document broken limbs, uprooting risk and structural failure.
New
+280 XP · Responder
School Leaderboard — Giesing-Grundschule
Season 3 · May 2026
1
LK
Lena K.
Class 5b
4,120
18-day streak
2
MT
Max T.
Class 6a
3,540
9-day streak
3
JM
Jonas M. — You
Class 5c
2,847
12-day streak
4
SR
Sophie R.
Class 6b
2,210
5-day streak
AI INTELLIGENCE LAYER

Real-time species ID,
condition scoring, and
educational context

Every photo triggers a full analysis pipeline: species identification with confidence ranking, health condition estimation across three independent axes, and a contextual note drawn from Munich's urban forestry knowledge base.

ID
Species recognition at 87%+ accuracy
Trained on Munich's 12,000+ tree inventory with full Latin taxonomy
3x
Condition scored across 3 axes
Vitality, visible damage, crown integrity — each 0–100%
EDU
Educational context per capture
Students learn botany and urban ecology as a by-product of data collection
AI INSIGHT — LIVE ANALYSIS
AI
This is likely a Linden tree (Tilia cordata), commonly planted across Munich for its urban resilience and heat tolerance. The crown structure suggests 40–60 years of age.
!
Web-like deposits detected near the trunk base — consistent with early-stage Linden aphid infestation. Recommend flagging for Grünflächenamt inspection within 48h.
SPECIES CONFIDENCE
87%
Tilia cordata
9%
Tilia platyphyllos
4%
Tilia tomentosa
CONDITION ESTIMATION
Vitality
62%
Damage
78%
Crown
71%
FOR CITY ADMINISTRATIONS

A live GIS feed,
not a one-time survey

BauMap replaces expensive, infrequent manual inspections with a continuously updated, student-verified tree health dataset — exportable in the formats your GIS team already uses.

GeoJSON Export — Sample Output
{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [{
    "type": "Feature",
    "properties": {
      "species": "Tilia cordata",
      "condition": "fair",
      "reliability": 0.94,
      "last_verified": "2026-05-17",
      "flag": "pest_suspected"
    },
    "geometry": { "type": "Point",
      "coordinates": [11.5761, 48.1372]
    }
  }]
}
70%
Reduces manual inspections by 70%
Student missions pre-triage the entire city canopy. Arborists deploy only where the data shows confirmed risk.
GIS
Continuous GIS accuracy improvement
Every submission updates the live map. Inventory gaps close in days, not annual survey cycles.
ENV
Supports environmental planning
Health trends, species distribution and disease cluster data feed directly into green infrastructure strategy.
EXP
GeoJSON, CSV, WFS-T export
One-click export compatible with QGIS, ArcGIS, and Munich's existing municipal GIS platform.
SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Five steps from city priority
to verified dataset

A closed loop: the city defines what matters, the system makes it actionable, students collect structured data in the field, validation ensures quality, and the city receives a live GIS feed.

1
City defines priorities
Grünflächenamt uploads inspection targets, flagged zones and seasonal priorities through the control panel.
2
System generates missions
Technical priorities are translated into gamified student tasks with clear objectives, location bounds, and reward tiers.
3
Students collect data
Students photograph trees in the field. The AI model assists with species ID, condition assessment, and geo-tagging.
4
AI + peer validation
Each submission is cross-checked by the classification model and optionally peer-reviewed, building a reliability score.
5
City receives the data
Live GIS feed, exportable GeoJSON, disease cluster alerts and health trend reports — updated continuously.
CITY CONTROL PANEL

How the Grünflächenamt
creates student missions

City staff log into the dashboard, define what needs inspection, set a priority level, and hit generate. The system writes the mission brief, assigns the reward tier, and publishes it to nearby students within seconds.

Grünflächenamt — Request Builder
Issue Type
District
Priority Level
Target Trees
Reward Budget
ACTIVE MISSIONS — PUBLISHED
Disease cluster survey — Maxvorstadt
URGENT
Photograph and assess all oaks showing signs of pest infestation within an 800m radius. The AI model will cluster submissions to generate a disease-spread heatmap for the arborist team.
Target: Oak
Maxvorstadt
+350 XP
Badge unlock
14 students active
Inventory gap fill — Schwabing
ONGOING
GPS-verified 23 unmapped tree locations in Schwabing district. Walk the pre-loaded route, photograph each tree, confirm species using AI suggestion, and submit.
All species
Schwabing
+180 XP
8 students active
SYSTEM LOG
09:14:02OKMission #47 published — 14 students notified
09:02:18OKGeoJSON export triggered by city admin
08:55:41OKMission #46 verified — 23/23 trees confirmed
08:30:07!!Disease cluster flagged — arborist alert sent
DATA PIPELINE

From student photo to
city GIS in under 60 seconds

Every submission travels a fully automated pipeline. Each packet carries species classification, condition scores, coordinates and reliability metadata.

CAP
Student Photo
GPS tagged
+ timestamp
AI
AI Analysis
Species ID
Condition score
VAL
Validation
Peer review
+ reliability score
GIS
City GIS
Live map update
+ GeoJSON feed
1,247
Photos submitted today
Live
1,231
AI analyses complete
Live
1,189
Entries validated
Live
1,189
City GIS updated
Live