Digital Photogrammetry

Dr. Hamid Ebadi

 Development of Photogrammetric
Systems

digital photogrammetry
2000

analytical photogrammetry
1950

analog photogrammetry

1900
first generation

1850
 Digital/Softcopy Photogrammetry
• Equipment used in digital photogrammetry include Computer,
Scanner, CCD cameras, LCD Eyewear (stereo viewing)

• Orthophoto and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can be

generated from Softcopy photogrammetry automatically

• The images (diapositives) are replaced by scanned or digital

aerial images.

• Measurements and image viewing are on a computer screen

instead of through high quality optics.
 Why use Digital Images?

• Advantages of using Digital Images:

– Appropriate way for displaying and Measurement
– Stability
– Applying image enhancement is possible
– Automation can be applied
– Real time photogrammetry is not out of access
 Generic Digital Photogrammetry
Environment

Photograph

Scanner Digital Camera

Digital Image

Display Computer Storage

User Interface

Film Recorder Plotter

orthophoto map
 Definition of Digital Image

Columns ∆
0 1 2 M-1
y
0 y Pixel ∆
x
1
2

Rows

N-1
Spatial Resolution and Geometric
Accuracy

Pixel Size Number of Storage

(micron) Pixels Requirement
(MB)
960 240 * 240 0.058
480 480 * 480 0.230
240 960 * 960 0.922
120 1920 * 1920 0.686
60 3840 * 3840 14.746
30 7680 * 7680 58.982
15 15360 * 15360 235.931
7.5 30720 * 30720 943.721
Image Processing

IP
 Image Processing

• Operations
– Enhancement
– Restoration
– Compression
– Classification
• Enhancement
– Contrast Stretching
– Filtering
• Resampling
 Image Enhancement

• Histogram of pixel
values;
• Linear contrast stretch.
 Image Filtering

• Low-pass filters:
– Moving average filter
– Median filter
• High-pass filters:
 Hardware for Digital
Photogrammetry
• Basic Hardware Requirements
– High Resolution Display
– Flexible image memory with fast access for real time roaming
– Interface capability for scanners and cameras
– Interface with output devices
– Image enhancement processor
– 3D measurement with special control devices
– Subpixel accuracy
– Data capture in a GIS or CAD
• Stereoscopic Viewing
• Special Hardware requirements
 Software Requirements for DP
• Standard Requirements:
– Handling Image Display
– Measurement
• Recording Pixel Coordinates
– Determination of Orientations
• Inner Orientation including Calibration parameters
• Relative and absolute orientations, Bundle Adjustment
– Transformations
– Image Processing Functions
• Image Matching
• Edge Detection
– Digital Rectification
– Visualization
• Automation
Application Functionality

 Preparation
 Orientation
 Digital Aerial Triangulation
 Automatic DEM Generation
 Digital Orthophoto Production
Preparation

The situation of the block

can be introduced visually.
 Preparation

• automatic
• complete block display
• with information about:
4
1 2 3 • strip numbers
•Images in each strip

5
 Traditional Vs. Automatic
Orientation
In Traditional Methods:
•Human operator performs the orientation (identify and
measure suitable conjugate points)

•Economic reasons put a limit to the number of measured

points

•Accurate and reliable

•Superior in terms of extracting suitable points for matching

instead of feature matching.
 Traditional Vs. Automatic
Orientation
The most relevant differences between traditional
and automatic Orientation:
Traditional Methods Automatic Methods

Human operator Computer operator

•Select and measure points •Extracts and matches features
•Well selected •Randomly selected
•Few points •Many features
•Stereoscopically measured •Matches features
•Very accurate •Less accurate
 Orientation Procedures

•Interior Orientation
•Relative Orientation
•Absolute Orientation

Interior and relative orientation procedures could be

rather fully automated in digital photogrammetry

Digital photogrammetry automation is mainly base on

Image Matching Concepts
 Image Matching
• Select a matching entity in one image and
find its conjugate entity in the other image.

