|
|
2005 July — Vol. XIV, No. 5 |
 |
Current Issues |
|
|
EOM July 2005 > Departments > News
Geospatial News
Michelle Lee
Quo Vadis Photogrammetry?
What is the future of aerial remote sensing techniques? That is the subject to be explored at the 50th Photogrammetric Week (PhoWo), September 5-9, at the Institute for Photogrammetry at the University of Stuttgart. PhoWo will include lectures and demonstrations in English and German on such topics as the performance of remote sensing, Web-based photogrammetric image and geodata services, and the future of photogrammetry. A pre-conference tutorial will be given on September 4th. PhoWo will also honor the recipient of the 2005 Carl Pulfrich Award for scientific, application-oriented design and manufacturing in the field of remote sensing and Earth imaging.
IKONOS to Collect Satellite Imagery of Alaska
Figure 1: The transitional zone between the timbered uplands and the inter-tidal wetlands near the mouth of the Little Susitna River, a major salmon stream in South Central Alaska. Click on image to see enlarged.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has contracted Space Imaging to provide IKONOS satellite imagery of Alaska for the USDA's Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) program. The NRI surveys land use and natural resource conditions on U.S. non-federal lands, including crop and range land, and serves as the federal government's principal source of information on the status, condition, and trends of soil, water, and related resources in the United States and U.S.-owned territories. As part of its urban assessment program, the NRI can determine how much land has been gained or lost over a period of time.
IKONOS imagery will supply a more accurate mapping product than aerial photography, save time and resources, and provide a reference on which to compare and register changes. Once this new system is in place, it will be possible to collect most data elements with remote sensing, thereby greatly reducing the need for field visits. The inventory process has a longer cycle in Alaska due to the difficult logistics of acquiring data in its remote regions. IKONOS has been initially tasked to capture images of 38 contiguous areas of interest. An additional 350 areas of interest will eventually be acquired. Some areas captured by IKONOS allow the NRI to cluster samples and view two to three primary sample units at one time, which enables it to maximize its return on investment.
New LiDAR and SAR 3-D Software
Figure 2b: A view of the QT Reader screen at startup. Click on image to see enlarged.
Figure 2a: Snapshot of playback of the Baltimore Fly-by sample data track available for the QT Reader software. Click on image to see enlarged.
Applied Imagery, a geospatial software company, has released QT Reader, a free version of QT Modeler, its LiDAR and SAR 3-D modeling and analysis package. QT Reader, available for download, enables users to visualize and navigate existing point cloud and surface models in 3-D in real time. It also enables users to distribute 3-D models created using QT Modeler to an unlimited audience. The legacy QT Reader, renamed the QT Reader Pro, provides additional capabilities. These programs are based on a tool created at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab.
New Method Improves Accuracy of Spectrometers
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a method to correct for stray-light errors in the use of spectrometers. The method can be incorporated into spectrometer software to perform real-time stray-light corrections to less than 0.001 percent of a total signal. This benefits such fields as color measurement, lighting development, remote sensing, biotechnology, and astronomy. For information about a calibration service to characterize spectrometers using the new method, contact Yuqin Zong at [email protected], or (301) 975-2332.
New Atlas Documents Environmental Changes
Figure 3: Yellow River, China (sample image from the atlas) Click on image to see enlarged.
Satellite images document global environmental changes in a new atlas released to mark World Environment Day 2005. The celebration, held June 5th this year in San Francisco, focuses worldwide attention and enhances political action on the environment. The new book, One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment, was produced by the United Nations Environment Programme in collaboration with organizations including the United States Geological Survey and NASA. Images taken decades ago are printed next to current images showing, among other things, deforestation, oil and gas development, forest fires, the retreat of glaciers and polar ice, and the growth of major cities. Researchers hope the atlas will have an impact on governments, private business, non-governmental organizations, and private individuals by highlighting how globalization is driving local and regional change. The atlas can be purchased at Earth Print.
European Space Agency's COASTCHART Project
Figure 4: Wide-swath radar image (400 kilometers wide) over the coastline of Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The city of Lagos (Nigeria) is clearly visible on the coast in the mid-left part of the image. The river entrances of Escravos and Forcados are well shown on the right part of the image. Click on image to see enlarged.
The European Space Agency's COASTCHART project aims to develop and qualify a coastline information system that provides satellite-derived coastal maps suitable for operational use by hydrographic organizations. It will allow for the delineation of 6,000 kilometers of West African coastline, from Senegal to Congo, and will also enable standard navigation charts to be updated from space-based observations. The project is funded under the Data User Element (DUE), a programmatic instrument of the European Space Agency for the development and demonstration of space-based information services that respond to the operational needs of user communities.
The core image processing, image interpretation, Web mapping, and GIS-based cartographic chart environments for the COASTCHART project is provided by Geomatica 9 — an image processing, spatial analysis, and mapping tool suite produced by PCI Geomatics. This version of the product features enhanced orthorectification and mosaicking capabilities. Geomatica's software will allow spatial data from multiple sources to be processed and integrated into the COASTCHART system.
New Water Vapor Sensor
Figure 5: New water vapor sensor. Click on image to see enlarged.
A new water vapor sensor combines an air sampler designed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research with a diode laser from SpectraSensors. Mounted on the outside of commercial planes, the sampler channels air into the measurement cell housed in a casing just inside the aircraft shell. The sampler eliminates most ice crystals, particles, rain, and other distractions to improve measurement sensitivity. The laser frequency sees only water vapor in the air flow.
