At the 2024 Paris Olympics, marathoners pushed through miles of scorching pavement while fans crammed into sun-soaked plazas and stadiums. More than a year later, fans remember games that were both fun and fashionable. But for event planners, the sobering challenge of planning for extreme heat remains.
Shade, it turns out, can be vital when the mercury rises. A shadow from a building can lower surface temperatures by 20 degrees Fahrenheit or more, offering life-saving relief. But knowing where shade will be and how to get there isn’t always easy. That’s where Hua Wei and his team at Arizona State University believe artificial intelligence, or AI, can help.
Wei, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, has launched two complementary projects that use AI to make shade information practical, accessible and actionable.
One helps people choose cooler walking or biking routes in real time. The other uses generative AI to simulate how shade shifts through the day, providing data for city planners and designers. Together, the projects are part of Wei’s broader mission: harnessing AI to support human-centered, smarter cities.
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