THE STATUS OF BUSINESS GEOMATICS

The status of business geomatics can be measured, for example, by the level of funding and support provided by the Canadian Government for geomatic research. The government have established a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE's) along with a dedicated 'Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network' (GEOIDE). The GEOIDE investment portfolio totals over CDN$50 million for the first 7-year funding period. Research projects within the portfolio are placed according to: (1) their use of (or contribution towards) geomatic technologies; and (2) the general economic sector to which the research is applied. Three broad areas of technologies are identified based on the accepted understanding of what geomatics is about -- data acquisition, data management, and decision-support.

• DATA ACQUISITION technologies include those within the realm of geodesy (including GPS), cartography, and remote sensing (including air photo imagery).

• DATA MANAGEMENT technologies include mainly GIS, data fusion, and raster and vector computation.

• DECISION-SUPPORT technologies include spatial analysis, interactive 2D and 3D imaging, artificial intelligence/cognitive science, and internet warehousing.