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Course exercises
Appendix A 171
PCIDSK files are identical in all operating environments and can be used on
networked systems without the need to reformat the data.
PCIDSK files Conventional files
Saved as a single file using the file name Saved Separately using different
extension .pix file name extensions
Image Files
Image channels
Starting OrthoEngine
Windows
To start OrthoEngine on Windows systems
1. Click the Start button, click Programs, or All apps, click PCI Geomatics,
click Geomatica 2017 and then click OrthoEngine
The OrthoEngine window opens.
UNIX
To start OrthoEngine on Unix systems
1. Enter the Unix environment
2. At the command prompt, type orthoeng
Alternatively, click the OrthoEngine icon on the Geomatica Toolbar.
Starting a Project
To start a new project you need to select a math model. A math model is a
mathematical relationship used to correlate the pixels of an image to correct
locations on the ground accounting for known distortions. The math model that you
choose directly impacts the outcome of your project. To achieve the results that
you are looking for, you need to understand what the math models do, what the
math models require to produce an acceptable solution, and which math model to
use with your project. You can use one of six math modeling methods:
• Aerial Photography
• Optical Satellite Modeling
• Radar Satellite Modeling
• Polynomial
• Thin Plate Spline
• Adjust Orthos
• None (mosaic only)
The OrthoEngine Workbook includes exercises and detailed descriptions of the
options available for the different math models.
In this manual, an Aerial Photography Modelling project is used to examine the
Data Preparation, Data Extraction and Data Correction stages of an OrthoEngine
project.
Creating a project
OrthoEngine works on a project-by-project basis. Therefore, you need to open an
existing project or create a new project before you gain access to the functions
within OrthoEngine.
In this lesson, you will set up a new project using optical data. The procedures are
the same for working with radar data.
To create a new project
1. On the OrthoEngine window in the File menu, click New
The Project Information window opens
2. Click Browse
The File Selector window opens
3. Locate the SPOT folder
4. In the File name box, enter spot.prj and click Save
The path and filename appear in the File name box in the Project Information
window.
5. In the Name box, enter SPOT Project
6. In the Description box, enter SPOT ortho project for Irvine, CA
7. For the Math Modelling Method, select Optical Satellite Modelling
8. Under Options, select Toutin’s Model
Note that SPOT is listed in this category.
9. Click OK
The Project Information window closes and the Set Projection window opens.
Output Projection
To enter the Output Projection parameters
1. From the list to the left of the Earth Model button, select UTM
The Earth Models window opens.
2. Click the Ellipsoids tab
3. Select E000 and click Accept
The UTM Zones window opens.
4. Select Zone 11 and click Accept
The UTM Rows window opens.
5. Select Row S and click Accept
6. In the Output pixel spacing box, type 10
7. In the Output line spacing box, type 10
GCP Projection
To enter the GCP Projection parameters
1. Under GCP Projection, click Set GCP Projection based on Output
Projection
The GCP Projection adopts the same settings used for the Output Projection.
2. Click OK
The Set Projection window closes.
Note If you wish to modify the projection information, reopen
the Set Projection window.
Changes to the projection mid-project will make any
existing ortho photos invalid.
7. Click OK
The File Selection window closes. Both SPOT images are now part of your
project.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Created a project
• Set the projection parameters
• Added images to the project
• Saved the project
Creating a project
OrthoEngine works on a project-by-project basis. Therefore, you need to open an
existing project or create a new project before you gain access to the functions
within OrthoEngine.
In this lesson, you will set up a new project using four aerial photographs data.
To create a new project
1. On the OrthoEngine window in the File menu, click New
The Project Information window opens.
2. Click Browse
The File Selector window opens.
3. Locate the AIRPHOTO folder
4. In the File name box, enter airphoto.prj and click Save
The path and filename appear in the File name box in the Project Information
window.
5. In the Name box, enter Airphoto Project
6. In the Description box, enter Airphoto ortho project for Richmond Hill,
ON
7. For the Math Modelling Method, select Aerial Photography
Camera Type
Select the type of camera in the Options area of the Project Information window.
The options are:
• A Standard Aerial camera
• A Digital/Video camera
• ADS
The photos used in this lesson were taken with a Standard Aerial camera.
Note If your photos were taken with a Digital/Video camera,
refer to the Digital Airphoto exercise in the OrthoEngine
Workbook for further details.
Exterior Orientation
The exterior orientation is:
• Computed from ground control points and tie points, or
• Provided by the user
Many aircraft are equipped with onboard Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and
sometimes with Inertial Navigation Systems (INS). These systems collect the
exterior orientation of the camera directly on the aircraft. Select User Input to use
the GPS and INS readings alone and accept them as correct. Select Compute from
GCPs and Tie Points to use ground control points and/or tie points to refine the GPS
and INS results.
To select an exterior orientation
9. In the Exterior Orientation section, select Compute From GCPs & Tie
Points
10. Click OK
The Project Information window closes and the Set Projection window opens.
If you collect GCPs from multiple sources, you can change the GCP Projection to
match each source using the Set Projection window. Using different projections
increases processing time during orthorectification, but it means that you do not
have to reproject your ground control prior to using it in OrthoEngine.
The projection information needs to be set at the beginning of each project. In the
Set Projection window, enter the projection information for the Richmond Hill,
Ontario area.
Output Projection
To enter the Output Projection parameters
1. From the list to the left of the Earth Model button, select UTM
The Earth Models window opens.
2. On the Datums tab
3. Select D000 and click Accept
The UTM Zones window opens.
