# LIGHTHOUSE: Fast and precise distance to shoreline calculations from anywhere on earth

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18842 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.18842/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 0 of its 11 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Jun 2025.

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce a new dataset and algorithm for fast and efficient coastal distance calculations from Anywhere on Earth (AoE). Existing global coastal datasets are only available at coarse resolution (e.g. 1-4 km) which limits their utility. Publicly available satellite imagery combined with computer vision enable much higher precision. We provide a global coastline dataset at 10 meter resolution, a 100+ fold improvement in precision over existing data. To handle the computational challenge of querying at such an increased scale, we introduce a new library: Layered Iterative Geospatial Hierarchical Terrain-Oriented Unified Search Engine (Lighthouse). Lighthouse is both exceptionally fast and resource-efficient, requiring only 1 CPU and 2 GB of RAM to achieve millisecond online inference, making it well suited for real-time applications in resource-constrained environments.