Lab for Spatial Informatics

The science that deals with the study of how location in space and time characterize or influence an object, event or phenomena is referred to as Spatial or Geospatial Sciences. Thus, it is a multi-disciplinary field that encompasses a wide range of disciplines ranging from geography to agricultural sciences, natural resource management to global environmental change. A set of technologies ranging from field survey to remote sensing has helped the growth of this science. The suite of technologies that encompass this rapidly growing discipline of knowledge include data collection (field surveys, satellite imagery, etc), data storage and management (GeoDB, spatial data mining), processing and manipulation (image processing), mapping and visualization, data analysis (GIS), simulation and modelling.

GIS/Spatial Informatics Centre was setup with an aim to provide for a platform for combining the strengths and progress in the Computer Science and IT fields related to the spatio-temporal domains and build domain expertise and applications in the various disciplines related to it, ranging from the natural to social sciences. Also, this centre is proposed to be developed as a nodal point for networking and joint research works in inter-disciplinary areas (related to resource use and management), by building on the data generation, handling and monitoring capability to analysis and modelling.
This is the ONLY centre/group of its kind in India promoting GeoSpatial Research efforts at both system and applied levels.

Subareas

1. Remote Sensing
2. GeoSpatial Information Systems
3. Integrated Land Use Modelling

Teaching Programmes (associated with Spatial Informatics)

Under-graduate Programmes

1. B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering

Post-graduate Programmes

1. MS in Computer Science and Engineering
2. Ph.D in Computer Science and Engineering
3. Ph.D in Spatial Informatics

Major Funded Projects

1. Determination of Relative State of Aircraft for Airport Surface Indications & Alerting (SURF-IA) (2009-2010) (Rockwell Collins Inc (RCI))
2. Second National Communication (NATCOM) on inventory of Green House Gases – National Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Assessment using satellite data. (2009-2011) (National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO, Dept. of Space, Govt. of India )
3. Research on Parallel computing applications on Geo-visualization and open source geospatial libraries (2008-2011) (IBM Shared University Research award to IIIT-H)
4. ENVIS Common Service Platform – a prototype demo system (2008-2008) (Min. of Environment and Forestry, Govt. of India)
5. Agricultural Land Use in East and South Asia - Rapidly Changing Landscapes and its Impacts on Regional Food Security (2005-2008) (Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change (APN))
6. DREAMAR: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: Household Resilience and Change. Decision-making in Rangeland systems: an integrated Ecosystem-Agent-based Modeling Approach (2005-2008) (NSF(USA) )
7. Object Creation and Attribution in High Resolution Images for Object Based Image Analysis (2011-2012) (DEAL, DRDO)
8. Object Based Attribution & Classification - Change Detection and Image Fusion (2011-2012) (DEAL, DRDO)
9. Agent based modeling of land-use/ land-cover changes in Barak basin - North Eastern India (2011-2012) (NESAC, Dept of Space)
10. Web enabled information system for e-governance of Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation: An Open Source GIS, Remote Sensing and GPS approach. (2011-2013) (DST [Joint research with AKNU, Rajahmundry])

Achievements

Contests

1. The first and only team from India to have taken part in CANSAT-2009, an event organized by American Astronautical Society (AAS) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in collaboration with NASA for design and launch of a can-sized satellite(with weight limit of 500gm). IIIT-H team stood 8th among the 18 teams that finally participated [see http://www.cansatcompetition.com/2009_Winners.html]

Others

1. Launched and established OSGeo-India : the OpenSource Geospatial Foundation of India. OSGeo-India is headquartered at LSI@IIIT-Hyderabad. OSGeo-India is a Not-for-Profit Organization, whose mission is to support, foster, enhance, and promote the development of Open Source Geospatial Technologies, Data and Education in India.

Faculty

1. K S Rajan (Head)

Research Scientists/Engineers

1. Rama Chandra Prasad

Students

1. G Gowtham
2. C Sudeep Reddy
3. Haritha Bellam
4. N N Harshita
5. N VENKATA SAINATH

Past Students

1. Sudhir Nagendra Gupta
2. VINAY PANDIT
3. saladi rahul