# Presentation: 604083

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

- Presented to USDA Imagery Planning Meeting 12/04/08
- By: Alistair Stuart

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**From film-based photography to digital image acquisition.**

**90 years**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**General Benefits of Digital Acquisition:**
**Superior image quality**
**12-bit image data**
**4-band multispectral**
**Higher geometric accuracy**
**Compressed delivery schedule**
**Completely electronic workflows**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Image acquisition programs:**
**National imagery programs: NAIP, IFTN**
**Traditional resource imagery: Forest Service**
**Small area acquisition progams: **
**	****	****- natural resource management & conservation**
**	****	****- water resource / wetlands management**
**	****	****- fish & wildlife**

## NAIP

**NAIP**

**Transition to digital already well under way (>85% in 2008)**
**4 primes are DMC users**
** ****Ideal program for large-format digital sensors:**
- Large area coverage
- Rapid turnaround
- Ortho deliverable
- 4-band

## NAIP - Future

**NAIP - Future**

**100% digital in 2009**
**4-band multispectral**
**Tighter absolute positional accuracy requirements **
**Morph into IFTN?**

## Forestry Resource Programs

**Applications include:**
**Vegetation species mapping**
**Wildfire fuel mapping**
**Resource inventory, timber yield measurement**
**Facilities mapping and design**
**Requirements:**
**Higher resolution (1 foot)**
**60% forward overlap for stereo coverage**
**ABGPS & IMU,  Aerial Triangulation**
**4-band (RGB & NIR)**
**Pilot projects flown in 2008 with DMC**

## Small Area Acquisition Programs

**Includes:**
**NRI/PSU****	****National Resource Inventory / Primary Sample Units**
**FIA ****	****	****Forest Inventory and Analysis**
**CRP ****	****Conservation Reserve Program **
**WRP ****	****Wetlands Reserve Program**

## Small Area Acquisition Programs

**Future Trends:**
**Film -> Digital**
**Natural Color -> 4-band Multispectral **
**Photo Analysis -> Orthoimages and GIS Mapping**
**Increasing positional accuracy requirements:**
**	****	****- ABGPS and IMU data**
**	****	**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Categories of digital sensors:**
**Large format – FOV equal or greater than 6” film cameras**
**	****	****- large area ortho programs created new market**
**	****	****- big investment required****	****(> $1M)**
**Medium format – FOV ~ 50% of 6” film cameras**
**	****	****- more affordable**
**	****	****- until now, no metric or 4-band sensors available**
**	****	****- potential replacement of 6” film cameras for other applications**
**Small format**
**	****	****- not interesting – don’t meet geometric / radiometric requirements**
**	****	****- previous “medium format” sensors should actually be here**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Intergraph Solutions include:**
**DMC ****	****large format metric digital mapping camera**
**RMK D****	****medium format metric digital mapping camera**
**Z/I Mount****	****3-axis gyro-stabilized mount**
**Z/I Inflight****	****GPS flight management system**
**GPS/IMU ****	****direct georeferencing systems**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Intergraph Sensors:**
**Custom-designed, high quality optics**
**Metric cameras - geometric accuracy**
**Electronic Forward Motion Compensation**
**4-band multispectral**
**Field-serviceable – maximize uptime**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Intergraph Sensors:**
**Custom-designed, high quality optics**
**Metric cameras - geometric accuracy**
**Electronic Forward Motion Compensation**
**4-band multispectral**
**Field-serviceable – maximize uptime**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Intergraph Sensors:**
**Custom-designed, high quality optics**
**Metric cameras - geometric accuracy**
**Electronic Forward Motion Compensation**
**4-band multispectral**
**Field-serviceable – maximize uptime**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Intergraph Sensors:**
**Custom-designed, high quality optics**
**Metric cameras - geometric accuracy**
**Electronic Forward Motion Compensation**
**4-band multispectral**
**Field-serviceable – maximize uptime**

## DMC Digital Mapping Camera

## DMC Overview

-  **Large format (13,824 x 7,680 pixel) metric frame camera**
** ****Custom Optics by Carl Zeiss**        **F = 120mm    FOV = 70° x 42°**
** ****Shutter, aperture continuously variable: ****	****1/50 – 1/300 sec ;  f/4 – f/22**
** ****Electronic (TDI) Forward Motion Compensation**
** ****Radiometric resolution: 12 bit**
** ****Frame rate: 2.1 sec / image**
** ****4-band Multispectral (B, G, R, NIR), pan-sharpened**
** ****Solid State data storage – cartridges hold up to 2,000 images each**
** ****Higher mapping accuracy than film**

**DMC Overview**

## DMC Applications

**Suitable for deployment on:**
**NAIP**
**IFTN (all proposed resolutions)**
**Forest resource mapping**
**Any other large area programs**
**Also capable of large scale mapping**
**Versatility!**

## San Juan River

** ****1****st**** DMC Project in North America**
** ****Performed in mid-year 2003**
** ****Collection by 3001, Inc.**
** ****1.0’ pixel, 800 frames**
** ****Delivered RGB, CIR, PAN**

** ****State-wide ortho projects**
**  ****1.0 meter pixel**

##  Large-scale engineering projects

** ****Large-scale engineering projects**
** ****< 5cm pixel**

## Data Classification

## RMK D

**The New Medium Format Digital Aerial Camera from Intergraph**

## RMK D Overview

**Medium format (6000 x 6500 pixels) metric frame camera**
**Custom Optics by Carl Zeiss ****	****F = 45mm   FOV = 52****° x ****55****° **
**Electronic (TDI) Forward Motion Compensation**
**Frame rate: 1 second / image**
**Radiometric resolution: 12 bit**
**4-Band B, G, R, NIR – Full resolution, no Bayer pattern**
**Solid-state data storage **
**Light weight (~130 lbs) and Power-efficient (25Amp max load)**

## RMK D Overview

**Metric accuracy for even large-scale mapping projects**
**Higher B/H ratio ( 0.42 ) for vertical accuracy**
**Swath width approx 50% of DMC**
**Entry-level pricing ~50% of large-format sensors**
**Affordable to small businesses**

## RMK D Applications

**Suitable for deployment on:**
**Small Area Programs**
**NRI PSU****	**
**WRP**
**Others?**
**Pilot projects in 2009?**

## US Commercial Capacity

**Systems deployed to date in the US:**
**DMC****	****	****25 systems, of which 21 are with commercial users**
**RMK D****	****First systems to be installed in 2009**
**Future Potential:**
**Film camera replacements:  150**

## Transition to Digital Acquisition

**Conclusions:**
**Transition for some large area programs almost complete**
**New metric medium format sensors suitable for small area programs**
**Significant benefits to users: image data quality and versatility**
**Digital acquisition capacity of commercial fliers increasing**