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3.3 Scale of Photograph Over flat areas

3.3.1 Scale of Photography Over variable terrain

 Principal Points A, B, C,
and D, which lie at
elevations above datum
of hA, hB, hC, and, hD
respectively, are imaged
on the photograph at a, b,
c, and d.
 The scale at any point
can be expressed in terms
of its elevation, the
camera focal length, and
the flying height above
datum.

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From the given Figure, from similar triangles Lab and LAB, the following expression can be
written:

 It is apparent from these relationships that photo scale increases at higher elevations
and decreases at lower ones.
 This concept is seen graphically in the above Figure, where ground lengths AB and
CD are equal, but photo distances ab and cd are not, cd being longer and at larger
scale than ab because of the higher elevation of CD.

In general, by dropping subscripts, the scale S at any point whose elevation above datum is
h may be expressed as

 Here S is the scale at any point on a vertical photo, f is the camera focal length, H the flying
height above datum, and h the elevation of the point.
 Use of an average photographic scale is frequently desirable, but must be
accepted with caution as an approximation.
 For any vertical photographs taken of terrain whose average elevation above datum is the
average scale is

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Example
1.Suppose that highest terrain h1, average terrain havg, and lowest terrain h2 are
610, 460, and 310 m above mean sea level, respectively. Calculate the maximum
scale, minimum scale, and average scale if the flying height above mean sea level is
m and the camera focal length is 152.4 mm.
Solution by maximum scale occurs at maximum elevation

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3.3.2 Other methods of determining scale of vertical photography

3.4 Ground Coordinates from a Vertical Photograph

 The ground coordinates of points whose images appear in a vertical photograph can be
determined with respect to an arbitrary ground coordinate system.
 The arbitrary X and Y ground axes are in the same vertical planes as the photographic x
and y axes, respectively, and the origin of the system is at the datum principal point (point
in the datum plane vertically beneath the exposure station). Images a and b of the ground
points A and B appear on the photograph, and their measured photographic coordinates are
xa , ya , xb , and yb .
 The arbitrary ground coordinate axis system is X and Y, and the coordinates of points A
and B in that system are XA , YA , XB , and YB . From similar triangles La′o and LA′Ao
, the following equation may be written:

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Also, from similar triangles La″o and LA″Ao ,

Similarly, the ground coordinates of point B are

QUIZ: A vertical aerial photograph was taken with a 152.4-mm-focal-length camera

from a flying height of 1385 m above datum. Images a and b of two ground points
A and B appear on the photograph, and their measured photo coordinates (corrected
for shrinkage and distortions) are xa = –52.35 mm, ya = – 48.27 mm, xb = 40.64
mm, and yb = 43.88 mm. Determine the horizontal length of line AB if the elevations
of points A and B are 204 and 148 m above datum, respectively.

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3.5 displacement on vertical photography

 Relief displacement on a vertical photograph is the shift or movement of an image from
its theoretical datum location caused by the object’s relief that is, its elevation above or
below datum.
 Relief displacement on a vertical photograph occurs along radial lines from the principal
point and increases in magnitude with greater distance from the principal point to the
image.
 The concept of relief displacement in a vertical photograph taken from a flying height H
above datum is illustrated in the below Figure, where the camera focal length is f and o is
the principal point.
 Points B and C are the base and top, respectively, of a pole with images at b and c on the
photograph. A is an imaginary point on the datum plane vertically beneath B with
corresponding imaginary position a on the photograph.
 Distance ab on the photograph is the image displacement due to the elevation of B above
datum, and bc is the image displacement because of the height of the pole.

From similar triangles of the Figure an expression for relief

displacement is formulated. First, from triangles LOAA
and Loa,

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 Equation (27.8) can be used to locate the datum photographic positions of images on a vertical photograph.
 can also be applied in computing heights of vertical objects such as buildings, church steeples, radio
towers, trees, and power poles. To determine heights using the equation, images of both the top and
bottom of an object must be visible.
Example. In Figure the above figure, radial distance to the image of the
base of the pole is 75.23 mm, and radial distance to the image of its top is
76.45 mm. The flying height H is 4000 ft above datum, and the elevation
of B is 450 ft. What is the height of the pole?

Flying Height of Vertical Photography

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 Where AB is the horizontal length of ground line AB, H the flying height above
datum, and the elevations of the control points above datum, and x and y
the measured photo coordinates of the control points.
 In the above Equation all variables except H are known. Hence a direct solution
can be found for the unknown flying height.
 The equation is quadratic, so there are two solutions, but the incorrect one will be obvious and
can be discarded.