UPS is flying the Water Vapor Sensing System II (WVSS II) on 25 of its Boeing 757s on regular commercial flights. This allows the WVSS II to gather data more often, at higher vertical resolution, and at lower cost than satellites and balloons. Better water vapor data can improve forecasts of thunderstorms, microbursts, turbulence, fog, ceiling visibility, rotating wakes from other aircraft, snow and ice storms, and year-round precipitation. Improved aviation weather forecasts can make flying safer, allow airlines to expand the number and location of routes, provide alternate landing options, and save fuel.
Preliminary results show the WVSS II data are highly consistent with balloon data up to 35,000 feet. This month's tests will verify the sensing system for other uses by forecasters, air traffic controllers, and research scientists.
Carbon Cycle Workshop
Improved methods of tracking Earth's carbon cycle was the focus of a workshop titled "Carbon from Space" held June 6-8 at the European Space Research Institute in Frascati, Italy. Scientists create intricate numerical models to try to improve their understanding of various segments of the carbon cycle, but significant knowledge gaps remain, especially concerning the exchange of carbon between the land surface and the atmosphere. Workshop discussions covered the complexity of the models and sparse nature of the data, the development of satellites and sensors capable of measuring carbon beyond the timeframe of the current generation of satellites, and the development of a ground processing system that can deliver the required products in a simple format for use in global carbon models. Other topics included the use of continuous but sparse measurements of carbon flux through better surface characterization and the incorporation of currently available satellite observations of carbon gases.
The next generation of active observation techniques will be capable of measuring the atmospheric column without diurnal, seasonal, latitudinal, or surface restrictions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is preparing to launch its Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) in 2008, while NASA prepares its CO2-detecting mission called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory for 2007. These missions will both improve the accuracy of total available carbon cycle data collected from space.
Earth Science Consortium Elects Officers
The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) — a consortium of Earth science data centers, scientists, technologists, educators, and applications developers — has elected a new slate of officers. ESIP promotes accessibility, interoperability, and usability for Earth science data and derivative products. ESIP President, Dr. Thomas Yunck of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was elected to a second term. At the annual ESIP meeting held June 27 in San Diego, he recalled that the organization began as a project of the National Research Council ten years ago, then became a part of NASA in 1997. Yunck also highlighted new developments, including the federation's work with ESRI on the Earth Information Exchange portal, through which public, academic, and private information will be available as one resource and which will provide operational data services, decision support tools, educational materials and an advanced science research environment. New ESIP officers will serve through next year's annual summer conference and will be involved in policy development and planning for the federation.
RADARSAT International Names New Sales Manager
RADARSAT International, a company providing data, information products and services from the majority of commercially available radar and optical Earth imaging satellites, has appointed David Green as Sales Manager, North America East. He has more than 15 years of experience in the remote sensing and geomatics industry, with emphasis on such applications as mineral exploration, sea ice forecasting, disaster management, and coastal zone management. He held the position of Americas Region Channel Manager for Space Imaging, worked on value-added applications development for PCI Geomatics, and was engaged in strategic business development for satellite telemetry. He holds a master's degree in Earth Science from the University of Alberta.
In Memoriam: Allen W. Osborne
Allen W. Osborne died at home on May 6th, two years after being diagnosed with cancer. He was the president of Allen Osborne Associates, Inc., which he had founded in 1978 with his friend, Dr. Al Schmitt. Osborne also had an extremely successful career in the aerospace industry — including stints with Ryan Aeronautical, as Director of Marketing, and with Teledyne Systems, as VP of Marketing — after enlisting and fighting in the Korean War.
In 1982, Osborne led Allen Osborne Associates into GPS with the production of the TTR-5 Time Transfer Receiver for the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology), the first commercial GPS time and frequency receiver with NBS format. Under his leadership, his company also manufactured the Rogue Receiver, designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and built:
- the first GPS common-view time transfer receiver with 2-5 nanosecond accuracy, in 1983;
- the first all digital, 24-channel, 8-satellite P-code GPS receiver (SNR-8 Rogue), in 1985;
- the first commercially-available choke ring antenna for multipath suppression, in 1985;
- the Mini-Rogue, 24-channel, 8-satellite, P-code receiver, in 1988;
- the first hand-held dual-frequency Y-code GPS receivers for Geodesy/Surveying (Rascal and Rascal SM), in 1995; and
- the first RTK (Real Time Kinematic) hand-held GPS surveying system (Rascal with RTK), in 1996.
Osborne focused on the high-end timing receiver market which culminated in deliveries of sub-nanosecond SAASM-based Time Transfer Receivers to the U.S. Nautical Observatory, as well as commercial receiver versions to timing laboratories around the world.
Applanix Appoints New Senior Executives
Applanix recently appointed its co-founder and President, Dr. Blake Reid, to the new role of Executive Vice President and Dr. Steven Woolven, the company's current General Manager and Vice President Operations, to serve as President. Both appointments became effective July 1.
Since the formation of Applanix in 1991, Dr. Reid has spearheaded the company's corporate expansion in a high-tech, business-to-business environment, as a supplier of inertial-based positioning solutions to commercial markets. In his new role, he will draw on his background in navigation and control technologies to focus on inertial-based product development and related business concepts. Dr. Woolven has been with Applanix since 1992, and has held several key positions in executive management, product management, and engineering. He will now take corporate-wide responsibility for business and strategic planning to expand the company's business platform.
Applanix, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trimble (which acquired the company in 2003), develops, manufactures, sells and supports precision products that measure the position and orientation of vehicles in dynamic environments. Applanix' Position and Orientation Systems (POS) are used in a variety of applications including road profiling, GIS data acquisition, aerial survey and mapping, railroad track maintenance, and seafloor mapping.
About the Author
Michelle Lee is a freelance writer in Eugene, Oregon.
|
|
©Copyright 2005-2021 by GITC America, Inc. Articles may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior authorization from GITC America, Inc. |