4. Select Zone 17 and click Accept
The UTM Rows window opens.
5. Select Row T and click Accept
6. In the Output pixel spacing box, type 0.4
7. In the Output line spacing box, type 0.4
GCP Projection
To enter the GCP Projection parameters
8. Under GCP Projection, click Set GCP Projection based on Output
Projection.
The GCP Projection adopts the same settings used for the Output Projection.
9. Click OK.
The Set Projection window closes and the Standard Aerial Camera Calibration
Information window opens.
Note If you wish to modify the projection information, reopen
the Set Projection window.
Changes to the projection mid-project will make any
existing orthophotos invalid.
Focal Length
The Focal Length is the distance between the focal point of the lens and the film.
Entering an incorrect focal length may introduce unwanted distortions in your
project. This is a compulsory parameter.
Fiducial Marks
Fiducial marks are small crosses or small V-shaped indents located precisely on
each of the four corners and/or exactly midway along the four sides of a standard
aerial photograph. After you identify the fiducial marks in your scanned image,
OrthoEngine uses the fiducial marks entered from the camera calibration report to
establish an image coordinate frame. The fiducial mark coordinates are a
compulsory parameter for standard aerial photographs.
Photo Scale
Image Scale is the ratio of the size of the objects in the image to the size of the
objects on the ground. This parameter is optional, except when you want to import
GPS/INS observations and use them during the automatic tie point measurements.
Entering the incorrect Image Scale may cause the computation of the math model
(the bundle adjustment) to fail.
Earth Radius
The Earth Radius is the radius of curvature of the earth at the location of the
images in the project. This parameter is optional since aerial photographs usually
use a large scale (for example, 1:8,000) and the error due to the earth's radius is
negligible. You only need earth radius correction for images with a scale over
1:20,000.
Manual collection
To manually collect fiducial marks
1. Click the approximate location of the fiducial mark in the top left corner, using
the zoom tools as necessary
A red crosshair appears in the viewer.
2. Click precisely in the center of the fiducial mark
3. In the Fiducial Mark Collection window, click Set beside the Top left pixel and
line boxes
The Pixel and Line coordinates for the fiducial mark appear in the window.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 to collect fiducial marks in the Top right, Bottom right
and Bottom left corners
5. For the Calibration Edge, select Left
This is the position of the data strip as it appears in the image on the screen.
Errors
Under Errors, OrthoEngine compares the computed fiducial mark positions based on
the measurements taken from the screen with the fiducial information that you
entered from the camera calibration report. Click Clear beside any fiducial marks
where the error is not acceptable and repeat the collection process.
The error should be less than one pixel, unless the image is scanned at a very high
resolution. Large errors may indicate that either the coordinates from the camera
calibration report were entered incorrectly or the fiducial mark was collected
incorrectly from the scanned image.
Automatic collection
After collecting the fiducial marks manually for one of your images, OrthoEngine
can use automated pattern matching to automatically collect the fiducial marks for
the rest of your images in the project.
To automatically collect fiducial marks for the remaining photos
1. After manually collecting fiducials for the first photo, click Auto Fiducial
Collection
2. The Auto Fiducial Collection window will open. Click Run
3. After the Progress Monitor closes, click OK
4. To accept the fiducial marks, click OK
The Fiducial Mark Collection window closes.
You can verify the accuracy of the fiducial mark collection by viewing the
fiducial.rpt report in the folder where the project is saved.
Note This is a good time to save your project file.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Created a project
• Set projection parameters
• Entered camera calibration information
• Added the airphotos to the project
• Collected fiducial marks
• Saved your project
Checkpoint
You are now ready to proceed to Module 2: Computing the math model. In Module 2,
you collect ground control points and tie points for your project, and then calculate
the math model by way of a bundle adjustment.
Background elevation
Background elevation represents those areas inside the DEM for which there is no
data provided. For DEMs generated by OrthoEngine, the background elevation
defaults to -150. Other DEMs have different background elevation values that you
must know before they can be used.
Note If you do not know the background value, click DEM Info
in the DEM File window. The window displays the three
lowest and three highest values in the DEM.
IXYE format
The format of the S129.GCP file is IXYE, which means that each row of text
contains the following information from left to right:
• The GCP ID (I)
• The georeferenced East/West coordinate (X)
• The georeferenced North/South coordinate (Y)
• The elevation (E)
The Pixel and Line positions will be taken from the uncorrected S129 photo.
Figure 23. Read GCP From Text File window with GCPs in IXYE format
2. Click OK
The GCP Text file window opens.
1. In the GCP Text File window, select G0014 and click Transfer to GCP
collection panel
The IXYE coordinate is transferred to the GCP Collection window. If Auto
locate is enabled in the GCP Collection window, OrthoEngine will estimate the
position of the GCP in the uncorrected image. In the viewer for S129, you will
notice that the crosshair have automatically moved near the correct position
for G0014.
2. Use the figure below to more accurately position the crosshair for G0014
IPLXYE format
The format of the S130.GCP file is IPLXYE, which means that each row of text
contains the following information from left to right:
• The GCP ID (I)
• The image pixel position (P)
• The image line position (L)
• The georeferenced East/West coordinate (X)
• The georeferenced North/South coordinate (Y)
• The elevation (E)
To open S130.pix as the Working Image
Figure 27. Read GCP From Text File window for GCPs in IPLXYE format
6. Check that the GCPs are listed correctly and click OK
After the GCPs are read in, the GCP ID number for each point appears in the
viewer in red. Check to see that the GCP positions are correct.
