geomatics

thumb|A surveyor's shed showing equipment used for geomatics

Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it consists of products, services and tools involved in the collection, integration and management of geographic (geospatial) data. Surveying engineering was the common name used for geomatics engineering in the past. The term was placed by the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems under the branch of technical geography, which is geared towards interpreting and communicating spatial data. In Germany, "geodesy and geoinformatics" or "geodesy and geoinformation" is commonly used for describing this discipline. In addition, geospatial engineering is an alternative term to geomatic(s) engineering.