In its research into the best way to provide the internet to the entire world, Facebook has mapped where all 7.5 billion people on the planet live. By combining government census data and satellite images along with some help from Facebook's image recognition neural network, the company can now locate every single man-made structure to within just five meters.
The mapping technology is being used to figure how to deliver internet to populations that currently don't have it or have poor connections to it. Along with ground networks, Facebook has determined that using drones and satellites will be most effective in pushing connectivity further. CNBC reports that Facebook's head of strategic innovation partnerships and sourcing, Janna Lewis, said at the Space Technology and Investment Forum this week, "We're trying to connect people from the stratosphere and from space."