ASPRS Ottawa

Airborne Digital Camera Calibration and

Certification

presented by Eric Liberty

Digital Sensor System (DSS) 422/439

•Electronics

•Digital Back, CCD

•Mechanics

•Camera Body, Shutter

•Optics

•Customized Lens, filters, Stable Mount

Camera Metric Stability?

Metric implies that the system

is calibrated for interior

orientation and remains

STABLE over time• Principle Point

• Lens Distortion

• Focal Length

VS

Self Calibration method using

AT to determine interior

orientation using tie-points and

Ground Control

+ Shock & Vibe and Pressure Tested= Mapping Grade Camera

Camera test labs and manufacturing facilities

Applanix Camera Manufacturing Lab Precision CNC Machine

Terrestrial Camera Calibration Cage

Reasons:• Improve overall quality and re-duce re-

work time via improved tooling

• Shorten manufacturing time via improved tooling

• Shorten turn-around times on re-calibrations for the yearly maintenance

TruSpectrum™ Technology

•Providing unparalleled Radiometric Accuracy for:

• Standard mapping applications requiring true color representation

• CIR (color infrared) remote sensing applications utilizing false-color imagery

Feature Function Benefit

TruSpectrum Image Chain Analysis for Color and Colour Infra Red (CIR) Imagery

Individual components of the imaging process are modeled in order to understand how changes in the chain may affect image quality

Seamless Mosaics for better product delivery in remote sensing and digital mapping applications

Adjusting the digital back

Determine tilt with optical microscope

Digital Back Adapter is machined to correct

Focus Adjustment

- system focus adjustment

using a collimator for …

- determination of focus gradient

DSS Terrestrial Calibration

• Applanix Proprietary SoftwareApplanix Proprietary Software• Calibration ParametersCalibration Parameters

• Focal LengthFocal Length• Radial and Tangential DistortionRadial and Tangential Distortion• Principal Point LocationPrincipal Point Location• Initial Boresight AlignmentInitial Boresight Alignment

-10

-5

0

5

10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Radial Distance (mm)

Rad

ial L

ens

Dis

tort

ion

(u

m)

SN0032 SN0033 SN0036 SN0037

CalQC is KEY: Boresight Calibration, QA/QC

DSS Workflow: Airborne Calibration and QC

CalQC is RIGOROUS and the BEST COMMERCIAL BORESIGHT CALIBRATION SOFTWARE!

All DSS specs are qualified by USGS Certification

Currently working towards certifying system within international mapping authorities