Error Evaluation
Some of the more significant sources of errors are:
I. Errors in photographic measurements, e.g., line lengths or photo
coordinates
II. Errors in ground control
 Sources I&II can be minimized precise, properly calibrated equipment and
suitable caution are used in making the measurements.
III. Shrinkage and expansion of film and paper
 Source III can be practically eliminated by making corrections.
IV. Tilted photographs where vertical photographs were assumed
 Magnitudes of error introduced by source IV depend upon the severity of
the tilt.

Example: Assume that a vertical photograph was taken with a camera having a focal
length of 152.4 mm. Assume also that a ground distance AB on flat terrain has a
length of 1524 m and that its corresponding photo distance ab measures 127.0
mm. Flying height above ground may be calculated, as follow:

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Interior Orientation
 Three parameters plus distortion
 principle point H, (x0,Y0)
 Principal distance C (C=f (focal length)
 Geometric Definition
Principal points: intersection point of optical axis through image plane
Principal distance: distance of projection center from image plane
 Calibration
H, C are calibrated in laboratory and are assumed to be known for image measurements
Alternatively in-situ calibration (requires GCPs)

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Exterior Orientation
 Defines the orientation (position and attitude) of the image, i.e. the image coordinate
system in relation to an exterior-(world-, object-) coordinate system.
 2D image coordinate system
 Defined by interior orientation
 In image plane (2D- Cartesian)
 Origin in principal point
 3D image coordinate system
 Defined by interior orientation
 3D- Cartesian
 Origin in projection center
 3D/2D coordinate systems are fixed to camera/image plane

Exterior Orientation parameters

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Chapter 4: Making Metric Determinations from Aerial Photos

4.1 Stereoscopic Viewing and Depth Perception
 Methods of judging depth classified as either stereoscopic or monoscopic.
 Binocular vision:- Capable of viewing with both eyes simultaneously
 Stereoscopic viewing:- perception of depth when viewing through binocular
vision
 Monocular vision:- Viewing with only one eye
 Monoscopic viewing:- judging depth with one eye
 Distances perceived monoscipically by
 Relative sizes of objects,
 Hidden objects,
 Shadows, and
 Differences in focusing.

Depth perception by relative sizes and hidden objects

4.2 Stereoscopic Depth Perception
 With binocular vision, when the eyes fixate on a certain point, the optical axes of the two
eyes converge on that point, intersecting at an angle called the parallactic angle.
 The nearer the object, the greater the parallactic angle, and vice versa.
 eye base: Separation b/n the optical axes of the two eyes L and R (63-69mm average
distance for adult)
 When the eyes fixate on point A and B the optical axes converge, forming parallactic angles
ϕa and ϕb. The brain automatically and unconsciously associates distances DA and DB
with corresponding parallactic angles ϕa and ϕb .

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 The depth between objects A and B becomes:

depth= DB – DA , perceived from the difference in these parallactic angles.

 Stereoscopic depth perception as

a function of parallactic angle

4.3 Viewing Photographs Stereoscopically

 As shown in below Fig, if the image marks are moved closer together to, say, a1′, and
a2′, the parallactic angle increases and the object is perceived to be nearer the eyes at
A′.
 If the marks are moved farther apart to a1″ and a2″,the parallactic angle decreases and
the brain receives an impression that the object is farther away, at A″

 The apparent depth to the object A can be

changed by changing the spacing of the images

 Suppose that a pair of aerial photography is taken from exposure stations L1 and L2 so
that the building appears on both photos.
 Flying height above ground is H′, and the distance between the two exposures is B, the
air base.
 Object points A and B at the top and bottom of the building are imaged at a1 and b1 on
the left photo and at a2 and b2 on the right photo.

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• Photographs from two exposure stations with

building in common overlap area.

 placing photos laid on table so left eye sees left image and right eye sees the right image
 Stereoscopic model (called stereo model) appears below table top, overlapping pair
photographs is stereopair
 Brain judges height of building from differences in parallactic angle

 Viewing the building stereoscopically

4.3.1Stereoscopes
It is quite difficult to view photographs stereoscopically without the aid of optical devices. These
difficulties in stereoscopic viewing overcome by use of stereoscopes instruments. Stereoscopy is
a three dimensional perception obtained with the aid of a stereoscope equipment. Enables you to
view an object from 2 different camera positions to obtain a 3-dimensional view.

