Geographic Data Imperfection 1: From Theory to Applications

Geomatics is a field of science that has been intimately intertwined with our daily lives for almost 30 years, to the point where we often forget all the challenges it entails. Who does not have a navigation application on their phone or regularly engage with geolocated data? What is more, in the coming decades, the accumulation of geo-referenced data is expected to increase significantly.

This book focuses on the notion of the imperfection of geographic data, an important topic in geomatics. It is essential to be able to define and represent the imperfections that are encountered in geographical data. Ignoring these imperfections can lead to many risks, for example in the use of maps which may be rendered inaccurate. It is, therefore, essential to know how to model and treat the different categories of imperfection. A better awareness of these imperfections will improve the analysis and the use of this type of data.

Mireille Batton-Hubert is a Professor at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne. She is in charge of the Mathematical and Industrial Engineering (GMI) team at the Henri Fayol Institute and is attached to the Computer Science, Modeling and Optimization of Systems Research Unit (LIMOS UMR 6158).

Eric Desjardin is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne within the STIC Research Center (CReSTIC). His research focuses on the management of imperfections in cultural heritage GIS and 3D modeling.

François Pinet is a Research Director at Irstea with the Research Unit for Technologies and Information Systems for Agro-Systems – Clermont-Ferrand (TSCF). He specializes in information systems and their applications for agriculture and the environment.