GIScience / Geoinformatics Research Group

The GIScience Research Group is engaged in innovative basic and applied research at the interface between geography and the computational sciences. We thereby focus on the investigation of user-generated geographical content (VGI, Crowdsourcing, Citizen Science), for which we develop innovative methods and analytical approaches.
More specifically, our thematic focuses are on volunteered geographic information (VGI), big spatial data analytics, smart mobility and humanitarian aid, such as disaster management.
Through the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT gGmbH) at Heidelberg University, we have the opportunity to translate our research work into practical solutions.
In addition, we support our institute's study programmes in geography with numerous courses on relevant GI methods that allow our students to formally specialize in geoinformatics.
Please note our vacancies.
Latest News
News from our daily work can be found at giscienceblog.uni-heidelberg.de (also available as RSS-Feed). You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date.
Am 23. September 2023 hält Herr Prof. Dr. Alexander Zipf, Scientific and Managing Director bei HeiGIT und Professor für Geoinformatik / GIScience (GIS) an der Universität Heidelberg, einen Vortrag zum Thema “Klimaschutz und humanitäre Hilfe: Unterstützung aus der Geoinformatik”. Staatliche Institutionen und humanitäre Organisationen benötigen möglichst detaillierte Informationen zur Lage und Situation vor Ort. Nur […]
HeiGIT and GIScience members Adam Rousell, Anne Schauss, Christina Ludwig and Nir Fulman were invited to present their work at the 12th International Conference on Geographic Information Science in Leeds. The conference took place from September 12-15. The first day was dedicated to workshops and tutorials, while short and full papers, as well as posters […]
From 19th until 23th September 2023 the 62nd German Congress for Geography (DKG) and Young Congress for Geography (JGK) will take place at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. The congress under the motto “Planetary Futures” aims to become a lively and vibrant place for scientific exchange on current issues, important research questions and societal problems. HeiGIT will contribute with […]
In September 2023, our new research project AImon5.0 has been kicked-off. In this project the open-source frameworks HELIOS++ and py4dgeo of the 3DGeo research group will be combined to enhance current approaches for operational risk monitoring. AImon5.0 is an interdisciplinary collaboration project of the 3DGeo research group with DMT GmbH & Co. KG (project leader), […]
Last week, our PhD student, Hannah Weiser, joined Silvilaser 2023 at University College London (UCL). The conference covers cutting-edge science and technology from the laser scanning and forest communities, which is a perfect match for Hannah’s PhD topic and 3DGeo research in general. The week started off with interesting workshops on Tuesday using some of […]
In the context of disaster management, time is of the essence. Quick and accurate response can make all the difference in saving lives and mitigating damage. That’s why the openrouteservice (ORS) for Disaster Management is taking a step forward by expanding its coverage to larger areas. This upgrade is set to improve the possibilities of […]
At HeiGIT and in particular within the ohsome team, we strive to provide valuable insights into OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. The ohsome API offers aggregated statistics on the evolution of OSM elements since 2020. These are made easily accessible by the ohsome dashboard. With the ohsome quality API, previously called ohsome quality analyst (OQT), we continue […]
Until recently, Nina Krašovec was a research assistant at the GIScience research group. This article is the result of an interview, where she spoke about her work at the time and her motivations. We would like to use this article as an opportunity to express our appreciation of her work at HeiGIT and to wish […]
Did you know that the OpenStreetMap (OSM) taginfo site now lets you access the ohsome dashboard? This allows you to gain refined insights into the usage stats of specific keys and tags. Taginfo is the main source for statistics about keys, tags and current tag usage. In most cases, you have to acces a localized […]
Campusreporter Nils Birschmann hat mit Prof. Alexander Zipf über unser Disaster Portal gesprochen. Das Interview wurde über Radio Regenbogen ausgestrahlt. Hier könnt ihr euch den Beitrag in voller Länge anhören: Audiobeitrag: Das Disaster Portal – sichere und schnell verfügbare Datengrundlagen im Katastrophenfall Darum geht’s: Im Katastrophenfall sind Hilfskräfte auf aktuelle Ortsdaten der betroffenen Region angewiesen: Welche […]
Using the ohsome dashboard, it is possible to explore quality estimation for OpenStreetMap (OSM) data from the ohsome quality analyst (OQT) for arbitrary regions. Also, OQT does provide an API to programmatically fetch quality estimation for a lot of different regions in one request. Chances are that one wants to visualize the results on a […]
Pictures of the Group
In Memoriam Peter Meusburger

On 18 December 2017, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter Meusburger died far too soon. We mourn for a great scientist, teacher and colleague. In the mid 90s he implemented the first GIS pool at Heidelberg University and started GIS related research. He will not be forgotten. ((Message of the University)