ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the status of GeoComputation (GC) in the year 2061, 50 years into the future. It begins by using two case studies – the SAGE and CORONA systems – to show that the fields behind GC, namely, geographic information science and computer science, share a common twentieth-century heritage. Six themes are then chosen: fusion, mobility, ubiquity, the GeoWeb, interactive multimedia and biocomputation. Each of these is explored with respect to today’s trends and then in terms of what these areas could look like in 2061. Some extraordinary new developments are anticipated, including bionic computing, quantum computers and an artificial reality inseparable from the actual. The chapter concludes by raising issues of preparation, posing questions about what training and skills can prepare GC for its not-too-distant future.