To import the GCPs for S188.pix and S189.pix:
1. Open S188.pix and S189.pix
2. Make S188 the Working image
3. Import the GCPs for S188 using the S188.GCP text file
4. Make S189 the Working image
5. Import the GCPs for S189 using the S189.GCP text file
Note When a photo is selected as the Working image, the GCPs
collected for this image are listed in the GCP Collection
window.
Check points
Whereas GCPs are used in computing the math model, Check Points are used to
check the accuracy of the math model and are not used to compute the math
model. OrthoEngine calculates the difference between their position and the
position determined by the model; therefore, the Check Points provide an
independent accuracy assessment of the math model. Typically Check Points should
be used for points that are known to highly accurate. For instance, GPS surveyed
points make good Check Points. You can create a Check Point in the same way that
you create a GCP. And it is even possible to convert a GCP to a Check Point and
vice versa.
Next, you will take an existing GCP and turn it into a Check Point.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Collected GCPs from a geocoded image
• Imported GCPs from a text file
• Collected stereo GCPs
• Avoid repetitive features such as parking lots and lines on a highway, since it
is easy to select the wrong one.
• While tie points that join two images together are effective, tie points that
join 3 or more together are even better. Tie points that join multiple images
together produce a more accurate model.
• If the elevation value at the tie point location is known, then enter that value
in the elevation field in the tie point collection panel. These points help to
quantify elevation, improving the accuracy of the geometric model.
Now that you have collected some tie points manually, you will collect tie points
automatically.
To open the Automatic Tie Point Collection window
1. On the GCP/TP Collection toolbar, click Automatically collect tie points.
The Automatic Tie Point Collection window opens.
Search radius
This is the number of pixels defining the radius of the search frame. If you are
experiencing a low success rate with the Automatic Tie Point Collection,
increasing the search radius may improve the results.
Approximate Elevation
Entering an approximate elevation allows the matching algorithm to make a
better first estimate of the parallax between the images. This improves the
success rate of the collection process.
Images to process
Tie Points are automatically collected in one of two ways:
All Images
To collect tie points for all images in the project.
Working Image
To collect tie points for the image designated as the working image. This
option is available if there is currently a Working Image in the viewer.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Collected tie points manually
• Collected tie points automatically
• Checked the project overview
Once the sensor orientation is calculated, it is used to drive all the other processes
such as digital elevation model extraction and orthorectification. You must obtain
an accurate math model solution before continuing with other processes.
Residual errors do not necessarily reflect errors in the GCPs or tie points, but rather
the overall quality of the math model. In other words, residual errors are not
necessarily mistakes that need to be corrected. They may indicate bad points, but
generally, they simply indicate how well the computed math model fits the ground
control system.
Note In Rational Functions computed from GCPs, Polynomial,
and Thin Plate Spline projects, images are not connected
together with tie points. Therefore, the math model and
the resulting residual errors are calculated for each image
separately. If you selected the Thin Plate Spline math
model for your project, the residual errors will always
indicate zero. Use Check Points to check its accuracy.
Another way to verify the quality of the model is to collect Check Points. Check
Points are not used to compute the math model, but OrthoEngine calculates the
difference between their position and the position determined by the model and
includes the error in the Residual Errors report. Therefore, the Check Points provide
an independent accuracy assessment of the math model.
In most projects you should aim for the residual errors to be one pixel or less.
However, you should also consider how the resolution of the image, the accuracy of
your ground control source, and the compatibility between your ground control
source and the images can affect the residual errors.
• You may want to use a topographic map as a ground control source, however,
features on topographic maps may be shifted several meters for aesthetic
reasons. This limits the accuracy of the coordinates that you can obtain from
the map. Also, the detail visible on a 1:50,000 scale topographic map may
not be compatible with high resolution imagery. For example, if you choose a
road intersection in a topographic map as your coordinate, the same road
intersection in the aerial photograph may consist of several pixels. Therefore,
the residual error will likely be larger than a pixel.
• An existing LANDSAT orthorectified image may make a convenient ground
control source for registering a new IKONOS image, but the resolution of the
LANDSAT image is 30 meters and the resolution of the IKONOS raw image is
1 meter. Therefore, even if you could pick the right pixel in the IKONOS
image, your GCP from the LANDSAT image is only accurate to 30 meters. You
cannot achieve accuracy of 2 to 4 meters unless your ground control source is
equally accurate.
• GCPs with high residual errors can be selected to be disregarded in the
computation by turning them into inactive points. Inactive points are not used
in computing the project’s math model. So, you could make some points
inactive, recompute the model and see the effect those points were having. If
points really have no value and are clearly erroneous then they should be
deleted. But making points inactive can be useful in determining if they have
value or not.
• At first glance, a residual error of 250 meters in ground distance may appear
too high. However, if your raw data has a resolution of 1000 meters, such as
AVHRR, you have already achieved sub-pixel accuracy.
Outliers
A ground control point (GCP) or tie point with a very high residual error compared
to the others in the Residual Errors report may indicate an error in the original GCP
coordinate, a typographical mistake, or an error in the position of the GCP or tie
point on the raw image. These points are called outliers.
To correct an outlier
1. Verify that the feature you picked in the raw image corresponds to the one
from your source.
2. Verify that the typed ground coordinate matches the coordinate listed in your
source.
3. Confirm that the ground coordinate you collected in the raw image is
consistent with the coordinate you selected from the vector or the geocoded
image.
