Leica RCD100 Medium-Format Mapping Camera Released

The latest news from Leica Geosystems is the release of the RCD100 medium-format mapping camera.  If the name sounds familiar, that's because the RCD105 for the ALS was just released last year.  While the RCD105 is a solution for LIDAR sensor owners pursuing fused imagery/LIDAR workflows, the new RCD100 is a comprehensive stand-alone system for orthophoto and mapping projects (orthos, terrain, 3D feature extraction, etc).  

This means the RCD100 camera system can flown standalone for workflows like this example, which is actually based on RCD105 imagery.    

Leica XPro: A First Look...

Last week I had the opportunity to learn more about Leica XPro, the new ground processing software for the ADS40/ADS80 airborne sensor. You may have seen the press release from ISPRS last summer announcing the partnership between Leica Geosystems and North West Geomatics Ltd.

Some background information: GPro has been the post-processing software for the ADS40 pushbroom sensor since it's introduction to the market several years back. Coupled with ORIMA, it produces various image products ranging from raw images to triangulated stereo pairs and digital orthophotos.

Leica XPro is the successor to GPro, and is a completely new software package that offers some innovative tools for streamlining the ADS workflow.

Here are a few of the benefits that impressed me:

- There's a new viewer that is blazing fast. Since ADS sensors collect long "pixel carpet" strips of imagery, the file sizes can be fairly large (which can be a big advantage when it comes time for image mosaicking). This allows for a quick quality control check right after the data is downloaded. The viewer allows RAW images to be previewed prior to georeferencing and also supports virtual on-the-fly viewing of L1 (georeferenced) imagery. The viewer also has the ability to apply radiometric corrections on the L1's. Here's what the viewer looks like with an ADS80 FCIR image loaded:


- There's been a complete overhaul of the aerial triangulation methodology. Like GPro, ORIMA-M is the backbone of the triangulation system, however XPro has created a "grey-box" version of it. ORIMA's CAP-A bundle adjustment software is still embedded with the system, but the user interface has been completely updated. There is a completely new system for point measurement (featuring the new viewer technology), and improvements have been made in autocorrelating points across images. You can also load a DSM of the project area (GTOPO30 comes with the software, or you can use your own), as displayed below:

- Also new for the triangulation system is an innovative color coded quality "heat map" of sorts, which allows for an interactive analysis and refinement of weak areas (e.g. point review, new automatic point measurement runs, etcetera). The number of APM points required for a solution has also been dramatically reduced.

Once the imagery is triangulated, XPro can also perform distributed orthorectification processing. Like GPro, the system is also uses CONDOR.

Here are some images of varying resolutions over the same area showing what you can expect out of the ADS80. Feel free to click on the images below to view the full screen captures.

From the Leica Geosystems Headquarters

I've been spending this week at the Leica Geosystems HQ in Heerbrugg, Switzerland.


It's been a great opportunity to learn more about the latest software (XPro) and hardware developments (the ADS80). However before getting to that, I wanted to show a few photos of some of the older gear that is on display here.

Here is a Kern PG 2 stereoplotter, which was in production between 1960 and 1985.

Here is a Wild B8 stereoplotter, in production between 1961 and 1972.

And finally, below you can see a Cyrax laser scanner alongside a Wild A-6 analogue stereoplotter (1940-1953).

The A-6 was used quite extensively in WWII (along with the A-5). For an interesting perspective on how photogrammetric hardware development was spurred on during war-time, check out the "The Sky Spies" at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. A colleague in Atlanta recently visited and has shared his photos here (thanks Ray!). It is interesting to see how much of the technology came out of Germany, the USA and Japan. In particular check out the last photo: a Japanese "motion picture camera gun"!

Sensor Spotlight: Leica Geosystems ADS80 Airborne Digital Sensor

I’ve touched on ADS40 sensor technology in a few different posts, but the focus of today is the new ADS80 sensor. The ADS80 is a pushbroom airborne sensor that was formally announced and highlighted at the ISPRS conference this past summer in Beijing.

See here for an interesting discussion on the transition to from analogue to digital processing as well as pushbroom sensors. The new sensor represents a solid advancement, and arguably delivers the best quality imagery of any of the commercial large-format airborne sensors.

But what is the difference between the ADS80 and the previous version, the ADS40? This post will cover the differences and explore some of the specific technical improvements.
Firstly, there are several overall design improvements. There is a new design for the data channel with overall data throughput increasing from 65 MB/s to 130MB/s. The fastest cycle time has increased from 800Hz to 1000Hz (this allows for faster flying speeds than previously possible), and there are data compression options for 10 bit, 12 bit, as well as the raw data.

The ADS80 also features a new design for the Control Unit (called CU80). The new Control Unit is smaller and contains an integrated slow for two Mass Memory units. Here what the new CU80 looks like:

The new system also introduces a new solid state Mass Memory unit (MM80). This size is smaller and weights only 2.5 kg, and has a few different options for data storage modes: single volume, joined volume, and in-flight backup. The joined volume of the two MM offers the greatest data throughput as well as the largest storage capacity, which is ideal for large-area collection missions.

For direct georeferencing applications, IPAS comes embedded in the control unit as well. This is critical for image collection missions in remote areas where ground control may not be possible: this is important in applications such as disaster mapping, remote area mapping (e.g. certain pipeline mapping applications) as well as surveillance operations.

Overall, the system weight has been reduced by 26 kg! It also contains new periphery equipment, including a new GPS/GLONASS Antenna.

Lastly, what does the imagery look like? In short, it looks fantastic. Here’s a sample of imagery collected at 5cm GSD over Lucern, Switzerland earlier this year (click on the image for a larger view).
More information, including both a product brochure and data sheet, is available from the Leica Geosystems website. Also note that new a new software package for ground processing, called XPro, will also be released quite soon.

Special thanks to Ruediger Wagner, ADS Product Manager at Leica Geosystems, for providing details on the new sensor.