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10.03.2012
Digital Photogrammetric Workstations
For over a century, images taken from above-ground platforms have been major data sources for topographic mapping, creation of base maps and many other uses. For the past decade or more, data has been extracted from the imagery using computer software on what have become known as digital photogrammetric workstations. Some of the tasks can be performed almost fully automatically while others require extensive human involvement. To tie in with the new product survey on digital photogrammetric workstations published on our website, this article discusses the latest status and features.
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Accoring to my buddy Ray Kurzweil, technology advance on an exponential slope and before long (hopefully in our generation), the desktop is moving to complete online processing with streaming like we see in onlive gaming .Virtually all processing is done server side. The client will end up with a compact dektop interface and graphics will be projected holographically.. comment a reply to this post in 10 years.
This was a great article to read to tie in a lot of topics we've learned so far. Also, while I was reading it I started to really think about what it must of been like to try at improve analogue methods back in the 60s-70s (block adjustments, I'll have to look that up) - I feel really lucky today with the available technology. Some of the software sounded really interesting like Racurs being able to do all photogrammetric steps.
I hope someday, Christiaan that we will move completely to cloud computing where we don't carry around laptops or worry about software installations. With data transfer rates getting better and hardware getting faster we may not ever need to enter an office.
And yes, you are right, Shelley, it is much more exciting to be in geomatics and especially photogrammetry as much of the old, tedious tasks have been removed due to software/hardware technology. The Socet system we use is the Cadillac of photogrammetric softwares and is a complete beginning to finish suite of tools. You'll begin to see the software's full capabilities as the semester progresses. Do I sound like a Socet salesman?
The article was great, we are basically doing the same thing in class which we can understand and relate better when it comes to 3D visualization for example.
One thing that I don't like about photogrammetry is the need of having planar images (or images taken from a plane). I find it's such a complicated and time consuming process with too many steps to arrive with such little data in the end. I just find it's not logical since companies nowadays wants everything so fast. Just like the fact that we need 60% coverage overlapping. I hope one day we won't need to do all those crazy plane photos and come up with a system that works with satelites instead. I guess my point is, having just like google earth where images are already uploaded and having precise information from them. What would be neat is paying a license instead to google earth to provide data from the entire earth with area selection where you see the earth in 3D and then choose which area somewhere in the world you want to use for your project and have all the parameters and stuff ready to be loaded in socet for example. I find having to use a plane to take images like that is so old fashion and that something better should exist. Now, obviously our satellites might not be yet precise enough... but it would just make much more sense to me anyway.
The article gives a nice historical synopsis for photogrammetry. I too am relieved to be doing photogrammetry in this era.
The article discusses the evolution of the technology, but I would also be interested in how the cost of the technology has evolved, whether it is more accessible now. Also how training to be a good photogrammetrist has changed.
I believe this field has even greater potential than has been actualised so far, once higher quality imagery can be accessed at a feasible cost.
I thought this article was very interesting as it shows how fast a brand new scientific discipline can become mainstream, and how quickly it becomes more and more important. As I was reading this I thought about how great the technology we have now is, but also how its necessary to constantly train and update personnel to try and keep up our exponential technology. It seems that as we increase our technological level, we also increase our technological turnover rate.
This article was fairly interesting as it shows how geomatics has evolved with new technology and still has lots of room for improvement. it will be interesting to see what new methods or technologies will come out over the next 20 years.
Great comments so far. I would like to respond to Samuel's comment about aircraft acquired imagery being archaic as this is an interesting point. One thing we tend to forget is that the orthophoto that we create is more than a picture. Think of it instead as one large survey - hence the term 'aerial survey' which is what photogrammetry is sometimes referred to. Not only can we create ortho imagery that provides an infinite number of very accurate ground points on the image, it also provides a visual representation of our survey. Can a terrestrial survey do that??! It may seem like a lot of work to get the imagery but think about what you are getting - ground locations anywhere in the photo and plus we can determine the physical setting of these points. It may not be possible to access areas with terrestrial survey because of the terrain but ortho imagery can give you the best of both worlds!
And in regard to Andrew's comment - you are correct, it is very important to train staff and students so that they are more than just button pushers. One thing I have found with people that have worked for me is that the better they are trained, the longer they stick around. A colleague of mine once said the only thing worse than training your staff and having them leave is not training them and having them stay!
The advances in automation clearly make our lives easier, however with this rate of progress it makes me hopeful for a future of full automation. This seems unlikely, and may reduce jobs in the industry but it may lead to interesting developments in mapping.
The advances in technology have clearly improved the speed at which we can complete a job. However, this rate of technological growth and automation creates alot of potential for mapping advancement. Consider a virtual 3 dimensional environment maybe?
This was a very interesting read. It shows just how far Photogrametric technology has come, and just how much room for improvement there is. It almost seems that there will be less jobs as technology advances because DPW's will be able to perform several tasks by one person. In the earlier years I think people were more specialized in what they do, but these days one person can become very educated in several technologies.
This was a very interesting read. It shows just how far photogrametric technology has come. I feel like the more the technology advances though the less jobs there will be. I believe this because as DPW's are becoming very diversified. One person can perform several tasks in good time at one work station with today's technology, where as in the earlier years photogrammetric work seemed very specialized and needed several people to complete projects. It will be interesting to see where digital mapping will be in 20 years.
I found the article very interesting as I am facinated with the history of phogrammetry. In our program we learn the latest software and use the latest technology to transform planar image coordinates to 2D and 3D. To see how they did it the past and what they had to use to complete these transformation is amazing. The technology has advanced so rapidly and many of the steps and tasks are done for us using the software and equipment we now have. The quality and detail of the product has advanced with the technology, but I still cant help being amazed with what has been produced in the past and how they were able to do it.
I enjoyed the article, and the history it provided into the evolutions DPWs. As a Geomatics student being introduced to digital mapping I am intrigued at being involved in the early stages of its expanding application capabilities .There is evidence how industry is beginning to accept and expand the traditional market for spatial data, and I look forward to seeing where the future leads.
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