4. Verify that the projection and datum for the ground coordinate are correct.
Residuals list
The residuals can be plotted using one of three formats:
X,Y
to display the x-axis and y-axis residual errors for each point as separate
vectors.
XY
to display the residual error for each point as one vector representing the
combined x-axis and y-axis residual errors.
Z
(for stereo GCPs and stereo check points only) to display the residual error for
the elevation of each point as one vector along the y-axis.
Coordinate system
There are two options for the axis on which the residual error will be displayed.
Ground
to display the residual error using Easting and Northing directions (ground
coordinate system).
Image
to display the residual error using the x and y axis directions (image coordinate
system).
To open a photo
1. From the Processing step list, select GCP/TP Collection.
2. Click Open a new or existing image.
3. Select S129.pix and click Open.
4. On the GCP/TP Collection toolbar, click Collect GCPs Manually.
The GCP Collection window opens.
You will now plot the residuals on the photo you opened.
To plot the residuals on a photo
1. In the Image Viewer window, click the Residual Display icon.
2. Select Ground Control Points, Check Points and Tie Points from the drop-down
list.
To view the vector residuals
1. In the GCP Collection window, select G0001 from the Point ID list.
The viewer is updated to show this point at a resolution of 1:1. The vector
residuals are plotted as red lines.
Sort by
Residual
To order the residual errors from the highest to the lowest value.
Data snooping
To order the normalized residual errors from highest to lowest probability of error
that is not noise. Because the residuals are highly correlated to one another, a
blunder in one point may cause all points to have higher residuals. Because of
this, it may be difficult to isolate the source of the problem. Data snooping tries
to uncorrelate the errors in order to isolate the bad point by calculating this
statistical value.
Automatic Point Selection
Allows the user to define which points to be selected based upon their residual
values.
Residual errors
For each point in the project, the Residual Errors window lists the information shown in the
following table.
Residual errors
Heading Description
Point ID The point’s identification number
Res The combined residual error
Res X The point’s X-axis residual error
Res Y The point’s Y-axis residual error
Type Type of point, GCP or TP
Image ID Image to which the point belongs
Image X X-coordinate - # of pixels from left
Image Y Y-coordinate - # of pixels from top
Comp X Computer adjusted X-coordinate
Comp Y Computer adjusted Y-coordinate
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Performed the model calculation
• Examined vector residual plots
• Read the residual report
Checkpoint
Need to extract or build a DEM (Module 3)
After the preparation stage, you may need to extract a Digital Elevation Model or
build a DEM from existing data. If so, proceed to the data extraction stage that
begins with Module 3: DEM operations. Here, you will extract a DEM from the four
airphoto scenes. Keep in mind that the same procedures can also be used to
extract a DEM from any stereo image pair.
Left image
This area displays the candidates for the left-looking image of the stereo pair. All
four airphotos are listed in the Left Image area when the window opens.
Right image
The Right Image area lists the candidates for the right-looking image.
Because this project contains airphotos, the idea of Left and Right Images is not
important for DEM extraction. You simply need to select the left and right images in
order to create pairs of epipolar images. If you decide to proceed to 3-D feature
extraction, which also uses epipolar pairs, you will save time if you generate pairs
that can be use in 3-D viewing. If your photos are scanned north up, the photo that
is geographically on the left is the left image, and the photo that is geographically
on the right is the right image.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Set up for epipolar image creation
• Created epipolar images in batch mode
Epipolar DEMs
The Epipolar DEM column specifies the output name for the extracted DEMs. Two
epipolar DEMs will be created from the two sets of epipolar pairs.
DEM report
A text report is generated during the DEM extraction process. The report indicates
the parameters used to extract the DEM as well as the correlation success. The
names of the output DEM reports are specified in the DEM Report column.
Extraction options
The Extraction Options section contains the following options that govern the quality
and resolution of the DEM extraction:
Extraction method
The extraction method selected will impact the accuracy of the resulting
epipolar DEMs. The two methods available to extract the DEM are:
SGM (Semi-global matching) produces higher-quality results with fewer errors and
higher detail, but processing time is increased greatly.
Smoothing filter
The option to apply a range of smoothing filters to the DEM.
Elevation range
The minimum and maximum elevations are generated automatically (default) for
each epipolar pair. To apply minimum and maximum elevations globally for all
epipolar pairs select explicit.
The minimum and maximum are used to estimate the search area for the
correlation. This increases the speed of the correlation and reduces errors.
Failure value
This value is assigned to failed pixels within the extracted DEM. Specifying a value
assists the manual editing process. The default Failure Value is -100.
Background value
This value is used to represent “No Data” pixels in the DEM. The "No Data" or
background identifies the pixels that lie outside the extracted DEM overlap area so
they are not mistaken for elevation values. For DEMs generated by OrthoEngine,
the background elevation defaults to -150.
DEM detail
DEM Detail determines how precisely you want to represent the terrain in the DEM.
Selecting Extra High, High, Medium or Low determines at which point in the
correlation process you want to stop. Low means that the process stops during the
coarse correlation phase on aggregated pixels so the level of detail in the DEM will
be quite low. High means the process continues until correlation is performed on
images at full resolution. Selecting Extra-high goes beyond full-resolution using a
smaller window to extract higher level details.
Terrain type
The terrain type is used to aid the algorithm in the matching process. A flat terrain
is a gentle, rolling terrain type. A Hilly terrain (the default) is an uneven surface
with varying heights but not mountainous. A Mountainous terrain is a surface with
significant changes in elevations.
