China Outpaces U.S. in Remote Sensing Research, According to NYU Study in Geomatics

      A new study published in Geomatics shows that China is by far doing the most research on remote sensing, and U.S. remote sensing research has dropped. Phys.org describes remote sensing as follows:

‘Remote sensing—the science of gathering information from a distance using technologies like laser scanning, imagery, and hyperspectral imagery from the ground, the air, and even space—underpins critical applications from autonomous vehicles to climate monitoring and national security.”

     NASA’s definition of remote sensing is more concise:

“Remote sensing is the acquiring of information from a distance.”

     The exponential growth of remote sensing research in China has been attributed to several factors.

“Laefer and co-author Jingru Hua—at the time a master's student in the NYU Center for Data Science—attribute this surge to decreased equipment costs, greater global participation, digital-only publishing, and most significantly, the adoption of artificial intelligence techniques like machine learning and deep learning.”

     Another key factor is funding from China's National Natural Science Foundation, which funds 53% of papers from 2021-2023, while the U.S. only funds about 5% of those. U.S. funding entities for remote sensing research are basically the National Science Foundation and NASA. NASA funding for such research has dropped considerably in recent years. NASA has no direct funding for geomatics (the science of gathering and analyzing geographic data) or geodesy (the science of measuring Earth's shape and positions on it).

     China also now accounts for the majority of remote sensing patents.

“Early decades focused heavily on satellite imagery, but recent years show explosive growth in artificial intelligence techniques, with terms like "deep learning" and "machine learning" now dominating publication titles. The number of papers mentioning these techniques has grown exponentially, reaching over 80,000 publications by 2023.”

“The findings have implications for technological competitiveness. Remote sensing capabilities underpin emerging technologies including augmented reality, autonomous navigation, and digital twins, all important areas for economic and commercial applications.”

     Although in this case, China’s increased focus on remote sensing research has been going on for a while, more recent trends include less focus on research in the U.S., especially with the new Trump administration, which has significantly cut scientific research funding from universities and the government. Basically, that means that China is catching up in R&D competition. I believe we need to retain our edge by investing more, not less, in research.  

     The paper’s abstract and some figures from the paper are given below. One notes that more papers are mentioning machine learning and deep learning in regard to remote sensing. Thus, AI/machine learning is becoming a feature of some remote sensing algorithms. The last two figures show China’s recent dominance in the number of patents filed.

   

 

 

References:

 

China commands 47% of remote sensing research, while U.S. produces just 9%. Science X staff. Phys.org. November 5, 2025. China commands 47% of remote sensing research, while U.S. produces just 9%

Remote Sensing Publications 1961–2023—Analysis of National and Global Trends. Debra Laefer and Jingru Hua. Geomatics 2025, 5(3), 47. September 12, 2025. Remote Sensing Publications 1961–2023—Analysis of National and Global Trends