Engineering Remote Sensing
A section of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).
Section Information
The importance of remote sensing methods and techniques for different engineering branches has been well known for several decades, even before the deployment of the first satellite sensor for Earth observation. Indeed, it has been recognized since the first applications of aerial and close-range photogrammetry to mapping, digital terrain and man-made object modeling, ground and infrastructure geomatic monitoring, cultural heritage documentation and industrial metrology.
These still constitute most of the fields of remote sensing applications in engineering, which nowadays are more and more supported by geospatial information models, methods and techniques. Geospatial information has in fact emerged as a fundamental asset to process, integrate, publish and share remote sensing and other data coming from various sources, like environmental, social and economic databases and archives.
The emerging approach could be summarized with the acronym GEO, which stands for Geospatial information and Earth Observation. Geospatial information includes the basic aspects of GIS and advanced geospatial platforms (Digital Twin Earth(s)) that allow us to navigate, query and analyze online the state of our planet in space and time. Earth observation is conceptually the integration of the network of sensors, on any platform, that allow us to sense the Earth and the arsenal of methods useful to retrieve information from the sensed data.
The continuous science and technology improvement (with respect to sensors, model- and data-driven algorithms, geospatial infrastructures and computational facilities) has made more and newer observations and results available, in an increasingly distributed and shared way, and at a higher and higher rate. Thanks to this, new important application fields have been opened where GEO plays a pivotal role; examples are given by UN Sustainable Development Goals achievement monitoring, geospatial analysis of the water–food–energy ecosystem nexus, multiresolution spacetime landscape monitoring, natural and anthropogenic hazard and disaster monitoring and human and good mobility. In addition, requests for new demanding applications have asked for new data quality assessment, integration and analysis methods.
The main aim of this section is therefore the presentation and discussion of new advancement in GEO: sensors and data acquisition modeling, innovative signal, image and geospatial processing (including artificial intelligence approaches) and management methods and tools, in relation to the abovementioned application fields, related to civil, constructional, environmental, industrial safety and civil protection engineering. Research as well as review articles on these topics are welcome within the Special Issues of this section.
Keywords
- Underwater, terrestrial, aerial, space remote sensing sensors
- Physical/mathematical models for remote sensing sensors
- Models and applications of new/unconventional remote sensing sensors
- Signal processing for remote sensing
- Signal processing and artificial intelligence
- Image processing and pattern recognition
- Optical, radar and sonar signal processing
- Remote sensing and GIS science integration
- Calibration and validation in GEO
- Artificial intelligence for GEO integration
- GEO for SDGs
- GEO data-driven applications for a sustainable planet
- Water–food–energy nexus geospatial analysis
- GEO for humanitarian and resilient applications
- GEO for climate change monitoring
- Destination Earth, Digital Twin Earth(s)
Editorial Board
Topical Advisory Panel
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Latest Improvements and Applications of Ground Deformation Monitoring Based on Remote Sensing Data (Second Edition) (Deadline: 30 May 2026)
- Data-Driven City and Society – A Remote Sensing Perspective (Deadline: 31 May 2026)
- Advances in Imaging Radar Signal Processing, Target Feature Extraction and Recognition (Deadline: 31 May 2026)
- Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for Civil Aviation (Deadline: 31 May 2026)
- GNSS Advanced Positioning Algorithms and Innovative Applications (2nd Edition) (Deadline: 31 May 2026)
- Advances in 3D Reconstruction Based on Remote Sensing Imagery and Lidar Point Cloud (Deadline: 31 May 2026)
- LiDAR Technology for Autonomous Navigation and Mapping (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- GNSS and Multi-Sensor Integrated Precise Positioning and Applications (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- Point Cloud Data Analysis and Applications (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Applications in Earth, Moon and Planetary Exploration (Second Edition) (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- High-Precision Calibration and Polarimetric and Interferometric Image Processing Technology (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- Multi-Source Data Fusion and Feature Extraction for Underwater Target Detection (Deadline: 30 June 2026)
- Supporting Earth Observation and Human–Environment Interaction with Global Geospatial Information (Deadline: 1 July 2026)
- Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in Remote Sensing Big Data (Second Edition) (Deadline: 15 July 2026)
- InSAR Innovations: Advances in Remote Sensing for Geohazard Monitoring (Deadline: 31 July 2026)
- High-Resolution Remote Sensing Applications in Precision Geoscience and Infrastructure Planning (Deadline: 31 July 2026)
- Advances in Remote Sensing of the Polar Ice with High Frequency (HF) to L-Band Radar (Deadline: 31 July 2026)
- Applications of Photogrammetry and Lidar Techniques in Cultural Heritage Documentation (Deadline: 31 July 2026)
- Advances in Polarimetric and Interferometric Radar Remote Sensing: From Electromagnetic Scattering Characterization to Earth Observation Applications (Deadline: 15 August 2026)
- Advances in Synthetic Aperture Radar: Calibration, Analysis and Application (Third Edition) (Deadline: 15 August 2026)
- Processing Methods and Techniques of Spaceborne SAR with Ultra-High Resolution (Deadline: 31 August 2026)
- Dam Stability Monitoring with Satellite Geodesy (Third Edition) (Deadline: 31 August 2026)
- Trends and Prospects in SAR Data Applications (Deadline: 15 September 2026)
- UAV-Borne Optical and Radar Systems for Moving Target Detection and Remote Sensing (Deadline: 30 September 2026)
- Advances in Remote Sensing for Coastline Dynamics, Bathymetry and Water Bottom Mapping (Deadline: 30 September 2026)
- Remote Sensing Target Detection: From Algorithm Innovation to Multi-Scenario Applications (Deadline: 30 September 2026)
- Polarimetric Radar: Theory, Technology and Applications (Deadline: 30 September 2026)
- UAV and LiDAR Remote Sensing for Land Surface Displacement and Structural Health Monitoring (Deadline: 15 October 2026)
- GeoAI and Remote Sensing for High-Resolution Mapping and Infrastructure Monitoring (Deadline: 31 October 2026)
- Advances in Bistatic and Multistatic SAR Technology (Deadline: 31 October 2026)
- Next-Generation Remote Sensing for Earth Surface Deformation: Multi-Sensor Integration, AI, and Predictive Modeling (Deadline: 31 October 2026)
- Laser Scanning in Environmental and Engineering Applications (Deadline: 30 November 2026)
- Leveraging Advanced Remote Sensing Technologies for Comprehensive Renewable Energy Monitoring, Systematic Optimization, and Multidimensional Environmental Integration (Deadline: 30 November 2026)
- Radar Sensing and Intelligent Recognitions: Algorithms, Data and Advanced Applications (Deadline: 30 November 2026)
- Innovations in 3D Terrain Modeling Through Advanced Remote Sensing (Deadline: 31 January 2027)
- Advances in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Imaging and Time-Varying Scattering Target Interaction: Innovation, Theory, and Applications (Deadline: 28 February 2027)