Output options
As the epipolar DEMs are extracted and geocoded, they are added to the geocoded
DEM file. When a new geocoded DEM is added to the file and it overlaps an existing
geocoded DEM, you must choose a method to determine which pixel value will be
used. There are three methods:
Blending
Uses cutlines to determine a seamline with minimal elevation change between
epipolar pairs. This option blends 10 pixels using the average of the overlapping
input values on either side of the cutline.
Average
To replace the pixel values in the overlap area by the average pixel values between
the existing geocoded DEM and the one being added to the file.
Highest Score
To replace the pixel values in the overlap area by the pixel value with the highest
correlation score between the existing geocoded DEM and the one being added to
the file. This option is only useful if you select Create Score Channel.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Set up to extract and geocode a DEM
• Extracted and geocoded the DEM
Geomatica FLY!
“Geomatica FLY!” provides a different 3D viewing perspective that is not possible in
Focus. This different perspective aids in image interpretation that assists in the
DEM editing process. In this exercise, you will use “FLY!” to familiarize yourself with
the image data that is draped over the extracted un-edited DSM.
Using “FLY!” before you perform any DEM editing tasks allows you to focus on the
elements of the DEM that require special attention before you apply any filtering to
the DEM.
To launch FLY! for DEM interpretation
1. Launch Geomatica Focus
2. In the Focus “Files” treelist, right select “Add”
3. Browse to the “DEM-Editing” folder within the OrthoEngine\Airphoto training
folder
4. Select the “Geocoded_DEM.pix” file and click “Open”
The file appears in the Focus “Files” treelist.
Figure 7. DEM in Files Treelist
Exercise:
Take notes of areas that may require special consideration (spikes, pits, bumpy
roads etc).
Exercise:
Randomly open the full resolution ortho preview for different areas of the DEM and
take notes of any anomalies that require special consideration.
2. On the DEM editing window, Edit via Polygons tab click the Create
Polygon Layer button
A new vector layer is added to the Focus Maps treelist
3. Click the New Polygon button
4. Digitize a new polygon around one of the pits in the road as seen in the figure
below.
5. Select Remove pits (flat) from the drop-down list on the DEM editing
window
6. Enter 85 (pixels) for the size and 5 for the gradient percent
NOTE: before entering a size in pixels it is always a good idea to use the
measure tool, to determine the size of an object.
7. Click Apply
To remove a bump
1. Using the same polygon digitized to remove the above pit, select Remove
bumps (flat) from the drop-down list.
2. Enter 25 (pixels) for the size and 5 for the gradient percent
NOTE: before entering a size in pixels it is always a good idea to use the
measure tool, to determine the size of an object.
3. Click Apply
4. Select Terrain filter (flat) from the drop-down list on the DEM editing
window
5. Enter 100 for the Size and 10 for the percent
6. Click Apply
Exercise:
Use the Quality Control tools to evaluate if additional DEM editing is required before
proceeding to the orthorectification lessons.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Used FLY! to mark areas in the DSM that required editing
• Used the full resolution update ortho-image to detect areas in the DSM
needing improvement.
• Removed a pit in a road
• Removed a bump on a road
• Performed terrain filtering to remove surface objects (building heights and
trees)
The No. of Iteration is the maximum number of times that the DEM is
smoothed.
The output DEM opens in a viewer.
The DEMs will be merged. The results should appear similar to the figure
below. For illustration purposes, the DEM below does not have any edits
(results from Lesson 3.3 - DEM Editing) applied to the GeocodedDEM.pix file.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Built a raster DEM from contour data
• Defined the georeferencing of the output DEM
Checkpoint
Module 4
You can now proceed to Module 4: orthorectification. In this module, you will
remove distortions (lens, terrain etc) and create a planimetric, geometrically
corrected image with uniform scale via the orthorectification process.
Images to process
To set up the photos
1. Open the provided airphoto_ortho.prj file in OrthoEngine
2. On the OrthoEngine window in the Processing step list, select Ortho
Generation.
A new toolbar appears containing one icon to schedule the generation of the
ortho images.
Sampling interval
The Sampling Interval controls how the computations are performed when an
image is orthorectified or geometrically corrected. When an image is
corrected, OrthoEngine selects a pixel from the output file, computes the
elevation from the DEM (if available), applies the math model to determine
which pixel location it corresponds to in the raw image, and then transfers the
data to the pixel in the output file. The Sampling Interval determines how
many output pixels are computed following this method. A Sampling Interval
of 1 means that the position of every output pixel is processed. To speed up
the process, you can increase the Sampling Interval. Note that this sampling
interval interpolates the position of the pixels, not the intensity of the pixels.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Set up for orthorectification
• Generated the four ortho photos
Manual mosaicking
You can use Manual Mosaicking to create your mosaic one image at a time, to edit
the cutlines in an automatically mosaicked project or to replace unsatisfactory
areas in the mosaic. For each image that you want to include in the mosaic file, you
must complete four steps in sequence; select an image to add, collect the cutline,
adjust the color balance and add the image to the mosaic area.
Automatic mosaicking
Although you can create your mosaic one image at a time by using Manual
Mosaicking, most of the time you will use Automatic Mosaicking to do the bulk of
the work, and you will use Manual Mosaicking to edit portions of the mosaic file.
Some projects may require more editing than others such as those containing large
bodies of water or urban areas with buildings leaning in different directions. In
addition to reducing your work load, Automatic Mosaicking will often produce a
more seamless look than if you had attempted to create the mosaic by hand.
