COMPARISON BETWEEN SATELLITE IMAGERY AND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH

Advantages of satellite imagery Greater Areal Extent Digital data Repetitive Coverage Regular (predictable) Distortion Greater Wavelength Range Analysis / GIS

Characteristics of aerial photographs Higher Resolution Analogue photos Lower cost of 'launch' 3D Stereo Effect Higher understanding Easier interpretation

According to Chris Pershing, the inventor of the patent-pending EagleView software, it is as simple as the resolution or the closeness of the image, Some satellites are able to produce higher resolution images. However, the U.S. and many other foreign governments restrict the resolution of commercially available satellite images. In the United States for example, commercial satellite images are limited to 0.5 meters / pixel (18 inches / per pixel). In contrast, aerial images are not subject to the resolution limits imposed on satellites, continued Pershing. Aerial images are available at resolutions down to 4 to 6 inches per pixel for most of the populated areas in the US. Moving out to lesser populated areas, aerial images are also now widely available at 12 inches per pixel, still significantly better then satellite. To clarify how pixels relate to distance, according to Wikipedia, The resolution number represents the distance covered by one pixel in the image. Therefore, a 1 meter image is an image where 1 pixel is equal to 1 meter. A 1000 x 1000 pixel image at 1 meter resolution would cover an area 1000 meters by 1000 meters, or one square kilometer. HOW DOES SATELLITE IMAGERY COMPARE WITH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY? Created on Sunday, 04 April 2010 00:00 Written by Jeff Thurston A comparison of satellite imagery with aerial photogrammetry today must take into account advances in both approaches to the production of useful landscape and earth observation data today. Whereas most debate previously surrounded issues related to resolution and accuracy, the costs of purchasing satellite imagery have dropped substantially and satellites revisit the same location weekly or daily in some cases. Inability to revisit sites regularly at short intervals has traditionally 1

been an issue where applications involving up-to-date and shorter visitation times were needed. Aerial photography, gathered through the use of airplanes flying over the landscape remains an important method for gathering remotely sensed imagery about the planet. Satellites cannot be in two places at the same time, but airplanes equipped with cameras can. Airplanes can wait for improved cloud cover - satellites can't (they pass over locations and must cycle). And, we are probably nearing the day when aerial cameras will be combined with LiDAR into the same device to provide both kinds of data at the same time, something satellite imagery is likely not about to provide for some time to come. Vexcel, for example, can provide aerial photography down to 6.50cm resolution today. But satellite imagery is not far off with GeoEye-1, for example, providing panchromatic imagery down to 0.41m resolution - although military customers may only be allowed to use this high-end product with consumers gaining access to 0.50m products. DigitalGlobe is also providing 0.50m resolution imagery through it's WorldView-1 satellite. Bing Maps is continually releasing new and updated imagery for different locations around the world. Resolution is only part of the value today. Advances in automated image extraction, GIS and even CAD connected to imagery workflows are shifting aerial photogrammetry from what was primarily oriented around hardware and stereoscopic interpretation toward advanced work flows that result in the development of 3D models, spatial databases with extended attribution and near real-time virtual reality. When we used to compatr satellite images to aerial photogrammetry, our frame of reference seemed oriented toward 'the map' but today the very concept of a map is changing. Cloud services are providing new opportunities for services to be delivered to buyers who have both advanced professional capabilities and use needs while also meeting volunteer organisations and individuals who benefit from the information they provide, but who could care less how it is actually done. Earlier I reported on BlomURBEX, a European based company that is offering a combination of integrated services online whose aerial imagery provides the basis for their development. Infoterra SKAPE is another product that I have worked with which integrates high-resolution satellite imagery with advanced markup capabilities right on the image using Cloud based services. The benefits of the connection of Vexcel images to Microsoft's pipeline of Microsoft SQL Server for Spatial Data seems obvious. While the GIS community has grasped the significance of imagery for Cloud services oriented toward advanced geoprocessing, the connection of aerial imagery to building design and architectural designs in CAD environments, through Cloud services, is not as yet obvious. Imagine designing a building within an imagery environment, crazy idea? New innovations in computer technology, visualisation and Internet delivered services are stretching the benefits of satellite and aerial imagery away from 2

