Introduction

International audienceResearch in geomatics must face major challenge to improve the management of the interaction of humankind with the planet at various levels. these challenges cover types of problems such as risk management (monitoring a volcano), sustainable development (the prevention of coastal erosion or the control of increasing urbanization in a given area), or even societal issues such as the accompgniment and improvement of the integration of positioning techniques and their mobile applications in our everyday life. To process these issues, we often need to turn to computers and develop software that can meet the requirements of the data handled. The goal of this book is to study the innovative software development activities carried out by geomatics research teams, and more specifically to analyze which of these development activities can be pooled, and whether it is relevant to do so, in the sense that it promotes research activities