Geo-information and Geodesy University of Zambia

Overview

A Geomatic Engineer or Technician previously referred to as a surveyor collects information about land and presents this to the customer.  Traditionally he was engaged in measuring land and producing maps, but nowadays the surveyor is much more versatile.  

Various types of data are gathered using modern field instruments, aerial photographs, satellite imagery and digitisers/scanners.  Data so collected are processed, analysed and visualised digitally or by analogue means depending on customer demands.

Disciplines under the Department of Geomatic Engineering

The Geo-information and Geodesy program at University of Zambia is active in the following disciplines:

These are surveys to assist specific projects.  Examples of Engineering surveys include: planning, design and setting out of civil engineering constructions, monitoring of deformations using high precision measuring instruments like total stations and GPS, as well as precise levels.

Surveys related to land boundaries and subdivisions made to create units suitable for transfer or to define limitations of title.

Surveys in which the size and shape of the earth is taken into consideration or is determined.  Example: establishment of national control networks, observation of the earth’s gravity field, determination of precise global, regional and local three dimensional positions using GPS.

Photogrammetry consists of making precise measurements from photographs and other patterns of recorded radiant energy to reconstruct a three dimensional model of the terrain or other objects.

This enables finding of distances, angles, areas, volume, elevation and the sizes and shapes of objects.  The most common application of photogrammetry is the preparation of maps and providing the spatial data to digital information systems.  Photogrammetric mapping can be done on a semi automated stereo plotter, analytical plotter of a fully digital Photogrammetric workstation.

Remote Sensing is used to gather and process information about the earth’s environment, particularly its natural cultural resources through the use of photographs and related data acquired from aircraft or satellite sensors.