Both manual and automatic mosaicking will be described in detail in this module
although as stated above, automatic mosaicking would generally be used to do the
bulk of the work. Manual mosaicking could then be used to edit the cutlines.
5. Use the mouse cursor to change the size, shape, and position of the mosaic
area. Define a broad area that includes part of each photo in the project.
Alternatively, use the Mosaic Extents section of the window to enter specific
corner coordinates and define the size of the mosaic area in pixels and lines.
Figure 66. Define Mosaic Area window after the area has been adjusted
6. Move the cursor inside the Mosaic Area to move and resize the frame. Define
a broad area that includes part of each photo in the project.
7. In the Mosaic File section of the Define Mosaic dialog, click Browse.
The file selector window opens.
8. For the name of the file, enter manual_mosaic.pix and click Save.
If the Create Later option is unchecked, OrthoEngine creates the new mosaic file
and stores it in the folder where your project is saved. If this option is checked, the
mosaic file will be created later.
Alternatively, you may select an existing mosaic file.
To select an existing mosaic file
1. In the Define Mosaic window, click the Define Mosaic Area From File icon in
the toolbar.
The File Selector panel opens.
Figure 69. Incorrect mosaic area definition — no overlap with selected images
1. Click OK.
OrthoEngine creates or saves your mosaic file and stores it in the folder where
your project is saved.
You are now ready to mosaic your photos.
With OrthoEngine there are two methods for generating a mosaic:
• Manual mosaicking
• Automatic mosaicking
Manual mosaicking
First, use the manual process in Lesson 5.2: Manual mosaicking to create a
seamless final product from the four orthophotos. Here, you use a set of manual
tools, which affords more precise control.
Automatic mosaicking
After this process is complete, proceed to Lesson 5.3: Automatic mosaicking and
mosaic the same set of orthophotos using the automatic tools.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Defined an area for mosaicking
• Selected images for mosaicking
Collect cutlines
To collect cutlines
1. From the tree list, select the oS129.pix image, and turn off the images
oS188.pix and oS189.pix.
2. Right-click oS130.pix to display the context menu, and select New Cutline.
Alternatively, click the New Cutline icon on the toolbar.
Edit cutlines
To edit a cutline
1. From the toolbar, click the Vector Editing icon.
The Vector Editing Tools panel opens in the toolbar.
3. Click Show Vertices to make all vertices on the selected cutline visible
4. Click on the vertex that you wish to edit and move it using the mouse
Load cutline
You can load a previously exported cutline, or any polygon vector.
To load a cutline
1. From the context menu described above, click Load Cutline.
The Import Cutline window opens.
Blend seams
Blending reduces the appearance of seams by mixing the pixels values on either
side of the cutline to achieve a gradual transition between the images.
In Automatic Mosaicking, OrthoEngine blends the seams automatically. In Manual
Mosaicking, the Blend Width option determines the number of pixels on either
side of the cutline that are used to blend the seam. In areas containing bright or
significantly different features, however, setting the Blend Width too high may
cause "ghosting" or doubling of the features.
To set the Blend Width
1. Expand the oS129.pix image in the Tree Layer.
2. Right-click the Cutline vector layer to display the context menu, and select
Set Blend Width. Set the Blend Width to 3 pixels.
3. Click OK.
A blend width of three to five pixels is recommended for most mosaicking
projects.
You can adjust the color balance in Manual Mosaicking by collecting samples in the
overlap between the images already mosaicked and the image that you are adding
to the mosaic. OrthoEngine uses these samples, which are referred to as Match
Areas, to compute a look-up table (LUT) that will adjust the color in the image that
you are adding to match the images already mosaicked.
Collect small match areas representing the different areas so the look-up table can
be used to accurately correct radiometric mismatches. For example, collect a match
area in green areas to balance greens, a match area in dark areas to match dark
values, a match area in urban areas to match urban areas, and so on. Using a
single large match area covering a large part of the image is effective only if you
have an overall bright or dark difference between the images.
Remove an image
Need to add some text here.
To remove an image from the mosaic
1. From the Tree List, select the image that you want to remove.
2. Right-click to display the context menu, and select Remove Image.
The image is removed from the current session.
Note Although you can select multiple images to add to the
session, you may only remove a single image at a time.
Reprocessing images
After the mosaic is complete, you may discover some areas that you want to
change. You can use the Reprocess option within the Manual Mosaicking tool to
edit the cutlines or adjust the color balancing for the images as required.
You can use the Reprocess option to:
2. Reproduce missing mosaic files.
3. Regenerate the mosaic at different resolutions.
4. Create a subset of the mosaic by changing the size of the Mosaic Area and
then regenerating the mosaic.
To regenerate the mosaic
1. In order to reapply mosaicking, OrthoEngine must have access to a blank
mosaic file to which the results will be written. To create this blank mosaic
file, click on the Define Mosaic Area on the OrthoEngine toolbar.
2. Click the Define Mosaic Area button, and in the file field, enter a new file
name for the blank mosaic file.
3. Click the Select Images to be Mosaicked button, and select all four of the
ortho images. Once an image is selected, it should have a cyan footprint
vector.
4. Uncheck the Create Later check box.
5. Click OK.
A message box appears, stating that OrthoEngine is creating the output
mosaic file.
6. On the OrthoEngine toolbar, click the Reapply Mosaic button under the
Mosaic processing step.
In the Reapply Mosaicking dialog, you will see all of the files that comprise the
final mosaic.
