Overview[edit]

Geoinformatics has been described as "the science and technology dealing with the structure
and character of spatial information, its capture, its classification and qualification, its storage,
processing, portrayal and dissemination, including the infrastructure necessary to secure optimal
use of this information"[1] or "the art, science or technology dealing with the acquisition, storage,
processing production, presentation and dissemination of geoinformation".[2]
Geomatics is a similarly used term which encompasses geoinformatics, but geomatics focuses
more so on surveying. Geoinformatics has at its core the technologies supporting the processes
of acquiring, analyzing and visualizing spatial data. Both geomatics and geoinformatics include
and rely heavily upon the theory and practical implications of geodesy.
Geography and earth science increasingly rely on digital spatial data acquired from remotely
sensed images analyzed by geographical information systems (GIS) and visualized on paper or
the computer screen.[3]
Geoinformatics combines geospatial analysis and modeling, development of geospatial
databases, information systems design, human-computer interaction and both wired and wireless
networking technologies. Geoinformatics uses geocomputation and geovisualization for
analyzing geoinformation.
Branches of geoinformatics include:

Cartography

Geodesy

Global Navigation Satellite Systems



Photogrammetry

Remote Sensing

Spatial Analysis

Web mapping

Research[edit]
Research in this field is used to support global and local environmental, energy and security
programs. The Geographic Information Science and Technology group of Oak Ridge National
Laboratory is supported by various government departments and agencies including the United
States Department of Energy. It is currently the only group in the United States Department of
Energy National Laboratory System to focus on advanced theory and application research in this
field. There are also a lot of interdiscipline research involved in geoinformatics fields including
computer science, information technology, software engineering, biogeography, geography,
conservation, architecture, spatial analysis and reinformacement learning.

Applications[edit]
Many fields benefit from geoinformatics, including urban planning and land use management, in-
car navigation systems, virtual globes, public health, local and national gazetteer management,
environmental modeling and analysis, military, transport network planning and management,
agriculture, meteorology and climate change, oceanography and coupled ocean and atmosphere
modelling, business location planning, architecture and archeological reconstruction,
telecommunications, criminology and crime simulation, aviation, biodiversity conservation and
maritime transport. The importance of the spatial dimension in assessing, monitoring and
modelling various issues and problems related to sustainable management of natural resources
is recognized all over the world. Geoinformatics becomes very important technology to decision-
makers across a wide range of disciplines, industries, commercial sector, environmental
agencies, local and national government, research, and academia, national survey and mapping
organisations, International organisations, United Nations, emergency services, public health and
epidemiology, crime mapping, transportation and infrastructure, information technology
industries, GIS consulting firms, environmental management agencies), tourist industry, utility
companies, market analysis and e-commerce, mineral exploration, etc. Many government and
non government agencies started to use spatial data for managing their day-to-day activities.