What Are Geospatial Technologies?

 

Geospatial technologies (also known as geomatics or spatial information technologies) are used to visualize, map, measure, and analyze features or phenomena that occur on Earth’s surface, as well as for positioning and navigation. They include the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS); geographic information systems (GIS); systems to measure distances and angles (such as total stations); and remote sensing (RS) systems, such as those for light detection and ranging (LIDAR), multi-spectral satellite imaging, and aerial photography.

The geospatial industry consists of individuals, private companies, non-profit organizations, academic and research institutions, and government agencies that research, develop, manufacture, and employ geospatial technology.

Geospatial disciplines include surveying, geodesy, mapping, cartography, RS, photogrammetry, GIS, and geographic information science (GISci).

The market for geomatics products can be divided by level of accuracy into three segments: consumer grade, resource grade, and survey grade.