Sightline

Geospatial infrastructure intelligence platform for discovering and analyzing physical-world assets using OpenStreetMap data.

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Overview

Sightline enables searching, monitoring, and analyzing real-world infrastructure including:

Telecommunications towers and data centers
Power plants, substations, and energy storage
Airports, helipads, and cable transport (gondolas, funiculars)
Ports, harbours, piers, and maritime facilities
Warehouses and industrial facilities
Pipelines, refineries, and energy infrastructure
Military installations
Hospitals, prisons, embassies, and government facilities
Surveillance cameras and emergency infrastructure
Transportation hubs (train stations, bus stations, taxi stands)

And many more asset types across 30+ categories with over 200 searchable infrastructure types.

Architecture

flowchart TB
    classDef frontend fill:#6366f1,stroke:#4338ca,color:#fff
    classDef backend fill:#0ea5e9,stroke:#0284c7,color:#fff
    classDef external fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff

    subgraph FE["Frontend"]
        SearchBar["SearchBar"]
        Filters["Filters"]
        ResultList["ResultList"]
        MapView["MapView — Leaflet.js"]
    end

    subgraph BE["Backend"]
        route["route.ts — Request Handler"]
        parser["parser.ts — NLP Engine"]
        geo["geo.ts — Geocoding"]
        overpass["overpass.ts — OSM Query Builder"]
        cache["cache.ts — Cache Layer"]
    end

    subgraph EX["External APIs"]
        Nominatim["Nominatim — Geocoding API"]
        OverpassAPI["Overpass API — OSM Data"]
    end

    SearchBar & Filters & ResultList & MapView -->|"POST /api/search"| route

    route -->|"parse query"| parser
    route -->|"resolve location"| geo
    route -->|"fetch POIs"| overpass
    route <-->|"read / write"| cache

    geo -->|"geocode"| Nominatim
    overpass -->|"QL query"| OverpassAPI

    class SearchBar,Filters,ResultList,MapView frontend
    class route,parser,geo,overpass,cache backend
    class Nominatim,OverpassAPI external

Data Sources

OpenStreetMap

All infrastructure data comes from OpenStreetMap, a collaborative mapping project. OSM data is crowd-sourced and may contain inaccuracies or gaps.

Nominatim

Geographic resolution uses the Nominatim geocoding service to convert place names to bounding boxes and coordinates.

Overpass API

Infrastructure queries execute against the Overpass API, which provides read-only access to OSM data.

Query Syntax

Natural Language

telecom towers in karnataka
power plants near mumbai
data centers in california
airports in germany

Structured Queries

type:telecom operator:airtel region:karnataka
type:data_center operator:google
type:substation region:texas
type:airport country:france

Supported Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
`type:`	Asset type	`type:power_plant`
`operator:`	Operator/owner	`operator:google`
`region:`	State/region	`region:bavaria`
`country:`	Country	`country:india`
`near:`	Proximity search	`near:london`
`radius:`	Search radius (km)	`radius:100`

Supported Asset Types

Energy & Power

Type	Aliases	Description
`power_plant`	`powerplant`	Power generation facilities
`substation`	-	Electrical substations
`transformer`	-	Power transformers
`converter`	-	Power converters
`switch`	-	Power switches
`power_line`	-	High voltage power lines
`power_pole`	-	Power distribution poles
`solar`	-	Solar farms and panels
`wind`	-	Wind farms and turbines
`nuclear`	`nuclear_site`	Nuclear power plants
`hydroelectric`	-	Hydroelectric plants
`geothermal`	-	Geothermal plants
`coal`	-	Coal power plants
`gas_power`	-	Gas power plants
`oil_power`	-	Oil power plants
`biogas`	-	Biogas plants
`biomass`	-	Biomass plants
`tidal`	-	Tidal power plants
`battery_storage`	-	Battery energy storage

Telecommunications

Type	Aliases	Description
`telecom`	`tower`	Telecom towers
`antenna`	-	Antennas
`mast`	-	Communication masts
`cell_tower`	-	Mobile cell towers
`radio_tower`	-	Radio transmission towers
`broadcast_tower`	-	TV/Radio broadcast towers
`satellite_dish`	-	Satellite dishes
`telephone_exchange`	-	Telephone exchanges
`data_center`	`datacenter`	Data centers

Oil, Gas & Mining

Type	Aliases	Description
`refinery`	-	Oil refineries
`pipeline`	-	Pipelines
`oil_well`	-	Oil extraction wells
`gas_well`	-	Gas extraction wells
`storage_tank`	-	Fuel/liquid storage tanks
`silo`	-	Storage silos
`gasometer`	-	Gas storage tanks
`quarry`	`mine`	Quarries and mines
`landfill`	-	Landfill sites
`scrap_yard`	-	Scrap yards

Water & Utilities

Type	Aliases	Description
`water_tower`	-	Water towers
`water_treatment`	-	Water treatment plants
`wastewater`	`sewage`, `sewage_plant`	Wastewater plants
`dam`	-	Dams
`reservoir`	-	Reservoirs
`pumping_station`	-	Water pumping stations
`water_well`	-	Water wells

Aviation

Type	Aliases	Description
`airport`	-	Airports
`helipad`	-	Helipads
`airfield`	-	Military/private airfields
`runway`	-	Airport runways
`taxiway`	-	Airport taxiways
`terminal`	-	Airport terminals
`hangar`	-	Aircraft hangars
`atc_tower`	-	Air traffic control towers

Maritime

Type	Aliases	Description
`port`	`seaport`	Ports and seaports
`harbour`	-	Harbours
`ferry_terminal`	-	Ferry terminals
`marina`	-	Marinas
`shipyard`	-	Shipyards
`dock`	-	Docks
`lighthouse`	-	Lighthouses
`pier`	-	Piers
`jetty`	-	Jetties
`slipway`	-	Boat slipways
`mooring`	-	Moorings
`boat_lift`	-	Boat lifts

Rail & Transit

Type	Aliases	Description
`train_station`	-	Train stations
`railyard`	`rail_yard`	Rail yards
`metro`	-	Metro/subway stations
`tram_stop`	-	Tram stops
`halt`	-	Railway halts
`level_crossing`	-	Level crossings
`bus_station`	-	Bus stations
`parking`	-	Parking facilities
`toll_booth`	-	Toll booths
`weigh_station`	-	Truck weigh stations
`rest_area`	-	Highway rest areas
`service_area`	-	Highway service areas

Structures

Type	Aliases	Description
`building`	-	General buildings
`bridge`	-	Bridges
`tunnel`	-	Tunnels
`cooling_tower`	-	Cooling towers
`chimney`	-	Industrial chimneys
`crane`	-	Cranes
`windmill`	-	Windmills
`watermill`	-	Watermills
`clock_tower`	-	Clock towers
`bell_tower`	-	Bell towers

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