Basics of geomatics (original) (raw)

This paper presents the volume "Basics of Geomatics" (Springer, ISBN 978-1-4020-9013-4). The volume introduces in a systematic way the complex topics and techniques that can be assembled under Geospatial Information, namely, geodesy, cartography, photogrammetry, remote sensing, informatics, acquisition systems, global positioning systems, digital image processing, geographic information systems, decision support systems, and Web-GIS. It describes in detail and at an accessible level the state of current knowledge. As such, it will serve as a working tool not only to geoscientists and geographers but also to engineers, architects, computer scientists, urban planners, specialists in geographical information system, remote sensing, forestry, agricultural science, soil science geometry, environmental scientists, and managers. Applications can be found in security, risk management, monitoring, infomobility, geopositioning, food traceability, etc. tispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing from airplane and satellite, with images both passive optical and active microwave (radar) at different geometric, spectral, radiometric, and temporal resolutions, although there is still only limited awareness of how to use all the available potential correctly. The resulting data and information are represented in digital and numerical layers managed in Geographical Information Systems and Decision Support Systems, often based on the development of Expert Systems. Such a large amount of data must necessarily be organized, processed, handled, and used without delay for a correct representation of the territorial situation. These elements must be processed in an interdisciplinary and interoperable manner, and the discipline of geomatics (geos: Earth, matics: informatics) can satisfy such requirements. The term geomatics was created at Laval University in Canada in the early 1980s, based on the concept that the increasing potential of electronic computing was revolutionizing surveys and representation sciences and that the use of computerized design (video diagram) was compatible with the treatment of huge amounts of data. That period's revolutionary intuition was based on the geographical location of each object on our planet. Geomatics is defined as a systemic, multidisciplinary, integrated approach to selecting the instruments and the appropriate techniques for collecting, storing, integrating, modeling, analyzing, retrieving at will, transforming, displaying, and distributing spatially georeferenced data from different sources with well-defined accuracy characteristics and continuity in a digital format. Erected on the scientific framework of geodesy, it uses terrestrial, marine, airborne, and satellite-based sensors to acquire spatial and other data.