Geospatial Data Information And Intelligence

An original framework for interpreting geospatial data and information: the Observe, Analyze, Communicate (OAC) Framework. With a two-level approach to analyzing geospatial data: both a broad information refinement method that transforms geospatial data into information, and more specific tradecraft techniques for both visual and spatial analysis. The book highlights the importance of location for human experience in the everyday world and introduces spatial thinking as a foundation and the location mindset as an approach. Exploring the outsized importance of accurate visual learning in a world in which we are increasingly inundated with visual information and shows how the human eye can be both our most powerful sensor as well as a source of bias and uncertainty. It presents the emergence of digital geospatial data, information, and analysis, and shows how the pairing of visual information with precise locational information anchors human attention and provides an antidote to disorientation. This book is a practical resource for students and practitioners alike. It serves as a textbook for classroom beginners and as a desktop reference for professionals in their day-to-day geospatial efforts.

Decision makers, such as government officials, need to better understand human activity in order to make informed decisions. With the ability to measure and explore geographic space through the use of geospatial intelligence data sources including imagery and mapping data, they are better able to measure factors affecting the human population. As a broad field of study, geospatial research has applications in a variety of fields including military science, environmental science, civil engineering, and space exploration. Geospatial Intelligence: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores multidisciplinary applications of geographic information systems to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and to gather data, information, and knowledge regarding human activity. Highlighting a range of topics such as geovisualization, spatial analysis, and landscape mapping, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for data scientists, engineers, government agencies, researchers, and graduate-level students in GIS programs.

Earth observation systems, by use of space science and technology advances, present a large-scale opportunity for applying remote sensing methods with geographical information system (GIS) developments. Integrating these two methods makes it possible to achieve high-accuracy satellite data processing. This book considers aspects of GIS technology applications with space science technology and innovation approaches. It examines the potential of Earth observation satellite systems as well as existing challenges and problems in the field. Chapters cover topics such as RGB-D sensors for autonomous pothole detection, machine learning in GIS, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) modeling, and others.

This book provides practitioners with structured methods for transforming geospatial data into the useful information they need to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. It spotlights the importance of location for human experience in the everyday world and introduces spatial thinking as a foundation and the location mindset as a foundational perspective. The book starts by showing how geospatial analysis is part of a more general data-to-information refinement process that requires the right mindset, toolset, and skillset to achieve. The book then presents structured principles and practices to help geospatial analysts—whether in government or industry—improve their observational, analytical, and communication techniques. These techniques are part of an original framework for interpreting geospatial data and information: the Observe, Analyze, Communicate (OAC) Framework. The OAC framework helps practitioners at all levels break down the basic steps of their day-to-day practice and learn valuable tradecraft that they can employ during each step. You’ll learn how to center location as a foundational perspective in everyday life; use unique geospatial observation, analysis, and communication techniques; and know how to account for the role of uncertainty in assessment and production processes -- including utilizing special techniques to effectively communicate levels of certainty and uncertainty to your audience. You’ll also understand how pairing visual information with precise locational information serves to anchor human attention and provides an antidote to the common problem of disorientation. The book reveals specific techniques and tradecraft that will greatly benefit all practitioners working with visual and locational information. One such tradecraft called Structured Geospatial Observation Techniques (SGOT) includes a technique called the Four Cornerstones that will allow you to structure your approach to visual data and extract more attribute and contextual data from your object of focus. Another technique reveals industry and government-gleaned tips and tricks to creating finished geospatial communications in paragraphs, products, and presentations. Bringing together the authors’ combined 30 years of experience with geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), this book is a must-have practical resource for students, faculty, and practitioners of geospatial endeavors at any level of experience, especially fields that use imagery and spatial analysis. It serves as a textbook for classroom beginners and as a go-to desktop reference for professionals in their day-to-day geospatial efforts.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) provides geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national security, both as a national intelligence and a combat support agency. In the post-9/11 world, the need for faster and more accurate geospatial intelligence is increasing. GEOINT uses imagery and geospatial data and information to provide knowledge for planning, decisions, and action. For example, data from satellites, pilotless aircraft and ground sensors are integrated with maps and other intelligence data to provide location information on a potential target. This report defines 12 hard problems in geospatial science that NGA must resolve in order to evolve their capabilities to meet future needs. Many of the hard research problems are related to integration of data collected from an ever-growing variety of sensors and non-spatial data sources, and analysis of spatial data collected during a sequence of time (spatio-temporal data). The report also suggests promising approaches in geospatial science and related disciplines for meeting these challenges. The results of this study are intended to help NGA prioritize geospatial science research directions.

This book explores cutting-edge methods combining geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence related to several fields such as smart farming, urban planning, geology, transportation, and 3D city models. It introduces techniques which range from machine and deep learning to remote sensing for geospatial data analysis. The book consists of two main parts that include 13 chapters contributed by promising authors. The first part deals with the use of artificial intelligence techniques to improve spatial data analysis, whereas the second part focuses on the use of artificial intelligence with remote sensing in various fields. Throughout the chapters, the interest for the use of artificial intelligence is demonstrated for different geospatial technologies such as aerial imagery, drones, Lidar, satellite remote sensing, and more. The work in this book is dedicated to the scientific community interested in the coupling of geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence and exploring the synergetic effects of both fields. It offers practitioners and researchers from academia, the industry and government information, experiences and research results about all aspects of specialized and interdisciplinary fields on geospatial intelligence.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) within the Department of Defense has the primary mission of providing timely, relevant, and accurate imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information-collectively known as geospatial intelligence (GEOINT)-in support of national security. In support of its mission, NGA sponsors research that builds the scientific foundation for geospatial intelligence and that reinforces the academic base, thus training the next generation of NGA analysts while developing new approaches to analytical problems. Historically, NGA has supported research in five core areas: (1) photogrammetry and geomatics, (2) remote sensing and imagery science, (3) geodesy and geophysics, (4) cartographic science, and (5) geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial analysis. Positioning NGA for the future is the responsibility of the InnoVision Directorate, which analyzes intelligence trends, technological advances, and emerging customer and partner concepts to provide cutting-edge technology and process solutions. At the request of InnoVision, the National Research Council (NRC) held a 3-day workshop to explore the evolution of the five core research areas and to identify emerging disciplines that may improve the quality of geospatial intelligence over the next 15 years. This workshop report offers a potential research agenda that would expand NGA's capabilities and improve its effectiveness in providing geospatial intelligence.

We live in a changing world with multiple and evolving threats to national security, including terrorism, asymmetrical warfare (conflicts between agents with different military powers or tactics), and social unrest. Visually depicting and assessing these threats using imagery and other geographically-referenced information is the mission of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). As the nature of the threat evolves, so do the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to respond. The challenge for NGA is to maintain a workforce that can deal with evolving threats to national security, ongoing scientific and technological advances, and changing skills and expectations of workers. Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence assesses the supply of expertise in 10 geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) fields, including 5 traditional areas (geodesy and geophysics, photogrammetry, remote sensing, cartographic science, and geographic information systems and geospatial analysis) and 5 emerging areas that could improve geospatial intelligence (GEOINT fusion, crowdsourcing, human geography, visual analytics, and forecasting). The report also identifies gaps in expertise relative to NGA's needs and suggests ways to ensure an adequate supply of geospatial intelligence expertise over the next 20 years.