Should we replace the word "Geomatics"?

Taking into account the results of a recent survey, conducted by the RICS Geomatics Professionals Group Board (GPGB), Brian Coutts tracks the evolution of the word “Geomatics” and argues that the time has come to consider a change.

This word has reared its “ugly” head again. The RICS Geomatics Professionals Group Board (GPGB), as we said, recently conducted a survey on the use of the word “Geomatics” to describe what used to be, at their institution, the Surveying and Hydrography Division (LHSD) . Gordon Johnston, President of the aforementioned institution, recently reported that "insufficient responses have been received to move forward with the issue." Therefore, it seems that, at least for some, there is still such a degree of antipathy towards the term that it could be considered a change. Geomatics has been a controversial term since the time of its introduction in 1998, and has remained so.

Jon Maynard reported that, in 1998, only the 13% of the Land and Hydrography Division voted in favor of the proposal to change the name to the Geomatics Faculty, and, of that 13%, 113 supported the proposal and 93 opposed . If we extrapolate those numbers it follows that, at that time, there were about 1585 members in the LHSD. The figures given make 7,1% of members in favor and 5,9% against, that is, a margin of 1,2% of the total membership! Clearly it is not what could be called a decisive vote, nor a mandate for change, especially when it is considered that the 87% did not express any opinion.

Where did the term Geomatics originate?

It is often assumed that the term came from Canada and spread rapidly to Australia and then to the UK. The ensuing debate, in Great Britain, over the proposal to change the names of surveying courses both in the universities and in the RICS division in order to incorporate the new term, became moot at the time, and makes interesting reading in the annals of what was then the world of topography. Stephen Booth's call for "...more promotion of what Geomatics means..." seems to have gone unheeded in 2011.

While there is anecdotal evidence that the word of Geomatics was used since as early as 1960, it is generally accepted that the term (geomatique in the original French of which geomatics is the English translation) was first used in a scientific paper in 1975 by Bernard Dubuisson, a French geodesta and photogrammetrist (Gagnon and Coleman, 1990). It has been recorded that the word had been accepted by the International Committee of the French language in 1977 as a neologism. Therefore, not only did it exist in 1975, but it also had a meaning! Although not explicitly defined by Dubuisson, its meaning is described in his book as related to geographic location and computation.

At that time the term did not have the expected acceptance. It was not until Michel Paradis, a surveyor from Quebec, picked up the term, which began to be used more extensively. Laval University brought the term to academic use at 1986 with the introduction of a degree program in Geomatics (Gagnon and Coleman, 1990). From Quebec it was extended to the University of New Brunswick, and then to all of Canada. The bilingual nature of Canada was probably an important factor for its adoption and extension in that country.

Why change?

It is thus surprising that the older members of the surveying profession, when the term "Geomatics" was introduced in Britain, held that it could be adopted and defined in such a way that those who chose it could adapt it to their own needs. The reasons given for the need for the change were, firstly, to improve the image of the topography by making it sound more modern, with a larger market and the adoption of new technologies in development. Secondly (and possibly actually more importantly) to enhance the attractiveness of the profession to prospective candidates for university surveying programs.

Why change again?

In retrospect, it would seem that this was an optimistic forecast. University surveying programs have generally been absorbed into engineering schools. The students, numerically speaking, have continued to decline, or at least have stayed the same, and the profession at large has neither adopted the term for incorporation into internship titles nor been inclined to call themselves "geomaticians." Nor, it seems, does the public know what Geomatics means. The use of the word geomatics to replace the term topography, in particular land surveying, seems to have failed by all counts. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that the RICS GPGB is no longer convinced that geomatics is a term that it wishes to continue to use in its title.

Research carried out by the author in 2014, and the very fact that the GPGB has seen fit to raise the issue, indicates that there remains at least residual dissatisfaction with the use of the word geomatics as a descriptor for…something. Not for the profession, certainly, as it still seems to be widely accepted as "surveying" or "land surveying." This is not only true in the United Kingdom, but it is also true in Australia and even in Canada, where the life of the term began. In Australia, the word geomatics has generally fallen out of use and has been replaced by 'space science', which itself is losing ground to a more recent and increasingly ubiquitous term such as 'geospatial science'.

In many of the Canadian provinces, the word geomatics is associated with engineering, suggesting that surveying could be another branch of that discipline. This is particularly true at the University of New Brunswick, where "Geomatics Engineering" sits alongside other branches of engineering, such as civil and mechanical.

What could replace the word geomatics?

So, if the word geomatics makes its supporters unhappy, what term could replace it? One of the common factors in its unacceptability is the loss of reference to topography. If you can have geomatics engineers, could you have geomatic surveyors? Probably not, I would suggest. That would probably lead to even greater confusion.

Given the growing need and ability to precisely define the location or position of everything, both absolute and relative, the word “spatial” immediately comes to mind. That is, the position or location in space. If that position in space is then relative to the planet's framework, it follows that geo-spatial becomes a natural choice. Since knowledge of locational accuracies is at the core of being a land surveyor, the ever-increasing ability of multiple tools with varying accuracy to supply positional data, as well as the continuing development of the applications to which such knowledge can be applied, the profession grows in importance - the profession being that of the Geospatial Surveyor.

While "land surveying" has a long and proud history, the reference to land has probably outlived its usefulness and relevance. The modern surveyor's skill set now allows him to apply both his tools and his experience and understanding of precision, as well as the relative accuracies of measurements from various sources, to broader application areas, far beyond the traditional areas of "topography and cartography". This now needs to be recognized while maintaining the association with the traditional profession. When a qualifying descriptor is required to distinguish former land surveyor from the many other pursuits that use surveying in their titles, geospatial surveyor is the term that fills that need.

References

Booth, Stephen (2011). We found the missing link but we did not tell anyone! Geomatics World, 19, 5

Dubuisson, Bernard. (1975). Practice the Photogrammetrie et des Moyens Cartographiques derives des Ordinateurs. (KJ Dennison, Trans.). Paris: Editions Eyrolles.

Johnston, Gordon. (2016). Names, norms and competence. Geomatics World, 25, 1.

Gagnon, Pierre & Coleman, David J. (1990). Geomatics: an integrated and systematic approach to meeting spatial information needs. Canadian Institute of Surveying and Mapping Journal, 44 (4), 6.

Maynard, Jon. (1998). Geomatics-your vote has been taken into account. Surveying World, 6, 1.

The original version of this article was published in Geomatics World November / December 2017