7. Place a check mark in the Use field next to each of the images.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Selected images to add to the mosaic
• Collected cutlines
• Performed color balancing
• Added images to the mosaic
• Generated the mosaic
Now that you have defined a new mosaic area, you will create the mosaic using the
automatic mosaicking tools. Afterwards, you will compare the manually generated
mosaic with the automatically generated mosaic.
To open the Automatic Mosaicking window
5. On the Mosaic toolbar, click Automatic mosaicking.
The Automatic Mosaicking window opens.
Normalization
Normalization is used to even out the brightness in the images to achieve a
more pleasing mosaic. You can set this feature differently for each image by
clicking the corresponding arrow beside the Normalization column or you can set
it for all the images by selecting the feature in the Normalization list and clicking
Apply to All.
None
To leave the images as is.
Hot Spot
To remove hot spots from the image. A hot spot is a common distortion that
results from solar reflections. Hot Spot normalizes the brightness over the
image, but it does not remove spot reflections from lakes, cars, and buildings.
Across Image 1st Order
To correct the gradual change in brightness from one side of the image to the
other. Recommended for ScanSAR and other imagery.
Across Image 2nd Order
To correct the gradual change from dark to bright to dark or vice versa across
the image, also known as an “antenna pattern”. Recommended for ScanSAR and
other imagery.
Across Image 3rd Order
To correct the gradual bright and dark patterns from one side of the image to
the other. Recommended for ScanSAR and other imagery.
Mosaicking options
Regenerate offline orthos
You can select this option to regenerate orthorectified images with a Stale or
Offline status. OrthoEngine can orthorectify the images and mosaic them in one
step. If you have already generated your orthos, as outlined in the previous
module, you do not need to select this option.
To regenerate offline orthos
3. Check Regenerate offline orthos.
Clear mosaic file before mosaicking
This options deletes existing data from the mosaic file. If you are already
starting with a blank mosaic file or are adding images to a large existing mosaic,
you can disable this option to leave the mosaic file as is, which can save time.
Although regenerating a large mosaic just to add a few images may be time
consuming, it may produce better color balancing results.
To clear this option
4. Check to clear the Clear mosaic file before mosaicking.
Since your mosaic file has not yet been created, there is no need to delete any
existing data from the mosaic file.
Starting image
The Starting image list lets you select the corrected image to be the basis for the
mosaic, the color balancing, and the cutline selection.
To select the Starting image
5. In the Starting image list, select an image.
Color balance
Automatic color balancing applies tonal and contrast adjustments over the
mosaic. There are five methods:
None
No color balancing is applied.
Histogram (Entire Image)
The histogram of each entire image is used to compute the color balancing
histogram. This method is recommended for images with low overlap or for
images with systematic effects such as when images are bright at the top and
dark at the bottom.
Overlap area
This method computes the color balancing histogram using only the pixels in
the overlapping area of the images being added to the mosaic file. This
method is recommended for most images.
Match to ref image
This method matches the color balancing for the mosaic to the image
identified in the Mosaic reference image box.
Look up Table
This method is relevant only to images in PCIDSK format and that have pre-
existing lookup tables (LUT); it is used rarely in an automated workflow.
The LUT color-balancing method takes each image channel and its
corresponding manually created LUT and applies it to the mosaic scene by
scene.
Bundle
The Bundle color-balancing method is recommended for most image mosaics.
It uses two main steps to balance the overall mosaic.
The first step computes the statistics for all overlapping image areas after
automatically removing anomalies in the data, such as clouds, snow, and so
forth. A bundle color adjustment is then applied globally to minimize the
overall differences between all overlapping areas. This adjusts both the mean
and sigma (brightness and contrast).
In the second step, the remaining differences are modeled with dodging.
Dodging adjusts pixel values to try to minimize differences between images.
To apply color balancing during mosaicking
6. In the Color balance list, select a method.
Ignore pixels under bitmap mask
Select Ignore pixels under bitmap mask to disregard the pixel values under the
mask when calculating the color balancing histogram. OrthoEngine uses the last
bitmap segment in each image file as the mask.
Cutlines
Cutlines are drawn in areas where the seams are the least visible based on the
radiometric values of the overlapping images. There are five methods:
File options
Preview file
The Preview file box specifies the path and file name for the file that will contain a
low resolution version of the full mosaic. You can click Browse to change the
default file name and select a location.
Directory for temporary files
This box specifies the path for the temporary working files. You can click Browse to
change the default location. The temporary files are deleted when the mosaic is
complete.
External bitmap file
This option lets you select a mask area for your entire mosaic to exclude certain
pixel values when calculating the color balancing histograms.
Mosaic reference image
This is the image you want to use as a reference for color balancing.
10.
A viewer opens and displays the mosaic file you created.
Alternatively, you can open the mosaic in a Focus window, or view the mosaic
in the Mosaic Tool to make edits.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Defined a new mosaic area
• Set up for automatic mosaicking
• Generates the mosaic
• Viewed the mosaic
OrthoEngine components
Many functions which were previously available only in the Focus and OrthoEngine
GUI environments have been componentized. Componentization means that these
functions can now be linked together into automated workflows and run in batch
processes. Automation and batch processing of workflows is available through both
visual modeling and command-line scripting.
Component tasks include:
• Project creation
• Data import
• Ground control and tie point collection
• Radiometric adjustments
• Orthorectification
Modeler
Geomatica Modeler provides an interactive methodology for the development of
both simple and complex data processing flows. Modeler provides access to a
number of standard operations such as data import and export, as well as most
EASI/PACE processing algorithms.
