GLS337

GLS337

ANALOGUE & DIGITAL

DATA

Department of Surveying Science & Geomatics

Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying
UiTM Perlis

LESSON OUTCOMES
LESSON OUTLINES
At the end of this topic, students should be able to:
Introductions
Explain the Digital Image Structure of Analogue data
satellite data.
Describe and Identify different types of Digital Image Structure
analogue--to
analogue to--digital (A
(A--to
to--D) conversion
or Image Digitization methods. Analogue Image Digitization
Explain digital image data format of Instruments for Digitization
satellite data.
Digital Image Data Format
Summary

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INTRODUCTION Analogue Data

Photograph is one of the example of analogue data.
Remote sensing g images
g are representations
p of parts
p of In remote sensing, the term photograph is reserved
the earth surface as seen from space. exclusively
l i l for
f images
i that
th t were detected
d t t d as wellll as
recorded on film.
Remotely sensed data can be obtained by : Analog aerial photography,
photography, videography
videography,, and digital
– Analog materials photography are commonly used in airborne
remote sensing.
sensing. Synthetic Aperture Radar
– Digital imagery imaging is also carried out on airborne platforms.
Analogg photography
p g p y is capable
p of providing
p g high
g
spatial resolution.
resolution. The interpretation of analog aerial
photographs is usually done visually by experienced
analysts. The photographs may be digitized using a
scanning device for computer
computer--assisted analysis.

Aerial photograph Panchromatic Black & White Infrared

A high resolution aerial

photograph over a forested
area.
The canopy of each
individual tree can be clearly
seen. This type of very high
resolution imagery is useful
in identification of tree types
and in assessing the
conditions of the trees.

Tivoli North Bay on the Hudson River, NY Jensen, 2003

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Digital Data
Aerial
Photography (Remote Sensing Image)
Remotely sensed imagery already in a digital
format
Satellite images is the most remote sensing
imagery used in many applications.
Types of satellite data:
– Meteorological
– Oceanographic
– Earth resources
– Very High Spatial Resolution Data
– Hyperspectral Data
– Radar
Normal Color False--color Infrared
False
Jensen, 2003

DIGITAL IMAGE STRUCTURE

Pixel

Formed from the combination of picture and element.

element.
 The image data are arranged in hz rows called lines & vertical Pixel is a fundamental building block of a digital image.
columns called samples-(location address) Also known as cell size,
size, refers to the ground area from which the
 The grid cells are called pixels (picture elements) reflected or emitted EMR is integrated
g and recorded as a single
g
value in the image during sampling of the Earth’s surface.
 Each pixel in the image is represented by a digital number
(DN) Contains digital number (DN) or brightness value or grey level
representing reflected or emitted EMR intensity.
 The spatial property defines the ‘on ground” height and width.
 The spectral property defines the intensity of spectral
response for a cell in a particular band.

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Picture Elements (Pixel)

Digital Number
The DN of a pixel represents the amount of radiation
received at the sensor.
sensor
The amount of energy reaching the sensor is a function
of wavelength of the radiation. Thus, pixel varies from
band to band.
It always recorded as positive integers.
integers.
The theoretical range of pixel values in an image is
determined by the number of bits used to record the
energy, or the quantization level.
The number of potential DN values amounts to 28 or 256,
ranging from 0 to 255.
– 0 – no radiative energy is received
Jensen, 2004
– 255 – huge amount of radiation received

EXERCISES
What is the difference between analog
and digital image of remote sensing?
Describe digital image structure of
remotely sensed data.
Describe the terminologies :
– Aerial Photograph
– Pixel
– Digital Number

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Analogue-to
Analogue- to--digital (A-
(A-to
to--D) METHODS OF ANALOGUE (Hard-
(Hard-Copy)
conversion IMAGE DIGITIZATION
The photograph can be scanned into a digital image
with each p
pixel assigned
g a digital
g number (DN)
( ) Three major methods exist for converting hard
hard--copy aerial
representing its relative brightness. photography, radar imagery, thermal infrared imagery, etc.
The process of analogue
analogue--to to--digital (A
(A--to
to--D) into a format suitable for digital image processing:
conversion
– Involve the conversion of photograph into digital format. – Optical Mechanical Scanning
– When a photograph is converted into a digital format, the – Video Digitization/Videography
Digitization/Videography
density of the light
light--absorbing silver or dye deposited within
a user-
user-defined pixel is measured
measured.. – Linear & Arrayy Charge-
Charge
g -Coupled
p Device (CCD)
( )
– assigned a positive integer brightness value.
value. Digitization
– A matrix of brightness value will be created corresponding
to the average radiance measured from individuals pixel that
have been scanned.
scanned.