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 In order to get a stereoscopic vision of a certain area, most photogrammetrists use either:
i. Lens stereoscopes/pocket stereoscope
ii. Mirror stereoscopes

I. Pocket stereoscope
It is one of the most popular lens stereoscope commonly known as pocket stereoscope.It has plane-
convex lens, upper side flat with a focal length of 100mm.The rays entering the eyes are parallel
and converge at infinity and have been accommodated (focused) at 100mm distance .The pocket
stereoscope is cheep, transportable, and can be used in the field. It has 2-4 x lens magnification .
Disadvantages of pocket stereoscope
I. Limited magnification
II. The distance between corresponding points on the photos must be equal to or smaller
than the eye base. With normal size photographs this becomes difficult or impossible
without bending or folding the photos.

ii. Mirror prism stereoscopes Pocket stereoscope

 The above two mentioned drawbacks have led to the development of the mirror
stereoscope.
 The normal size photos(23cmx23cm) can be separated and seen under the stereoscope
without folding them.
 As in pocket stereoscope the picture must be at the focal plane of the lenses in order to
have convergence at infinity.
 Consist of four mirror makes an angle 45 deg with plane of photo
 Two larger wing mirror, two eyepiece mirror.
 The mirrors M1 are placed in such a way that the picture distance via the mirrors
M2(generally prisms) become equal to the focal length of the lens usually 300mm(this
gives approximately 250/300=0.8x magnification, or rather reduction the picture
observed .
 To magnify the image additional oculars of magnification 3x to 8x can be used over the
prisms.

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 Use of stereoscopes
In stereoscopic viewing, it is important to orient the photos so that the left and right eyes see the
left and right photos, respectively.
If the photos are viewed in reverse, a pseudoscopic view results in which ups and downs
are reversed; e.g., valleys appear as ridges and hills appear as depressions.
 Accurate and comfortable stereoscopic viewing requires that the eye base
 The line joining the centers of the stereoscope lenses, and the flight line all be parallel.
 For vertical photographs, the flight line is the line from the center of the left photo to the
center of the right photo.

 Pair of photos properly oriented for stereoscopic

viewing

4.4 Causes of Y Parallax

An essential condition which must exist for clear and comfortable stereoscopic viewing is that the
line joining corresponding images be parallel with the direction of flight. When corresponding
images fail to lie along a line parallel to the flight line, y parallax, is exist. Slight amount of y
parallax causes eyestrain, and excessive amounts prevent stereoscopic viewing altogether If a pair
of truly vertical overlapping photos taken from equal flying heights is oriented perfectly, then no
y parallax should exist anywhere in the overlap area.
 For example, the photos are improperly oriented, and the principal points and
corresponding principal points do not lie on a straight line. As a result, y parallax
exists at both points a and b. This condition can be prevented by careful orientation.

 Here y parallax is caused by improper orientation of the photos

 In below figure the left photo was exposed from a lower flying height than the right photo,
and consequently its scale is larger than the scale of the right photo. Even though the photos
are truly vertical and properly oriented, y parallax exists at both points a and b due to
variation in flying heights.
In below figure the left photo was exposed from a lower flying height than the right photo, and
consequently its scale is larger than the scale of the right photo. Even though the photos are
truly vertical and properly oriented, y parallax exists at both points a and b due to variation in
flying heights.

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 The y parallax is caused

by variation in flying
height

The effect of tilted photos is illustrated in the following figure. The left photo is truly vertical and
shows positions of images a through d of a square parcel of property on flat terrainThe right photo
was tilted such that the same parcel appears as a trapezoid. In this case, y parallax exists
throughout the stereoscopic model as a result of the tilt. Most serious y parallaxes usually occur
from improper orientation of the photos, a condition which can be easily corrected.

 The y parallax is caused by tilt of the photos.

 General causes of Y- parallax
 Photos improperly oriented
 Unequal flying height
between photos
 Tilt photography
4.5 Vertical Exaggeration
Under normal conditions, the vertical scale of a stereomodel will appear to be greater than the
horizontal scale; i.e., an object in the stereomodel will appear to be too tall. This apparent scale
disparity is called vertical exaggeration. It is usually of greatest concern to photo interpreters,
who must take this condition into account when estimating heights of objects, rates of slopes, etc.
 Although other factors are involved, vertical exaggeration is caused primarily by the lack
of equivalence of the photographic base-height ratio, B/H′, and the corresponding
stereoviewing base height ratio, be/h.
The term B/H′ is the ratio of the air base (distance between the two exposure stations) to flying
height above average ground, and be/h is the ratio of the eye base (distance between the two eyes)
to the distance from the eyes at which the stereomodel is perceived.
 Stereoscopic Causes
 Viewing distance
 Separation of photographs
 Eye base
 Magnification
 Photographic Causes

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 Photographic scale
 Altitude above terrain
 Air base terrain relief

 Simplistic diagrams for analyzing vertical exaggeration. (a)

Geometry of overlapping aerial photography. (b) Geometry of
stereoscopic viewing of the photos of part (a).

