Land use patterns are also useful in modeling, and can be derived from aerial video interpretation. Image-processing programs use signatures to recognize different land cover types. For example, we identified agricultural lands with aerial photos and other datasets, and marked the agriculture pixels in a satellite image. This signature was then applied to the entire TM scene, and all pixels with similar spectral values were labeled as agricultural fields. A large number of sampled points are needed to accurately delineate the spectral value of a land cover type.
Aerial video can provide land cover data that is useful for signature generation.
Another use of aerial video is in accuracy assessment. We need some way to determine the accuracy and the sources of error in the land cover maps. Remote sensing is less expensive and faster because personnel are not required to sample land cover on the ground. Aerial video is a form of remote sensing where video is collected while flying transects over the area of interest. Our interpretation procedures are modeled after Slaymaker et al.