GEOIDE - Geomatics for Informed Decisions

www.geoide.ulaval.ca

Geomatics technologies have become part of everyday Canadian life. Global Positioning System (GPS) units are now commonly in use and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) represent a mature technology in both private and public sector planning. The benefits of location-based "where and when" information are enormous and span many sectors of society including natural resources, disaster management, national security, municipal services, shipping, retail, finance, health and education. Estimates of the 2005 world market for spatial information alone are in the order of $25 billion. The growth in the geomatics world market is estimated to range from six per cent to 30 per cent a year depending on the sector of activity.

GEOIDE's mission is to catalyze geomatics research and development in Canada. It contributes to the creation of strategic alliances between the academic, governmental and industrial sectors to create positive openings for Canadian society and the economy.

GEOIDE projects are organized under three thrusts. The Transport and Disaster Management thrust covers topics such as basic navigational support via new GPS methods and new satellites. Supporting a panicked population in the midst of a disaster has made a number of headlines in the past few years. The problems of transport and transport management have a lot in common with dealing with such disasters.

Within its Health and Social Sciences thrust, GEOIDE is making inroads into new applications of geomatics. One project aims to develop a software tool that analyzes medical, administrative and geographic data and allows healthcare professionals to monitor cause-and-effect in the health of regional populations relating to changes such as health policy or the availability of new drugs.

Under the Sustainable Land and Marine Resources thrust, research focuses not only on developing applications for more traditional resources such as forestry, agriculture, fishing, mining, and oil and gas, but also on solving problems in pollution monitoring, environmental assessment and climate change. One project is dedicated to the use of hyperspectral imaging techniques to support petroleum exploration while another seeks to combine different sources of data to provide fast, full coverage of water vapour estimates across the country.

In 1999, the Network's students launched the GEOIDE Students' Network – a unique forum within which they can further their training and specialize it according to their needs. GEOIDE's summer school provides one such opportunity. Since 2002, 50 students and young professionals from all over the world have come together every year to share their experiences, network and learn from internationally respected geomatics experts.

The success of GEOIDE's research has led to six patent applications of which two have been issued, nine copyrights, 11 licences still under negotiation (eight have already been granted to industry) and three start-up companies.

In 2001, the Geomatics Sector Human Resources Study reported 27,000 jobs in the field, with 80 per cent of workers having a university education, compared to the 15 per cent reported in 1992. This reinforces GEOIDE's goal of training and graduating enough highly-qualified personnel to form the backbone of a self-sustaining network able to face the challenges of the future. This is being accomplished through the Students' Network activities, an annual scientific conference, the GEOIDE Web site and newsletter, and grants to facilitate networking.

Among its commercialized technologies, GEOIDE has developed a tool currently being used by the Canadian Coast Guard to help better organize its search and rescue operations. PCI Geomatics, a Canadian-based international company, has added image processing and geographical data management software to its product line, and monitoring tools to detect threats to railway structures and dams have also been developed.

Provincial Reach:

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Distribution of Research Personnel in 2004-2005

For more information visit the GEOIDE Network Web site.