Optical--Mechanical Scanning
Optical Densitometer
Densitometer is a device that measure the average density
((light
g absorbed)) of a small area of specified
p size on a
2 types of optical-
optical-mechanical scanning systems that
photographic transparency or print.
are used to convert hard-
hard-copy photographic
images into digital values:
values: The measurement may be a meter reading or an electronic
signal.
1. Flat--Bed Scanners
1.Flat
When the area scanned is smaller than a few hundred
2.Rotating
2. Rotating--Drum Scanners micrometers square, the instrument is called a
Both systems used an instrument called a microdensitometer.
densitometer to measure image density
density. This device also can be used to calibrate an output device.

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Types of Optical-
Optical-Mechanical
Scanning System : Scanning Mode
Flat--Bed Scanners
Flat Rotating--Drum Scanners
Rotating Scanning of photographs is carried out either
the grey or colour mode
mode..
The colour mode reserved for true colour or
colour infrared photographs.
Scanning aerial photographs allows the analyst
to control the process of data acquisition (e.g.
specification of scanning resolution.)
resolution.))

A type of scanner with a light sensing A type of scanner on which

element on a moving carriage photograph is attached to the outside
mounted under a sheet of glass. of a spinning glass drum. The image
Photograph is placed face down on is scanned by photo multipkier tubes
this glass & covered with a hinged (PMTs) and is captured to a disk file.
cover. – give the best quality results.

Advantages & Disadvantages of

Scanning Resolution Optical Mechanical Scanners
Advantages
Commonly, adopted scanning resolution intervals are 150, 300 and
6000 dots per inch (DPI)
(DPI). Cost effective
A large DPI enables more details in the original image to be Obtained digital photographs can be set at various
preserved. However, it leads to an enormous amount of data to spatial resolution
maintain & process subsequently.
Scanning resolution is depends on the desired smallest objects on High geometric fidelity of frame photographs.
the ground to be resolved on the scanned photograph or ground
resolution distance (GRD);
Disadvantages
GRD (m) = 25.4 x SF / (1000 R)
Photographs have a limited spectral range
range..
where SF = scale factor of the photograph
Scanned photographs can be separated only into three
R = scanning resolution expressed as DPI (3) layers – RGB.
This equation can be used to determine the optimal scanning Artificial radiometric are inherent in one photograph &
resolution..
resolution across multiple photographs.

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Digital Conversion in Optical-

Optical-
Mechanical Scanners Video Digitization
The AA--to
to--D conversion of this scanner convert the continuous output Also known as aerial video
into a series of discrete numerical numbers which involve below (videography
videography)) which involves taking
process: continuous overlapping frames of an
– Operates on a pixel
pixel--by
by--pixel basis area to record image data in analogue
– Results in marix of values recorded in 8 bit bytes ranging from 0 – 255 form on magnetic videotape.
– Data stored on disk or tape A more flexible system involves the use of a video board to display
– Scanning imagery <12um may result in “noisy” digitized data images on higher resolution computer monitors.
– Multispectral digital data can be obtained by using blue, green and red filters An added advantage is that video displayed on a computer can be
(filter wheel) captured ("frame
("frame--grabbed"), a process by which individual video
frames are copied
p to the computer
p hard drive.
Drum & Flat-
Flat-bed microdensitometers offer repeatable spatial & The frame grabbing procedure effectively converts the analogue
radiometric accuracy but video signal into a digital image.
image.
– Slow The most common frame grabbing device is the Targa board, which
– Expensive saves images as '.tga
'.tga'' files; common programs such as Adobe
– Difficult to maintain Photoshop and Corel Draw will also import these images and allow
them to be viewed, manipulated and printed.

Advantages & Disadvantages of

Video Digitization Linear & Area Array Charge-
Charge-
Coupled Device (CCD) Digitization
Advantages:
CC
CCD
– Represents a low cost alternative
– Far less expensive than precision raster scanners – small detectors (20mmx20mm)
– Rapid data capture, but the results are not always useful – encode images in a numeric format
for digital image processing purposes. – measure the intensity of radiation striking a surface
& convert it to a DN
Disadvantages: – 2 types of CCD; Linear Array & Area Array
– Exhibits
E hibit generally
ll poor spatial
ti l resolution
l ti Linear Array CCD Area Array CCD
– Dramatic differences in the radiometric sensivity &
repeatability
– Edge matching problems

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Linear--Array Digitization
Linear
In a linear array system, a linear
photodiode array is mounted on a
precision screw which is mounted in a
special housing.
The spatial repeatability in the x-
x-
direction is more precise in this system
because each detector element is fixed
relative to all the other elements and
the lens system is constant from scan
to scan.
scan.
Typical output from such systems is a
matrix with 1 to 12 bits per pixel
(values from 0 to 4095) and results in
high spatial resolution,
resolution, good
radiometric accuracy, and fast
digitization (Jensen, 1996
Linear Array CCD Flatbed Digitizer

Area--Array Digitization
Area
Digital cameras containing a 2,048 by 2,048
charged--coupled (CCD) device may be used to
charged
digitize hard-
hard-copy aerial photographs or other
forms of imagery.
This is a quick and efficient way of converting Digitization
analog data into a digital format.
Using area array technology one may acquire
more than 2,048 rows and 3,072 columns of
data in a few seconds.
Area Array CCD Image
Digitizer

