PE&RS September 1998

Cover Image

Although softcopy technology has had dramatic effects on the day-to-day production routines employed in photogrammetric shops, using the technology to make updates and revisions has long been an imperfect science. SoftPlotter, a softcopy workstation from Autometric, Inc., employs several unique advances in imagery display, data editing, and vector symbology that greatly enhance the ease with which updates can be performed.

Older data, when superimposed on recent imagery, seldom register perfectly. SoftPlotter addresses misregistration problems using the dual-window strategy illustrated on the cover. In this setup, the operator identifies common control points in the stereo image window (the current data) and the vector window (existing "old" data). The software's transformation algorithm produces data that it is geometrically correct in the stereo image and geographically correct for the vectors.

SoftPlotter's advanced Stereo Imaging Engine allows for smooth panning and real-time display of vector overlays in the stereo window. Separate symbologies can be used in each window, allowing the operator to display less obtrusive symbologies in the stereo window. The two windows are linked with respect to panning, rotation, scale, and cursor movement, aiding in comparative analysis between the views.

For additional information about SoftPlotter, contact Autometric, Inc. at 207-945-6353 or www.autometric.com.

Highlight Article

861 The Use of Innovative Data Collection Techniques in Support of Enterprise Wide GIS Development
Arthur J. Lembo, Jr., PhD, Christopher Powers, PE, and Evan S. Gorin  

Peer-Reviewed Articles (Click the linked titles to see the full abstract)

891 Delineating Forest Canopy Species in the Northeastern United States Using Multi-Temporal TM Imagery
John G. Mickelson, Jr., Daniel L. Civco, and John A. Silander, Jr.

Accuracy assessment using the Gopal-Woodcock fuzzy set process returned an overall forest class accuracy of 78.9 percent at the procedure’s Acceptable level. 

905 Spectral Shape Classificationof Landsat Thematic Mapper Imagery
Mark J. Carlotto

The classification accuracy of the full-scene spectral shape classifier is shown to be superior to that of a stratified maximum-likelihood classifier. 

915 Responses of Spectral Indices to Variations in Vegetation Cover and Soil Background
Stella W. Todd and Roger M. Hoffer

The effects of variations in soil texture and moisture upon the green vegetation index (GVI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for targets with specific vegetation cover amounts and varying soil backgrounds were evaluated. 

923 A Technique for 3D Building Reconstruction
Taejung Kim and Jan-Peter Muller

3D building reconstruction is done by interpolating heights into the area covered by 2D building boundaries using stereo-extracted 3D height information.

Announcements
884 Call for Abstracts: 1999 ASPRS Annual Conference
888 1999 ASPRS Annual Conference
889 GIS and the Internet: ASPRS Mid-South Region  Annual Conference
904 Call for Papers: ERIM 4th International Airborne  Remote Sensing Conference
914 Call for PE&RS Articles: Photogrammetry
921 Call for Papers: 17th Biennial Workshop on Color  Photography & Videography in Resource Assessment
930 PE&RS Back Issues Sale
932 ASPRS Publications

Columns & Updates
867 Society
869 GIS
873 GPS
875 Softcopy
877 Grids & Datums

Departments
859 In Memoriam: Michael A. Spanner
860 Letter to the Editor
879 Software Review
885 Who’s Who in ASPRS
886 Sustaining Members
889 New Members
890 Index to Advertisers
913 Forthcoming Articles
922 Instructions to Authors
931 Calendar
933 Classifieds
935 Professional Directory
939 Membership Application

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