MorePictometry International announced that it will provide the preliminary digital camera calibration system for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Earth Resource Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. This system will support the initial steps in the calibration for digital aerial sensor systems for the aerial mapping community.
As the aerial imaging industry shifts from film-based technology to digitally acquired data, limited standards are in place to calibrate digital aerial sensors. Pictometry developed its calibration system specifically to provide both itself and the USGS cost- effective calibration for digitally acquired data. The EROS Data Center is a data management, systems development, and research field center for the National Mapping Division of the USGS. One of its primary responsibilities includes calibrating sensors for the remote sensing industry.
Until now, the organization did not offer the capability to calibrate digital camera mapping information. Pictometry's system will allow the USGS to standardize a wide variety of digital frame cameras.
The Pictometry system runs on the Windows operating system, providing ease of use, and quickly calibrates a wide variety of sensor systems. Its control point cage (CPC) approach to processing, developed jointly with Applanix, adds depth to the calibration images, enhancing their quality. The system was developed to utilize a Free-Network Bundle Adjustment to perform calibration and ease setup requirements. It is capable of determining geometric calibration parameters that include focal length, principal point offset, Gaussian and balanced coefficients of radial distortion, coefficients of decentering distortion, and coefficients to model differential scale.
Pictometry will deliver the calibration system to the USGS in the second quarter of 2003.