In this process the photograph is placed on an illuminated light table and the
camera is placed in a position to record the desired portions of the
photograph.
On exposure, the CCD area array records three bands of digital information
about the photograph (red, green, and blue; each with 8- 8-bit resolution). This
data is stored on disk for subsequent processing.
Jensen, 2004

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Digitization Remote Sensing

System used for
Multispectral and
Hyperspectral Data
Collection

Jensen, 2004

Jensen, 2004

DIGITAL IMAGE DATA STORAGE

EXERCISES FORMAT
If the smallest ground feature to be preserved is  Data storage forms
0.5 m in the digital image scanned from a  Band
B d IInterleaved
t l dbby Pi
Pixell (BIP) F
Formatt
 Band Interleaved by Line (BIL) Format
1:12,500 aerial photograph, what scanning
 Band Sequential (BSQ) Format
resolution should be adopted?
 Format of Image Storage (Assignment)
Discuss image digitization method using Linear  GIF
Array Scanners.  JPEG
Describe advantages and disadvantages of video  TIFF & GeoTIFF
digitization.  Data Compression
 Run Length Encoding Format (RLE)

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Continue.. Band Interleaved By Pixel Format (BIP)

One of the earliest digital formats used for satellite data.
Storage media of remotely sensed data This format treats pixels as the separate storage unit.
– nine-track tape (800
nine- (800, 1600
1600, and 6250 dpi) Brightness
h values
l ffor eachh pixell are stored
d one after
f another.
h
– 4- or 8-
8-mm tape It is practical to use if all bands in an image are to be used,
such as during the classification.
– Optical disks It is inefficient form of storage if only one band is examined,
such as contrast enhancement.
– CDs Figure 22--3.1 shows the logic of how the data is recorded to the
– DVD computer tape in sequential values for a four band image in
BIP format.
– Memory Sticks

Band Sequential Format (BSQ)

Band Interleaved by Line Format (BIL)
The band interleaved by line (BIL) format is stored by lines The band sequential format all the
Each line represented in all four bands (e.e
(e.e.. Landsat MSS) before the information related to one particular band
next line is recorded. and the header information is stored in one
It is useful to use if all bands of the imagery are to be used in the file.(see
file.(see Fig. 2
2--3.3).
3.3).
analysis. Multiple bands are written subsequently into
If some bands are not of interest, the format is inefficient if the data this file.
are on tape, since it is necessary to read serially past unwanted data. This method of image storage is the most
Figure 22--3.2 shows the logic of how the data is recorded to the intuitive and practical but it is difficult to
computer
p tape
p in sequential
q values for a four band image
g in BIL format. deal with subscene images.
This storage form has the advantage in
certain image analyses such as display of
individual bands on the computer screen.

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Run--Length Encoding Format

Run
Run-length encoding (RLE
Run- RLE)) is a very simple form of data
compression in which runs of data are stored as a single data value
and count,
count, rather than as the original run. This is most useful on data
that contains many such runs: for example, relatively simple graphic
images such as icons, line drawings, and animations.
In RS data format, RLE is a band sequential format that keeps
track of both the brightness value and the number of times the
brightness value occurs along a given scan line.
For example, if a body of water were encountered with brightness
line this could be stored in the
values of 10 for 60 pixels along a scan line,
computer in integer (213) format as 060010, meaning that the
following 60 pixels will each have a brightness value of 10. Storing the
two values 60 and 10 would require far less memory on disk or tape
than storing 60 number 10s.

EXERCISES One 8-bit pixel takes up one single

Explain digital image storage data format byte of computer disk spacespace.. One
of satellite data
data. kilobyte (Kb) is 1024 bytesbytes.. One
Describe data compression of remotely megabyte (Mb) is 1024 kilobytes.
kilobytes.
sensed data. How many megabytes of computer
disk space would be required to store
an 8-bit Landsat Thematic Mapper
(TM) image (7 bands),
bands) which is 6000
Assignment 2:
pixels by 6000 lines in dimension?
Explain the format of image storage
for GIF, JPEG and TIFF/GeoTIFF.

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Summary
Digital Image Structure consists of rows & columns of pixels, which
represent the DN or BV (Digital Number/Brightness Value) of the
image.
g
The process of analogue
analogue--toto--digital (A-
(A-to
to--D) conversion or
Image Digitization involve the conversion of photograph into
digital format.
format.
Three (3) methods of Image Digitization are Optical Mechanical
Scanners,, Video Digitization and linear/area array charge
Scanners
couple device (CD) digitization.
digitization. Optimal resolution of scanning is
very important to be determined in order to get the optimum results
of data scanning.
The data storage forms of remotely sensed data are Band
Interleaved Pixel,
Pixel, Band Interleaved by Line and Band
Sequential Format.
Format. Compression of remotely sensed data tecnique
such as Run Length Encoding Format (RLE) is very useful to manage
the storage of large amount of data (100 of megabytes or more).

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