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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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[by whom?] too specific to the preparation of marine charts, and failed to include the broader concept of positioning or measurements in all marine environments. The use of different data processing technologies in hydrography does not change the purpose of its research.[11]
Health geomatics can improve our understanding of the important relationship between location and health, and thus assist us in Public Health tasks like disease prevention, and also in better healthcare service planning.[12]
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.[13][14]
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.
Geomatics engineering is a rapidly developing engineering discipline which focuses on spatial information (i.e. information that has a location).[15] The location is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for spatial analysis and visualization. Geomatics engineers design, develop, and operate systems for collecting and analyzing spatial information about the land, the oceans, natural resources, and manmade features.[16][17]
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.[18] Geomatics engineering also involves aspects of Computer Engineering, Software Engineering and Civil Engineering.[19]
^Hazelton, N W J (September 2005). "Surveying, Geomatics, and Engineering: A 'Structure' for a Rapidly Evolving Profession". Surveying and Land Information Science. 65 (3): 211–222. ProQuest202972772.
^Lam, Steve Yau-Wah; Yip, Tsz Leung (February 2008). "The role of geomatics engineering in establishing the marine information system for maritime management". Maritime Policy & Management. 35 (1): 53–60. doi:10.1080/03088830701848896. hdl:10397/27671. S2CID154941027.
Dermanis, Athanasios; Grün, Armin; Sansò, Fernando (2000). Geomatic Methods for the Analysis of Data in the Earth Sciences. New York: Springer. ISBN978-3-540-67476-4.
