Radiometric Quality and DSM Generation Analysis of CARTOSAT-1 Stereo Imagery

Abstract

CARTOSAT-1, launched in May 2005, is equipped with two cameras, Aft and Fore, tilted along-track by -5° and +26° respectively, allowing the acquisition of stereo data with a geometrical resolution of 2.5 m. The Institute “Area di Geodesia e Geomatica” atSapienza Università di Roma, Eurimage S.p.A. and the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, ETH Zurich participated in the ISPRS-ISRO Cartosat-1 Scientific Assessment Programme (C-SAP), in order to investigate the generation of Digital Surface Models(DSMs) from Cartosat-1 stereo scenes. This paper follows up on the previous work done by the Institutes and shows the analysis of a new standard stereopair belonging to the additional test field TS-Castelgandolfo, acquired on 18th July 2006 over the area of Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy (30 x 30 km2). The images are processed, in order to test both the image quality and the potential for DSM generation, following the procedures already established. The results obtained in all steps of the investigation, particularly those related to image quality, the orientation with different models and software and the effectiveness of image filtering forenhancing the DSM generation are presented and discussed.