PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
May 2020
277
ASPRS Outstanding Technical Achievement Award
2020 recipients: USGS Digital Orthophoto Quad (DOQ)
Technical Team: David Hooper (RIP), Lyman Ladner,
George Lee and Randle Olsen.
Using mathematics to differentially rectify pixels in digitized or digital
imagery to produce image maps, with an approach that continues to
impact remote sensing and GIS processes, was developed at the USGS
Western Mapping Center. In 1986 a prototype digital orthophoto quad-
rangle (DOQ) production system launched an effort that not only im-
proved USGS support to the federal civil mapping community but also
stimulated an initiative within the Department of Defense. This award
recognizes the innovative drive of the initial proposal that was a turning
point in the use of digital imagery and which laid the groundwork for
today’s democratization of imagery and remote sensing use and GIS.
Description of the achievement:
The concept of utilizing the technique to produce image maps in
a format that was useful to a wide array of applications was first
identified at USGSWestern Mapping Center (WMC) by Randy Olsen.
Shortly afterward, Randy transferred to USGS headquarters but left
behind a good deal of the math and basic concepts with George
Lee and other key personnel located there. Those individuals began
exploring options to operationalize the concepts, but quickly ran into a
number of challenges. Without digital imagery at a resolution suitable
for Quads, the only source available was scanned analog imagery. And
the availability of micron-level scanners required for an acceptable
ground resolution from available image sources was limited. Given
no production software to manipulate the pixels, George Lee enlisted
the efforts of Dave Hooper to produce that software utilizing Randy’s
math models. Lyman Ladner, another key player at WMC, worked with
the software and incoming imagery and was successful in creating the
earliest demonstration products.
The earliest digital orthophotoquad (DOQ) images were produced at
2-meter ground sample distance (GSD) and stored on reels of 9-track
tapes. Neither was considered ideal but, at this point, the process
worked and limited demonstration images were produced. While
National High Altitude Photography (NHAP) collection was used for
some of the earliest demonstrations, the National Aerial Photogra-
phy Program (NAPP) would eventually become the preferred image
source for a digital orthophoto program. More recently NAPP has been
replaced by the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP).
The ongoing interagency aerial photography coordination effort
had resulted in a very close working relationship with USDA, and
especially with Gale Etsell, who was introducing analog image-based
mapping combined with GIS technologies to what was then the Soil
Conservation Service (SCS).
Due to the complexity of the production processes, USGS and
USDA were still pushing the state-of-the-art, and given the political
pressures coming from the private sector, they decided to develop
the program utilizing primarily a qualifications-based selection (QBS)
contracting strategy, even though QBS was highly resisted inside the
civilian mapping agencies at that point. This approach would lead to
a significant infusion of technical and technology capability into the
commercial high-resolution image mapping/processing sector. with
numerous representatives of private firms visitingWMC to obtain the
technology necessary to produce the DOQs.
Millions of users today view digital ortho imagery daily from a
variety of sources in hand held devices, taking the images for granted
and never imagining a time when they did not exist.
Those included in this nomination are: Randy Olsen for the original
math models and basic concepts; George Lee for the pragmatic design
and test implementation by scanning film to make digital imagery;
Dave Hooper for the software to utilize Randy’s models; Lyman Ladner
for creating the earliest demo products.
Additional background is found at
/
doq/doq_history.html
Teammembers:
Randle “Randy” Olsen
retired from USGS as a physical scientist in
2005, after serving 39 years with the Survey. He graduated from the
University of California, Berkeley in Civil Engineering and worked for
USGS throughout his professional career. He returned to Berkeley for
a Master’s degree in Photogrammetry while working for the USGS. It
was Randy Olsen who introduced the underlying mathematics for the
DOQ to theWestern Mapping Center (WMC) just before leaving for a
position at the USGS Headquarters in Reston, VA. At that time, Randy
was the Chief of Photogrammetry at WMC.
George Lee
studied photogrammetry under Professor Francis (Frank)
Moffitt and Dr. James Anderson at the University of California at
Berkeley and became active with ASP as a student before joining the
USGS. During the time of the DOQ development, George Lee was Chief
of Research and oversaw research, technology and application activ-
ities at WMC. Research and development of the DOQ was conducted
within the Technology Office which was supervised by Lyman Ladner.
He retired from USGS.
Lyman Ladner
attended San Jose State University and received his
degree in Mathematics while working for the USGS. He also took
a leave of absence from the USGS to attend ITC in Holland to study
Photogrammetry.
The development of the DOQ production software was done by the
late
David Hooper
under the supervision of Lyman Ladner. Before
getting into research, David Hooper worked for years as a stereo-com-
piler. David Hooper’s degree was in wildlife biology and he worked
with U.S. Fish andWildlife Service before coming to the USGS. He
became enthusiastic about programming through an after-hour
programming class sponsored at the USGS. His first involvement in
