System for real-time generation of georeferenced terrain models

Howard J. Schultz; Allen R. Hanson; Edward M. Riseman; Frank Stolle; Zhigang Zhu; Christopher D. Hayward; Dana Slaymaker

doi:10.1117/12.417570

21 February 2001 System for real-time generation of georeferenced terrain models

Howard J. Schultz, Allen R. Hanson, Edward M. Riseman, Frank Stolle, Zhigang Zhu, Christopher D. Hayward, Dana Slaymaker

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4232, Enabling Technologies for Law Enforcement and Security; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.417570
Event: Enabling Technologies for Law Enforcement, 2000, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

A growing number of law enforcement applications, especially in the areas of border security, drug enforcement and anti- terrorism require high-resolution wide area surveillance from unmanned air vehicles. At the University of Massachusetts we are developing an aerial reconnaissance system capable of generating high resolution, geographically registered terrain models (in the form of a seamless mosaic) in real-time from a single down-looking digital video camera. The efficiency of the processing algorithms, as well as the simplicity of the hardware, will provide the user with the ability to produce and roam through stereoscopic geo-referenced mosaic images in real-time, and to automatically generate highly accurate 3D terrain models offline in a fraction of the time currently required by softcopy conventional photogrammetry systems. The system is organized around a set of integrated sensor and software components. The instrumentation package is comprised of several inexpensive commercial-off-the-shelf components, including a digital video camera, a differential GPS, and a 3-axis heading and reference system. At the heart of the system is a set of software tools for image registration, mosaic generation, geo-location and aircraft state vector recovery. Each process is designed to efficiently handle the data collected by the instrument package. Particular attention is given to minimizing geospatial errors at each stage, as well as modeling propagation of errors through the system. Preliminary results for an urban and forested scene are discussed in detail.

Citation Download Citation

Howard J. Schultz, Allen R. Hanson, Edward M. Riseman, Frank Stolle, Zhigang Zhu, Christopher D. Hayward, and Dana Slaymaker "System for real-time generation of georeferenced terrain models", Proc. SPIE 4232, Enabling Technologies for Law Enforcement and Security, (21 February 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.417570

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available