Geospatial intelligence

In the United States, Geospatial intelligence, GEOINT (GEOspatial INTelligence) is intelligence about the human activity on earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information that describes, assesses, and visually depicts physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT, as defined in US Code, consists of imagery, imagery intelligence (IMINT) and geospatial information.

GEOINT knowledge and related tradecraft is no longer confined to the U.S. government (IC), or even the world’s leading military powers. An important indicator of the worldwide spread of interest in geospatial data and analysis was the Pennsylvania State University’s recent Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offering on GEOINT, which drew 21,538 learners from 188 different countries. Additionally, countries such as India are holding GEOINT-specific conferences. While other countries may define geospatial intelligence somewhat differently than does the U.S., the use of GEOINT data and services is the same.

Here Geospatial Intelligence, or the frequently used term GEOINT, is an intelligence discipline comprising the exploitation and analysis of geospatial data and information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features (both natural and constructed) and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Geospatial Intelligence data sources include imagery and mapping data, whether collected by commercial satellite, government satellite, aircraft (such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles [UAV] or reconnaissance aircraft), or by other means, such as maps and commercial databases, census information, GPS waypoints, utility schematics, or any discrete data that have locations on earth. There is growing recognition that human geography, socio-cultural intelligence, and other aspects of the human domain are a critical domain of GEOINT data due to the now pervasive geo-referencing of demographic, ethnographic, and political stability data. There is an emerging recognition that "this legal definition paints with a broad brushstroke an idea of the width and depth of GEOINT" and “GEOINT must evolve even further to integrate forms of intelligence and information beyond the traditional sources of geospatial information and imagery, and must move from an emphasis on data and analysis to an emphasis on knowledge.”

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Wikipedia