Innovative Applications in Photogrammetry

If you have been to the ERDAS home page lately you may have seen the "Top 10 Reasons to use..." lists for IMAGINE and LPS. While thinking about the "Top 10 reasons to use LPS", I also researched innovative uses of LPS and photogrammetry in general. I have listed some of the most interesting applications that I have come across below. Note that the list below is LPS-centric, although many of these applications used a mix of tools. I believe the list illustrates how useful and flexible photogrammetry is as a tool for any 3D geoinformation research.

So here is an alternate list outlining 10 innovative photogrammetric applications (in no particular order):

• Reconstructing Aboriginal rock art. LPS was used to extract digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthophotos.
  

• Illustrating the changing landscape through historical aerials on the Internet. Since 2004, NETR Online estimates that they have orthorectified approximately 100,000 historical images using LPS. With the advent of historical imagery in Google Earth as well, I think the time has come when people not only want a
  

• Determining the state of glaciers and forecasting the impact of climate change. LPS was used to generate a DEM in the Tien Shan range in Kyrgyzstan, using ASTER data and Ground Control Points (GCP) collected from the topographic maps.
  

• Measuring the impact of selective logging on tropical forests in the Congo. LPS was used to georeference imagery and create a seamless image mosaic.
  

• Studying Medieval Architecture. LPS was used to generate and analyze 3D models from stereo imagery to examine the metrology and proportional systems used in the design of Irish ecclesiastical architecture.
  

• Mapping unplanned development to preserve the environment and manage growth. All the photogrammetric tasks where done in LPS, including automatic digital surface model (DSM) extraction.
  

• Historically representing a Macedonian Palace. The photogrammetric image processing of the data, including of the tie point measurement, bundle adjustment, DSM and orthophoto generation was done in LPS.
  

• Producing Orthophotos in the Himalayas. Acquiring stereo imagery from remote/inaccessible areas can be difficult and expensive. LPS was used to produce orthos from a single image.
  

• Creating terrain models of a meteorite crater. LPS was used to extract a high resolution terrain model from a stereo pair of images acquired from the QuickBird satellite.
  

• Mapping Landslide Debris. LPS was used to rectify ortho-images and extract terrain in a study based on a 1999 earthquake in China.