What is Geomatics?

Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the

"discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing,
presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition,
it consists of products, services and tools involved in the collection, integration and
management of geographic (geospatial) data. It is also known as geomatic(s)
engineering (geodesy and geoinformatics engineering or geospatial engineering).
Surveying engineering was the widely used name for geomatic(s) engineering in the
past.
History and etymology. The term was proposed in French ("géomatique") at
the end of the 1960s by scientist Bernard Dubuisson to reflect at the time recent
changes in the jobs of surveyor and photogrammetrist. The term was first employed in
a French Ministry of Public Works memorandum dated 1 June 1971 instituting a
"standing committee of geomatics" in the government.
The term was popularised in English by French-Canadian surveyor Michel
Paradis in his The little Geodesist that could article, in 1981 and in a keynote address
at the centennial congress of the Canadian Institute of Surveying (now known as the
Canadian Institute of Geomatics) in April 1982. He claimed that at the end of the 20th
century the needs for geographical information would reach a scope without
precedent in history and that, in order to address these needs, it was necessary to
integrate in a new discipline both the traditional disciplines of land surveying and the
new tools and techniques of data capture, manipulation, storage and diffusion.
Geomatics includes the tools and techniques used in land surveying, remote
sensing, cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), global navigation
satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou), photogrammetry, geophysics,
geography and related forms of earth mapping. The term was originally used in
Canada but has since been adopted by the International Organization for
Standardization, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and many other
international authorities, although some (especially in the United States) have shown a
preference for the term geospatial technology, which may be defined as synonym of
"geospatial information and communications technology".
Although many definitions of geomatics, such as the above, appear to
encompass the entire discipline relating to geographic information –
including geodesy, geographic information systems, remote sensing, satellite
navigation, and cartography –, the term is almost exclusively restricted to the
perspective of surveying and engineering toward geographic information.
Geoinformatics has been proposed as an alternative comprehensive term, but its use is
only common in some parts of the world, especially Europe.
The related field of hydrogeomatics covers the area associated with surveying
work carried out on, above or below the surface of the sea or other areas of water. The
older term of hydrographics was considered too specific to the preparation of marine
charts, and failed to include the broader concept of positioning or measurements in all
marine environments.
A growing number of university departments which were once titled
"surveying", "survey engineering" or "topographic science" have re-titled themselves
using the terms "geomatics" or "geomatics engineering", while others have switched
to program titles such as "spatial information technology", and similar names.
The rapid progress and increased visibility of geomatics since the 1990s has
been made possible by advances in computer hardware, computer science,
and software engineering, as well as by airborne and space observation remote-
sensing technologies.
Science. Geospatial science or spatial information science is an academic
discipline incorporating fields such as surveying, geographic information
systems, remote sensing, and cartography. Spatial science is typically concerned with
the measurement, management, analysis and display of spatial information describing
the Earth, its physical features and the design environment.
 The term spatial science or spatial sciences is primarily used in Australia.
Australian universities which offer degrees in spatial science include Curtin
University, the University of Tasmania, the University of Adelaide, Melbourne
University and RMIT University.
In the U.S., Texas A&M University offers a bachelor's degree in Spatial
Sciences and is home to its own Spatial Sciences Laboratory. Beginning in 2012,
the University of Southern California started to place more emphasis on the spatial
science branch of its geography department, with traditional human and physical
geography courses and concentrations either not being offered on a regular basis or
phased out. In place, the university now offers graduate programs strictly related to
spatial science and its geography department offers a spatial science minor rather than
the original geography major.
Spatial information practitioners within the Asia-Pacific region are represented
by the professional body called the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI).
Engineering. Geomatic(s) Engineering, Geodesy and Geoinformatics
Engineering or Geospatial Engineering is a rapidly developing engineering discipline
that focuses on spatial information (i.e. information that has a location). The location
is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for spatial analysis
and visualization. Geomatics engineers apply engineering principles to spatial
information and implement relational data structures involving measurement sciences,
thus using geomatics and acting as spatial information engineers. Geomatics
engineers manage local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructures.
Geomatics Engineering also involves aspects of Computer Engineering, Software
Engineering and Civil Engineering.
Geomatics is a field that incorporates several others such as the older field of
land surveying engineering along with many other aspects of spatial data management
ranging from data science and cartography to geography. Following the advanced
developments in digital data processing, the nature of the tasks required of the
professional land surveyor has evolved significantly in recent years, and for more and
more people the term "surveying" no longer accurately covers the whole range of
tasks that the profession deals with. As our societies become more complex,
information with a spatial position associated with it becomes more critical to
decision-making, both from a personal and a business perspective, and also from a
community and a large-scale governmental viewpoint.