10 Cool Big Data Projects

There are many cool and funny projects in the world that deal with big data and we’ve gathered the Top 10 list of the most interesting ones. See for yourself!

Top 10 Cool Big Data Projects

So many people dispute about Big data, its pros and cons and great potential, that we couldn’t help but look for and write about big data projects from all over the world. In this pick you’ll meet serious, funny and even surprising cases of big data use for numerous purposes. Enjoy!

So, Big Data helps us…

#1. To find exactly what we look for in the internet

Maybe you have never thought that Google, Yahoo, Yandex, Bing and other search engines work with big data when they pick results in response to your search queries, but in fact they do.

Search engines need to cope with trillions of network objects and analyze online behavior of billions of people to understand what exactly they are looking for. It’s only natural that these giants became pioneers of data analysis in many spheres and produce numerous big data related products.

#2. To ride through a city without traffic jams

For example, when Yandex Company sharpened its skills in data analysis, they decided to look at their data from another perspective. That’s how Yandex.Traffic solution was born. This technique analyzes information from different sources and shows a map of real time traffic conditions in a city.

It’s an amazing solution for large cities, where traffic jams become a real pain in the ass. Have you ever been in Moscow? A heartfelt advice: if you are going to, be sure to give Yandex.Traffic a try, as even at this very moment it helps millions of Moscow drivers.

#3. To save rare animals, catching poachers

Poachers hunt for endangered Indian tigers to make medicines from their bones that are very popular among superstitious Chinese. They know every nook and cranny in the tigers habitat area and it would be very hard to catch them without… big data.

#4. To make our cities green

New York City had been rather dangerous because of old trees that had been falling on citizens heads and property until the authorities found the solutions. Now, big data tells them how to maintain the ‘city forest.’

#5. To understand why Indian cuisine is unique

Scientists mined into a bunch of recipes and found out that food-pairing hypothesis works well for any cuisine in the world — except Indian one.

#6. To fight malaria epidemics in Africa

A great project sponsored by Google uses big data technology to solve a global health problem. Many Africans do have a mobile phone even in remote locales. They can text data about what medications they’re taking to let scientists track the spread and treatments of the disease.

#7. To grow ideal Christmas trees

Scientists will connect genetic, physical, and environmental data from more than 15 major plant databases to create tools for growing better crops, plants and ideal Christmas trees.

#8. To understand that our languages are filled with happiness

As it turns out, world languages contain more positive words than negative and are predisposed to happiness.

#9. To make sport shows even more interesting

Elite sport coaches use big data to develop strategies, training and eating programs, and even fan interaction in the chase for better performance on the field.

#10. To improve job conditions

Bosses know everything. Or at least they’ll know if that employee is going to quit — big data will tell them and advise how to improve in job conditions to keep employees.

#11. To enhance relationship

The last but not least comes a special case that was recently mentioned by media. Data analysis can be used to solve global problems as well as very intimate ones. Be sure to read the story of an online-dating data analyst who decided to examine her own relationships in terms of statistics.

Did you know that 90% of stored big data is dead weight? So called Dark Data are bits and pieces of data that seem useful and take a decent place in your storage, but in general you fail to use day to day. This is good news, as this fact shows great potential of data mining and analyses. The dark data wait for a curious mind to bend it. So if you are thinking where to send your child to study, think about this opportunity.

That’s it for today. Next week we are going to publish another post about big data projects. More specifically, about big data helping to save lives and catch criminals. Stay tuned!

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