Last edited 10 Oct 2022

Geomatics

Geomatics is described by the ISO /TC 211technical committee as a "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". The committee standards may specify various aspects of the theme covering geographic information, methods, tools and services for data management (including definition and description), acquiring, processing, analyzing, accessing, presenting and transferring such data in digital / electronic form between different users, systems and locations. Geoinformatics is broader and perhaps more multidimensional expanding to all information science and technology, whilst geomatics focuses more on surveying.

ISO 19107:2019 Geographic information — Spatial schema; specifies conceptual schemas for describing the spatial characteristics of geographic entities, and a set of spatial operations consistent with these schemas. It treats "vector" geometry and topology. It defines standard spatial operations for use in access, query, management, processing and data exchange of geographic information for spatial (geometric and topological) objects.

The Geospatial Glossary, published by the Geospatial Commission, and accessed on 17 September 2022, defines geomatics as: ‘The discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information.’