About Established since August 2023, the Geospatial Intelligent Sensing and Mapping (GISense) Lab at The University of Texas at Austin focuses on Human-centered GeoAI and (Geo)Spatial Data Science. In particular, the GISense Lab explores how people see, hear, feel, and experience places, and builds ethical and responsible GeoAI technologies to tackle real-world challenges (e.g., spatial-socio inequity, maternal health, housing, crime, urban planning, and education). We leverage spatiotemporal big data analytics, develop advanced GeoAI and Generative AI algorithms, and design maps and geovisualizations. Mission At GISense, we primarily focus on the following three key research themes: an emphasis on place to observe human subjective experiences such as emotion, perception, cognition, personality, imagination, and creativity; a recognition of the need to develop ethical GeoAI and cartography methods (e.g., Generative AI, Diffusion model, Reinforcement Learning, Deep Learning, Machine Learning) for modeling geographic phenomena and urban environments; a focus on human-environment interactions in urban systems to solve practical problems and inform decision-making processes including but not limited to public health, spatial-socio inequity, housing, urban planning, and crime. At the GISense Lab, we explore the fundamental scientific question: What constitutes human subjective experiences at different places and environments? Methodologically, we develop and utilize emerging datasets and advanced GeoAI and geocomputation technologies alongside mixed methods approaches. Beyond scientific discovery, we aim to demonstrate how advanced GeoAI and Geospatial Data Science can be applied to real-world practices, offering broad impacts that benefit society and enrich the humanities. Location and Facilities The GISense Lab is located at the William C. Powers Student Activity Center (WCP) 4.160. The GISense Lab is equipped with advanced computing resources designed to manage large-scale geographic datasets and tackle complex geographic challenges. The GISense Lab boasts a suite of high-performance computing servers with GPUs for intensive geographic data processing and AI-driven geospatial research. These computing resources, along with GIS and cartography software, enable advanced spatial analyses and high-level cartographic production. The computational resources support machine learning and advanced geospatial computations, facilitating cutting-edge research across various fields, including urban planning, environmental science, public health, and social sciences and humanities. Logo The logo of the GISense Lab is designed as follows: The GISense Lab logo was inspired by a playful geography meme: “The world is a cat, playing with Australia”, which reflects the lab’s innovative and curious spirit in addressing geographic challenges. The globe, depicted as a cat—a traditional symbol of curiosity—embodies the lab’s pursuit of discovery and knowledge in the field of GIScience. The “GISense” text, styled like a ship’s sails, evokes the spirit of the Age of Discovery and motivates the lab to be a pioneer in the new era of geographic exploration. The pronunciation of “GISense,” echoing “GIScience,” highlights the focus of the GISense Lab. This logo demonstrates the commitment of the GISense Lab to enriching society and the humanities through an insightful understanding of human-environment interactions.