• Image Matching is the basis of:

– Automatic Relative Orientation
– Automatic DEM Generation
Image Matching Methods

• Area based
• Feature based
• Symbolic
Area Based Image Matching

Left Image Right Image

Search Window
Pull-In Region
Reference Window
Search Direction

Reference Image Search Image

 Area Based Image Matching

•Select the centre of the template in one image

•Determine approximate locations for the conjugate
position in the other image
•Compute a correlation coefficient for all positions r,c of
the correlation window within the search window
•Analyze the correlation factors and find the position with
maximum correlation
•Repeat above steps for new template location until all
positions to be matched are visited
•Analyze the matching results on a global base for
consistency and/or compatibility with a priori scene
knowledge
 Correlation Factor
Cross-Correlation is the most commonly
used factor for area base matching

 LR

 L R
 LR Covariance of image patches L and R

L Standard deviation of image patch L

R Standard deviation of image patch R
Area Based Image Matching
More Sophisticated Similarity Measure:

Least Square:
–Solution by equations
–Minimizing the sum of squares of differences
between target and search gray values
–High accuracy can be achieved
–Good approximation values are needed
Area Based Image Matching
Using constraints to
reduce searching and
increase reliability:

Making use of projective

geometry:
–The epipolar plane of a
terrain point intersects the
two images at epipolar lines.
–The conjugate points of
“P” lies on the respective
epipolar line
Area Based Image Matching
Searching in epipolar lines

After relative
orientation we
can compute for a
point in one
image the
epipolar lines in
the other image
 Feature Based Image Matching

•FBM employs entities features rather than individual pixels

•Suitable for relative orientation
•Depends on suitable representation of features characteristics

Extracted Features
–Interest Points
–Edges
–Regions
–Shapes
 Feature Based Image Matching

Points with distinct features are called Interest Points

 Feature Based Image Matching

Edges are the most important features used for matching

 Image Matching Methods

Matching Similarity Measure Matching Entities

Method
Area-based Correlation, Gray levels
Least-squares

Feature-based Cost function Edges, Regions

symbolic Cost function Symbolic description

Digital Photogrammetric Products

–Aerial Mosaics
–Ortho-Photo
–Ortho-Photo Map
–Ortho-Photo Mosaics
–Vector Maps
–Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
–3D Perspective View
 Overview
• Digital Elevation Models (DEM)
– Raster versus TIN representation
– Automatic DEM generation
– Normalized image generation
• Orthophoto generation
– Polynomial rectification
– Differential rectification
– Image resampling techniques
– Stereo orthophotos
 Digital Elevation Model

• Objective:
– Provide the means for representing the Earth’s surface in
the computer
• Photogrammetric processing of aerial and satellite imagery
is one of the popular sources for DEM data collection.
• Representation alternatives:
– Raster DEM
– Triangular Irregular Networks (TIN)
 Advantages of DEM

• Capability of deriving other products:

– Contours, Perspective Views, Slope Lines, Surface
Shading, Orthophotos, etc.
• DEM constitutes an important layer of any GIS
system.
• Capability of integrating DEM information with other
layers of a GIS
Shaded Relief DTM Images
Perspective Views
Orthophoto & DEM
Raster DEM
Photogrammetric & LiDAR Data
Photogrammetric & LiDAR Data
 Photogrammetric & LiDAR Data
• Photogrammetric data:
+ High redundancy
+ Rich with semantic information
+ Dense positional information along object space break
lines
– Almost no positional information along homogeneous
surfaces
– Complicated and sometimes unreliable matching
procedures (especially when dealing with large scale
imagery over urban areas)
 Photogrammetric & LiDAR Data
• LiDAR data:
+ Direct and simple acquisition of positional information
+ Dense positional information along homogeneous
Surfaces
– Almost no positional information along object space
break-lines
– No redundancy
– Mainly positional information (no semantic information)
Digital Orthophoto Generation
Maps & Images
Relief Displacement
 Orthophoto
• Orthophoto:
– Relief displacement free image
– Image which has the same characteristics of a map.
• Orthogonal (parallel) projection,
• Uniform scale, and
• No relief displacement
Perspective Image Versus
Orthophoto
Perspective Image Versus
Orthophoto
 Orthophoto
• Advantages:
– They have the same characteristics of a map but with
more features.
– The user can draw lines and measure distances
without the need for stereo-plotters.
– Cheap alternatives for maps (for developing countries)
– They can be generated automatically.
– They constitute a very important layer for GIS
databases.