{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7160330550","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","title":"NORA: A Harness-Engineered Autonomous Research Agent for End-to-End Spatial Data Science","display_name":"NORA: A Harness-Engineered Autonomous Research Agent for End-to-End Spatial Data Science","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-05-03","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7160330550","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5135416949","display_name":"Bing Zhou","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3808-1542"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhou, Bing","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5135314204","display_name":"Xiao Huang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Huang, Xiao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5048472635","display_name":"Huan Ning","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3698-3240"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Ning, Huan","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5002753315","display_name":"Qiusheng Wu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5437-4073"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Wu, Qiusheng","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5103152797","display_name":"Diya Li","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1569-7221"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Diya","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5067836850","display_name":"Ziyi Zhang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6963-3725"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Ziyi","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11986","display_name":"Scientific Computing and Data Management","score":0.5791000127792358,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1802","display_name":"Information Systems and Management"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/18","display_name":"Decision Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11986","display_name":"Scientific Computing and Data Management","score":0.5791000127792358,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1802","display_name":"Information Systems and Management"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/18","display_name":"Decision Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10757","display_name":"Geographic Information Systems Studies","score":0.08320000022649765,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3305","display_name":"Geography, Planning and Development"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/33","display_name":"Social Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11937","display_name":"Research Data Management Practices","score":0.04039999842643738,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/workflow","display_name":"Workflow","score":0.6905999779701233},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/geospatial-analysis","display_name":"Geospatial analysis","score":0.6675000190734863},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/context","display_name":"Context (archaeology)","score":0.574999988079071},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/spatial-analysis","display_name":"Spatial analysis","score":0.4311999976634979},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-quality","display_name":"Data quality","score":0.42800000309944153},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/spatial-contextual-awareness","display_name":"Spatial contextual awareness","score":0.4043999910354614},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/transformative-learning","display_name":"Transformative learning","score":0.38679999113082886},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/automation","display_name":"Automation","score":0.3659000098705292},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/spatial-intelligence","display_name":"Spatial intelligence","score":0.3513000011444092}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177212765","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q627335","display_name":"Workflow","level":2,"score":0.6905999779701233},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6873999834060669},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C9770341","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1938983","display_name":"Geospatial analysis","level":2,"score":0.6675000190734863},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779343474","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3109175","display_name":"Context (archaeology)","level":2,"score":0.574999988079071},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.5713000297546387},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115903868","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80993","display_name":"Software engineering","level":1,"score":0.4514999985694885},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C159620131","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1938983","display_name":"Spatial analysis","level":2,"score":0.4311999976634979},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C24756922","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1757694","display_name":"Data quality","level":3,"score":0.42800000309944153},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C64754055","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7574053","display_name":"Spatial contextual awareness","level":2,"score":0.4043999910354614},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C70587473","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7834111","display_name":"Transformative learning","level":2,"score":0.38679999113082886},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115901376","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q184199","display_name":"Automation","level":2,"score":0.3659000098705292},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C155911833","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3817354","display_name":"Spatial intelligence","level":2,"score":0.3513000011444092},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C91632574","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15088675","display_name":"Data