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FALL 2007 |
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FALL 2007 |
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 Eric Bruce in a C-17 heading back to Qatar from Bagram Air Base. |
 Rob Stout on board a C-130 in Afghanistan. Travel from site to site within Afghanistan required tactical capabilities of the C-130. |
"The goal of the trip was to provide operational capability to use the tool," said Dan London, BAE Systems vice president for Geospatial eXploitation Products. "At the same time, the information our team gathered in the field was invaluable, because seeing the product in-theater, and the issues analysts face, helps us refine the product."
SOCET GXP is a geospatial intelligence tool that uses imagery from airborne and satellite sensors to identify ground features for improved situational awareness. Analysts in the field use maps and charts generated by SOCET GXP to perform before-and-after site comparisons and battle damage assessment, and to detect potential improvised explosive devices and ambush sites. The data can also be used to coordinate troop maneuvers, helicopter landings, and land-vehicle routes.
"The analysts were very attentive and interested in what we were talking about. Because they’re in an operational environment, they know once we leave, they are going to have to put that knowledge to use," said Eric Bruce, one of BAE Systems product specialists deployed in the field.
As part of an overall software upgrade, SOCET GXP was installed for the first time on the rugged portable computers used by analysts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The software processes data from a variety of image sources and creates image products that can be compressed, saved in multiple formats, and shared over secure networks. Data and reports can be immediately e-mailed and accessed from mobile laptop computers, relay stations, and ground control centers.
For the complete article and related webinar, Tales from the Warfront — Warfighters Receive Onsite Geospatial Training, GeoWorld Magazine, October, 2007, please visit:
http://www.socetgxp.com/docs/education/articles/1007_geoworld_taleswarfront.pdf or
Archived on Geoplace.com
A special thanks to all of our valued customers, industry partners, and colleagues for your concern and well wishes during the recent southern California fires this past October. All of us here in San Diego watched in horror as the flames, spread by extreme Santa Ana winds, threatened much of San Diego and nearby counties. We are grateful for the dedicated responders, relief agencies, and citizens who cooperated to limit the loss of life and property during these widespread fires. We are also proud of our company. BAE Systems announced a three-pronged approach to support employees, the relief efforts, and the first responders. This support illustrates an ongoing commitment to the local community, which is demonstrated year after year.
BAE Systems made a $100,000 donation to the America Red Cross' Natural Disaster Relief Fund. The company also made a $50,000 donation to the California-based Fire Services Training Institute which was identified as the preferred beneficiary by the California State Firefighters' Association. The Fire Services Training Institute is a California-based non-profit with the primary mission of bringing quality training to firefighters and promoting firefighter safety.
Pixel interpolation is the process of determining a value for an unknown or new pixel, based on known, and typically nearby, pixel values. SOCET GXP supports four pixel interpolation methods for zooming and for generation of reduced resolution datasets (RSets). When selecting an algorithm for use, consider the time constraints and image quality requirements of the products to be created.
The following are the supported methods in highest complexity (slowest) to lowest complexity (fastest) order: lagrange, bicubic, bilinear, and nearest neighbor. The term complexity generally corresponds to image clarity; however this depends greatly on the raster dataset being interpolated, and the type of analysis to be performed.
The default RSet generation interpolation method is nearest neighbor. For better quality, change the interpolation method to lagrange for RSet generation. To set preference, from the Workspace Manager, select Tools > Preferences > Load/Unload > RSet Generation, or select b. You can also change the interpolation method from the Multiport main menu; select View > Zoom > Zoom Interpolation.
| Interpolation method examples showing zoom | |
 64:1 (1.562% zoom) lagrange |
 800% zoom lagrange |
 64:1 (1.562% zoom) bicubic |
 800% zoom bicubic |
 64:1 (1.562% zoom) bilinear |
 800% zoom bilinear |
 64:1 (1.562% zoom) nearest neighbor |
 800% zoom nearest neighbor |
| Interpolation method examples showing RSet generation | |
 Whole scene zoom - lagrange |
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 Whole scene zoom - nearest neighbor |
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The Master Class price includes breakfast and lunch.
Attendees are encouraged to make their room reservations as early as possible since the hotel frequently sells out as the conference date approaches. Special Conference group rates are as follows:
Please click here to make your room arrangements directly with the hotel:
Room reservations at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
* Attendees with valid government credentials are eligible for government pricing, subject to verification; current photo ID must be presented prior to check-in to receive the current government rate
December 12, 2007: 8:30 – 4:30
December 13, 2007: 8:30 – Noon
Reston, Virginia (BAE Systems office)
For more information, please contact Darren Stelle 703-668-4090 | darren.stelle@baesystems.com, or Diego Balcazar at (301) 669-3295 | dbalcazar@nmic.navy.mil.
