A Short History of Remote Sensing

A short History of Remote Sensing a field in Geography. How did it start and how did it progress until today.

Remote Sensing has both civilian and military’s origins. The development in one area led to developments in the other with people crossing over between the military and civilian sides as the need for them lessen or grow.

The techniques learned were applied in both civilian and military areas over time. This improved our understanding of the world we live in and how everything interacts.

The development of technology and photography is at the heart of the Remote Sensing field without that there would be no way to record what we see from a distance and so no “Remote” in Remote Sensing. As the technology improve and develop you can see the changes in the quality and quantity of the images available to use.

Although we discuss the history of Remote sensing under different headings, it does not mean that when developments make a new method of imaging and use available older methods are no longer used. The Remote Sensing method you choose to use will depend on the level of detail you need and the type of imagery necessary for your research or the purpose of your project.