You build processing models by placing modules on the Modeler canvas and then
connecting the modules with pipes to create a process flow. You first configure the
modules and then execute the model in either single execution mode or batch
mode. During the execution of the model, graphical cues indicate the data flow
through the process. The Module Librarian enables quick access to all modules.
Note Modules for which you are not licensed are identified with
a lock icon.
Since you will be using the Red TM band from the geo_landsat.pix file to
collect GCPs on the raw Landsat image, you will want to order the LANDSAT 7
Bands such that the Red band is first in the list. This makes it easier for
setting up the GCP collection step later in the model.
Pipes
Pipes are graphical elements that represent data transmission paths between
modules. A pipe can be “thin” or “fat”. A thin pipe contains only one layer of
information. A fat pipe, which is wider than a thin pipe, contains multiple layers of
information.
Modules are connected by clicking the output port of the module to connect from
and then clicking the input port of the module to connect to. You can also connect
between a pipe and a module by first clicking the pipe, and then clicking the input
port on the connecting module.
A pipe is default color-coded according to the type of data that it transmits. Some
examples are listed below.
Color Type
Green Rasters
White Vectors
Red Bitmaps
Blue Pseudocolor tables
Yellow Look-up tables
Cyan Binary
Black Dead pipe
Note The most frequent causes for dead pipes are moving, renaming, and
deleting an input file or layer.
Always connect modules before you configure them, because for some
modules the default settings of an input layer can override a module’s
configuration. An exception is the IMPORT module, which you must
configure for it to display a port.
To add comments
1. Add a COMMENT module to the canvas and place it above the CDLAND7
module.
2. Double-click the COMMENT module.
3. On the Input Params 1 tab, enter Read Landsat Imagery from HDF file.
4. Click Accept.
5. Resize the comment box so all the text is visible.
Saving a Model
Now that you have created your first model with Modeler, you will save the model
as a MOD file.
To save your model
1. From the File menu, select Save Model.
The File Selector window opens.
2. Navigate to the LANDSAT folder.
3. In the File Name box, type ortho_landsat.mod.
4. Click Save.
The File Selector window closes and your model is saved as a MOD file.
5. From the File menu, click Close Model.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Launched Modeler and added modules to the canvas
• Connected the modules in the model
• Configured the modules in the model
• Ran the model in single execution model
Figure 98. IMPORT Module Control Panel with Batch parameter sets
9. Click Accept.
To configure the second IMPORT module
1. Double-click the IMPORT module above the ORTHO2 module.
2. Click Browse and navigate to the ASTER_MODELER folder.
Now that all of the modules are connected, you will now configure them.
To configure the CRPROJ module
1. Double-click the CRPROJ module.
This module creates an OrthoEngine Project file
2. For the Output Projection, enter UTM 34 T D000
3. From the Model Type list, select SAT (Toutin’s Model)
4. Click Accept
To configure the AUTOTIE module
1. Double-click the AUTOTIE module
This module performs automatic tie point collection from a pair of overlapping
images
2. On the Input Params 1 tab, set Number of Points per Area to 128
3. For Distribution, select Overlap
4. For the Search Radius, enter 200
5. Click 2 (Input Params 2)
6. For Elevation offset enter 1300
7. Click Accept
To configure the TPREFN module
1. Double-click the TPREFN module.
This module automatically refines tie points by eliminating those with large
residual errors.
2. For the Rejection Method, select RMS Error (5)
3. For the Minimum X RMS Error enter 10
4. For the Minimum Y RMS Error enter 10
These parameters mean that tie points with an X or Y RMS greater than 10
pixels will be rejected
5. Click Accept
To configure the first EXPORT module
1. Double-click the EXPORT module below the CPMMSEG module
2. Click Browse and navigate to the ASTER_MODELER folder
3. For the File name, enter aster_tp.prj and click Save
This will export the OrthoEngine project file
4. Click Accept
Note CPMMSEG computes and copies the math model
contained in a project file to a Math Model layer in the
input file. There are no parameters to configure for this
module.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Added modules to the canvas
• Configured the modules for batch execution
• Connected the modules in the model
• Ran the model in batch execution model
To setup the Batch Parameter Sets for the first IMPORT module
1. Double-click the upper IMPORT module
2. Click Browse and navigate to the SPOT folder
3. Select spotleft.pix and click Open
4. From the list of Available Layers, select the 8U raster layer and the orbital
segment
5. Click Batch
6. Click the + sign
7. Select the second Batch parameter set
8. Browse to the SPOT folder and select spotright.pix
4. Click the OutputORB1 port from the upper IMPORT module, then click the
Orbit Layer input port on the SATMODEL module
5. Click the OutputRaster1 port from the upper IMPORT module, then click the
Image Layers to be Processed port on the SATMODEL module
7. In the Add Prefix/Suffix window, click the Prefix Text check box and enter
ortho_
This option applies to both selected cells.
8. Click OK
The File names update in the Batch parameter sets table.
9. Click Accept
To configure the second EXPORT module
1. Double-click the EXPORT module below the AUTOMOS module
2. Click Browse and navigate to the SPOT folder
3. Enter the file name auto_mosaic.pix and click Save
4. Click Accept
The AUTOGCP and SATMODEL modules do not need to be configured as default
parameters will be used.
Lesson summary
In this lesson you:
• Added modules to the canvas
• Connected the modules in the model
• Configured the modules for batch execution
• Ran the model in batch execution model