Visit the GXP website for course descriptions and registration information, http://www.socetgxp.com/content_events/training.htm
SOCET GXP v2.3.1 features all of the functionality required to satisfy typical image analysis production workflows. This release adds seamless integration and synchronized viewing with Google Earth, and introduces a direct, bidirectional link to the ESRI geodatabase or SOCET SET feature database for dynamic viewing and editing of feature data. New in SOCET GXP v2.3.1 is Spatially Enabled Exploitation (SEE), designed to enhance image exploitation by creating attributed ground space graphics in a connected enterprise geodatabase environment. SEE allows the analyst to answer critical questions using spatial, attribute, and temporal queries. In addition, smart vector attribution supports external ESRI multi-user/personal databases, shapefiles, and SOCET SET feature databases. AutoSOCET adds an autonomous geospatial analysis workflow: automated triangulation, terrain data generation, orthorectification, and mosaicking.
SOCET GXP’s fundamental photogrammetric architecture is complete, and we are well on the way to full integration, moving the remainder of SOCET SET’s functionality into SOCET GXP, which has the same rigorous sensor models as SOCET SET, for highly accurate georeferencing.
SOCET SET v5.4.1 features a wealth of productivity enhancements for creating and editing high-resolution terrain and surface models, including improvements to the Next-Generation Automatic Terrain Extraction (NGATE), which was introduced in v5.4.0.
The NGATE module, which produces near LIDAR quality terrain models from optical imagery, has been shown to reduce editing time by more than 30%. Numerous new tools for the Interactive Terrain Editor (ITE) module increase productivity for creating bare-earth terrain models from NGATE and LIDAR data. In addition, enhancements to SOCET SET’s Feature Extraction (FE) and SOCET for ArcGIS® (SFA) modules have been implemented based on customer requests. For example, automatic height attribution includes an option to measure a point to set height attributes when terrain data is not available. Moreover, SOCET SET’s unrivaled provision of advanced sensor models continues with new models for the NextView satellites, WorldView-1 and GeoEye™-1, as well as ALOS, EROS B, and FORMOSAT-2. Further productivity improvements have been made throughout the SOCET SET workflow. All of these new capabilities reduce labor hours through optimized, end-to-end workflows, resulting in significant cost savings throughout the mapping process.
The USGS is the primary producer of digital and hardcopy planetary maps in the U.S. Its Astrogeology team, based in Flagstaff, Arizona, studies the properties and evolution of planets and their satellites, asteroids, and comets. Using images and samples collected by spacecraft expeditions, USGS researchers analyze and measure soil, water, terrain, atmospheric conditions, and other properties that characterize solar system objects. Results of these studies are used to construct topographic, geologic, and thematic maps, globes, digital elevation models (DEMs), and 3D flythrough simulations to support geophysical studies, education, and the planning and operation of subsequent missions.
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The USGS produced the global topographic map of Mars, top left, from nearly 1000
Viking Orbiter images by conventional analog photogrammetric methods. A team of analysts labored for most of the 1980s to complete this product, which has a post spacing of 1 km, though most of the points are actually interpolated from widely spaced contours. The topographic model below, based on a single High-Resolution Imagining Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera stereo pair, contains approximately the same number of height points, spaced 1m apart. Using SOCET SET, its production required 60 hours of automated matching and 90 hours of interactive quality control and editing. The model shows debris flows associated with the central peak of the Mojave crater. Modern digital processing methods, including SOCET SET, make it practical to process gigabytes of image data for an individual research project. |
USGS staff are involved in all stages of the planetary exploration and mapping process — in many cases they help to design, build, and test innovative new camera systems. Once images and supporting data are safely on Earth, they must be catalogued, processed into map products, and delivered to the customer. Ultimately, products go to NASA’s Planetary Data System, where they are archived for future users, but the immediate customer is often a team running another mission, urgently in need of maps to plan its next day, week, or year of exploration. Flexibility and efficiency of the mapping software are therefore key concerns.
The USGS has chosen an approach that makes synergistic use of both public domain software written in-house, as well as commercial photogrammetric software. It uses BAE Systems’ SOCET SET to accomplish its planetary mapping tasks, and its own system, Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS), provides an end-to-end capability for processing planetary images into orthophoto mosaics for use as base maps. By writing the software in-house, the USGS maintains the flexibility to read, decompress, calibrate, and model data geometrically from each new sensor as it becomes available.
