Academy of Sciences of Heroesland

Imagine a computer program that can collect data from all sorts of sensors scattered around the globe and use it as input for detailed mathematical models covering all aspects of Earth's existence in the smallest detail. People who possess such a program will be able to predict the future, and now researchers from the European Union are going to make all of the above a reality.

Living Earth Simulator is a $1 billion, 10-year project to computer simulate everything around us. Within this computer environment, not only simulating models will be implemented, but also models based on predictive algorithms that will take into account the relationships between various phenomena, objects, and events, the existence of which most people are not even aware of.

How can meteorological changes affect meat production levels? Negative or positive changes in the process of global warming create migrations of wildebeest? If earthquakes occur simultaneously in Belgium and Myanmar, how might this affect something that, at first glance, has nothing to do with it? Such relationships are incredibly complex, but they will be implemented in as much detail as possible within the simulator.

In order to simulate "everything that exists," a huge amount of reliable data is required. The collection of this data will be provided by the Planetary Skin system, being developed as part of the Planetary Nervous System project. The Planetary Skin system will consist of a global network of various sensors, hardware, and software that continuously collect and process huge amounts of information related to various socio-economic, environmental, and technological systems and subsystems. Within the Planetary Skin system, there will be the possibility of interacting with smartphones and tablet computers, so that everyone who wishes can make their personal contribution to this cause.

Work on the creation of the Living Earth Simulator is scheduled to begin in 2013.