In the construction industry today, spatial digital data is linked and evaluated in a variety of ways. For Karl Kraus, it was clear at an early stage that the management of terrain data would be of central importance, which is why he initiated the development of a topographic information system and played a key role in the necessary SCOP software.
Kraus studied surveying at the Technical University of Munich, after which he worked for the Bavarian Surveying and Land Consolidation Administration. In 1974, he went to the Vienna University of Technology, where he pushed digital image processing and remote sensing.
From 1987 to 1989 Kraus was rector of the Vienna University of Technology, and from 1992 to 1996 he was congress director of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He published more than 170 papers and five books, and was honored many times, for example with the Carl Pulfrich Award. The Karl Kraus Young Scientists Award is given in his memory, and the Karl Kraus Medal is awarded every four years.