resolution alone to include processing and delivery of information and ultimately new knowledge that businesses can differentiate upon. If I asked you today, "do you want 1 meter imagery without services or 5 meter imagery with services" which would you choose? But the differences in revisitation are critically important. And these decisions are highly oriented to the application at hand. It is now hard to imagine agricultural producers accepting imagery of any kind only once a growing season. When earthquakes happen now, As both Chile and Haiti have recently proven, the expectation and demand is for immediate pictures to assess the situation. A shift toward earth processes is underway that is related to high-resolution and timely imagery. Water movement, carbon dynamics, atmospheric aerosols, security applications and others are all resulting in applications that are 'deepening' as they seek to understand and monitor the processes that give rise to the spectral responses within imagery sources themselves. Do we have enough people to understand these processes, let alone how they are interpreted and expressed through imagery? The comparison of satellite imagery to aerial photogrammetry today is not as simple as it once was. Advances on many fronts including computation, services, knowledge, hardware and software not to mention cost are all considerations. Perhaps the best comparison lies in the alignment of convergence for each of these toward usefulness. If your imagery is not pointing toward increased usefulness today, and in a speedy way, then it probably is not measuring up. AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY VERSUS SATELLITE IMAGERY - HAS SATELLITE IMAGERY REPLACED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY? In the last ten years we have seen spectacular developments in the clarity and availability of satellite imagery. Microsoft and Google are examples of companies that now offer the public satellite images, also known as remote sensing images. While these images are fascinating and in many cases potentially useful, some people question whether these developments mean the end of traditional aerial photography. The resounding answer is "No, aerial photography is alive and well." One reason aerial photography remains a valuable tool is because of its superior resolution. Particularly with the advent of commercial digital equipment, an aerial platform provides very high resolution images, whereas satellite resolution remains limited by both technology and by Federal law. In 1999, commercial satellites could capture a resolution of one-meter in black and white, and somewhat less detail in color. That is to say that the smallest detail that could be captured and clearly delineated was at least one meter in size. There exists a popular rumor that military satellites can read an automobile's license plate from space, and that is probably an exaggeration, but it does not matter even if it is true. You, as a private citizen, cannot buy or use those images anyway. Current law limits the resolution of commercially available satellite images to 0.5 meters. That means that the smallest detail that can be clearly delineated is at least 0.5 meters, or 19.5 inches across. An aerial photograph in highest digital resolution 3

taken from 1000 feet above the ground is approximately five times better resolution than the best commercially available satellite imagery. Another difference between aerial photographic images and satellite images is the timeliness and availability of the images. Commercial satellites orbit the earth from about 400 miles above mean sea level. They orbit in a pattern and a speed that allows them to pass over the same point on the earth about once every three days. This is just fine for surveying and mapping. It does not generally allow for capturing events. Generally speaking, the earth is clouded over about 60 per cent of its surface at any particular time. The three-day cycle for a satellite to fly over one point can mean that it may take from a few to several dozen cycles before a clear shot is available. Aerial flight is also subject to weather, but airplanes can fly under cloud cover and are available for a photographic launch anytime between sunrise and sunset. A limitation on aerial photography because of weather is generally a matter of a few days, not usually weeks or months. One advantage aerial photography has over satellite imagery is the creative aspect of composition. Satellite images are generally taken from directly overhead. Satellite images can be taken from an oblique angle but this introduces additional distance from the target and requires repositioning the satellite camera angle. Aerial photos, in contrast, are generally taken from an oblique angle. This allows one to photograph from all sides and at different heights, introducing varied composition and enhanced utility. There is also the factor of light in the composition of the photograph. A satellite uses whatever light is available at the time it passes over its target. In an aerial photography session the photographer chooses light that best suits the composition of the target images. The amount of sunlight, the angle of the light, the shadows the light produce and the time of day all contribute to a photograph that is both useful in conveying information and aesthetically pleasing. Satellite imagery will no doubt evolve in its ability to document, map and survey in a variety of light spectra. It is an increasingly fascination mode of imagery. However, aerial photography remains a superior mode of capturing images from the air where direction, angle, composition and timeliness of availability are key requirements in capturing the target image.