Research

The Department of Spatial Sciences is an acknowledged leader for research of international significance in the areas of geodesy, laser scanning and digital imaging, geographic information science (GIScience) and remote sensing and has a number of internationally experienced staff with a range of expertise in these and other areas. The research generally involves close collaborative links with universities, industry and government, both in Australia and overseas. The Department houses the Western Australian Centre for Geodesy.

 

Research in the Department can be arranged within two broad themes: geodesy/photogrammetry and geographic information science/remote sensing/cartography. Each draws on the expertise of several staff in the Department with some staff involved in both. The research programs are funded by both industry and government, including the Australian Research Council (ARC) and other research bodies such as Cooperative Research Centres (see below). See our major research programs.

Projects of national and international significance in recent years

• Synthetic gravity models for testing geoid computation software and methods
• Development of the AUSGeoid98 regional geoid model
• Development of the Western Australian STATEFIX geodetic network
• Rapid assessment and monitoring of vegetation degradation using remote sensing and GIS
• Use of GIS and remote sensing for development of optimised farming systems
• Fusion of laser ranging data and imagery for generation of 3D virtual models

Cooperative Research Centres (CRC)

The Department of Spatial Sciences is a core participant in two Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC), the CRC for Spatial Information and the Australian Biosecurity CRC. These CRCs are major national research organisations and provide opportunities for collaborative research with industry and government, and build upon successes in national competitive grants in geodesy, satellite positioning, GIScience and remote sensing.