curation","level":2,"score":0.34769999980926514},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C36503486","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11235244","display_name":"Domain (mathematical analysis)","level":2,"score":0.3463999927043915},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779965156","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5227350","display_name":"Data sharing","level":3,"score":0.34299999475479126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C123657996","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12271","display_name":"Architecture","level":2,"score":0.33230000734329224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C67186912","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q367664","display_name":"Data modeling","level":2,"score":0.3228999972343445},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C93518851","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q180160","display_name":"Metadata","level":2,"score":0.29980000853538513},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C201995342","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q682496","display_name":"Systems engineering","level":1,"score":0.295199990272522},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C100463513","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5227322","display_name":"Data model (GIS)","level":2,"score":0.2890999913215637},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C133462117","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4929239","display_name":"Data collection","level":2,"score":0.2858000099658966},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2778464652","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q309849","display_name":"Open research","level":2,"score":0.2849000096321106},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C120894424","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1322871","display_name":"Exploratory data analysis","level":2,"score":0.2831000089645386},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C1668388","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1149776","display_name":"Data management","level":2,"score":0.2750999927520752},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C124101348","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172491","display_name":"Data mining","level":1,"score":0.26739999651908875},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C72634772","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q386824","display_name":"Data integration","level":2,"score":0.2660999894142151},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780598303","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65921492","display_name":"Flexibility (engineering)","level":2,"score":0.2639000117778778},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779530757","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1207505","display_name":"Quality (philosophy)","level":2,"score":0.26330000162124634},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C162763945","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4825467","display_name":"Conceptual architecture","level":3,"score":0.2630999982357025},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C203689450","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2302053","display_name":"Spatial database","level":3,"score":0.2590000033378601}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2605.02092","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0],"automation":[1],"of":[2,132,190],"scientific":[3,136],"research":[4,18,51,64,137,191],"workflows":[5],"has":[6],"emerged":[7],"as":[8],"a":[9,47,67,95,114],"transformative":[10],"frontier":[11],"in":[12],"artificial":[13],"intelligence,":[14],"yet":[15],"existing":[16],"autonomous":[17,50,155],"agents":[19],"remain":[20],"largely":[21],"domain-agnostic,":[22],"lacking":[23],"the":[24,62,87,130,186],"specialized":[25],"reasoning,":[26],"method":[27],"selection,":[28],"and":[29,56,78,111,113,148,153,167,188],"data":[30,37,58,107,116,126],"acquisition":[31,122],"capabilities":[32],"required":[33],"for":[34,54,104,135],"rigorous":[35],"spatial":[36,57,96,106,109,115],"science.":[38,59],"This":[39],"paper":[40],"introduces":[41],"NORA":[42,60,159],"(Night":[43],"Owl":[44],"Research":[45],"Agent),":[46],"harness-engineered,":[48],"multi-agent":[49],"system":[52],"purpose-built":[53],"GIScience":[55],"orchestrates":[61],"complete":[63],"lifecycle":[65,141],"through":[66,160],"skills-first":[68],"architecture":[69],"comprising":[70],"21":[71],"domain-specialized":[72,93,181],"workflow":[73],"skills,":[74],"9":[75],"specialist":[76],"sub-agents,":[77],"custom":[79],"Model":[80],"Context":[81],"Protocol":[82],"(MCP)":[83],"servers.":[84],"Central":[85],"to":[86,194],"system's":[88],"design":[89],"are":[90],"two":[91],"novel":[92],"skills:":[94],"analysis":[97],"skill":[98,118],"unit":[99],"that":[100,119,180],"encodes":[101],"decision":[102],"frameworks":[103],"exploratory":[105],"analysis,":[108],"regression,":[110],"diagnostics;":[112],"download":[117],"supports":[120],"reproducible":[121,154],"from":[123],"authoritative":[124],"geospatial":[125],"sources.":[127],"We":[128,157],"formalize":[129],"concept":[131],"harness":[133,182],"engineering":[134,183],"agents,":[138],"demonstrating":[139],"how":[140],"hooks,":[142],"safety":[143],"gates,":[144],"generator-evaluator":[145],"separation,":[146],"human-in-the-loop,":[147],"state":[149],"persistence":[150],"ensure":[151],"reliable":[152],"research.":[156],"evaluate":[158],"case":[161],"studies":[162],"by":[163],"6":[164],"domain":[165],"specialists":[166],"3":[168],"LLM":[169],"reviewers":[170],"across":[171],"seven":[172],"dimensions":[173],"(novelty,":[174],"quality,":[175],"rigor,":[176],"etc).":[177],"Results":[178],"demonstrate":[179],"substantially":[184],"improves":[185],"efficiency":[187],"quality":[189],"output":[192],"compared":[193],"general-purpose":[195],"agent":[196],"configurations.":[197]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-01T06:00:48.157686","created_date":"2026-05-06T00:00:00"}