Figures a and b represent, respectively, the taking of a pair of vertical overlapping photographs
and the stereoscopic viewing of those photos. In figure a, the camera focal length is f, the air base
is B, the flying height above ground is H′, the height of ground object AC is Z, and the horizontal
ground distance KC is D. In Figure a, assume that Z is equal to D. In Fig. b, i is the image distance
from the eyes to the photos, be is the eye base, h is the distance from the eyes to the perceived
stereomodel, z is the stereomodel height of object A′C′, and d is the horizontal stereomodel
distance K′C′. Note that while the ratio Z/D is equal to 1, the ratio z/d is greater than 1 due to
vertical exaggeration. An equation for calculating vertical exaggeration can be developed with
reference to these figures. From similar triangles of Figure a.

Also from similar triangles of Figure b,

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Also from similar triangles of Figure a and b,

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 it is seen that the magnitude of vertical exaggeration in stereoscopic

viewing can
be approximated by multiplying the B/H′ ratio by the inverse of the
be/h ratio.
 An expression for the B/H′ ratio can be developed with reference to In
this figure, G represents the total ground coverage of a vertical photo
taken from an altitude of H′ above ground.
 Air base B is the distance between exposures. From the figure,

Figure: Base-height ratio (B/H′)

 The stereoviewing base-height ratio varies due to differences in

the distances between the eyes of users and varying dimensions of
stereoscopes.
 It can, however, be approximated in the following way. This figure
illustrates the relationships involved in this approximation. With
an eye base, be, averaging about 65 mm in humans, we need only
to find the perceived distance from the eyes to the stereomodel, h
to make an approximation.
 If the distance between the photos is bs, and the distance of the
stereoscope from the photos is i, then we can use the following
equation to estimate h by similar triangles:

Figure shows: Eye base to perceived model height ratio.

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Example1: Estimate the stereoviewing base-height ratio if the height of the stereoscope above the photos is 10.00
cm, and the photos are placed 5.0 cm apart.

Example 2 :Using the results of Example 1, calculate the approximate vertical exaggeration for vertical aerial
photos taken with a 152.4-mm-focal-length camera having a 23-cm-square format if the photos were taken with 60
percent end lap.

From Example 1, be/h is approximately 0.15

Note: If a 305-mm-focal-length camera had been used, the B/H′ ratio would have been 0.30, and vertical
exaggeration would have been reduced to 2.

4.6 Stereoscopic Parallax

 Parallax is the apparent displacement in the position of an object, with respect to a frame
of reference, caused by a shift in the position of observation.
 Change in position of an image from one photo to the next is caused by aircraft's motion
called stereoscopic parallax, X parallax, or simply parallax.
 Two important aspects of stereoscopic parallax
 Parallax of any point is directly related to the elevation of the point
Parallax is greater for high points than for low points

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 points A and B appear on a pair of overlapping
vertical aerial photographs which were taken
from exposure stations L1 and L2 .
 Points A and B are imaged at a and b on the left-
hand photograph.
 Forward motion of the aircraft between

exposures, that on the right hand photos appear at a′ and

b′
 Because point A is higher (closer to the

camera) than point B in other words, the

parallax of point A is greater than the parallax of point

B.

 The parallax of any point is directly related to the elevation of the point.
 Parallax is greater for high points than for low points.
Shows the two photographs of in superposition. Parallaxes of object points A and B are pa and
pb, respectively. Stereoscopic parallax for any point such as A whose images appear on two
photos of a stereopair, expressed in terms of flight-line photographic coordinates,

 The superposition of the two photographs

 pa is the stereoscopic parallax of object point A,
 xa is the measured photo coordinate of image a on the left
photograph of the stereopair, and
 xa′ is the photo coordinate of image a′ on the right photo.

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4.6.1 Photographic Flight-Line Axes for Parallax Measurement

 Since parallax occurs parallel to the direction of flight, the photographic x and x′ axes for
parallax measurement must be parallel with the flight line for each of the photographs of a
stereopair.
 For a vertical photograph of a stereopair, the flight line is the line connecting the principal
point and corresponding (conjugate) principal point.
 The y and y′ axes for parallax measurement pass through their respective principal points
and are perpendicular to the flight line.
 All photographs except those on the ends of a flight strip may have two sets of flight axes
for parallax measurements one to be used when the photo is the left photo of the stereopair
and one when it is the right photo.
 An example is shown in the following figure , where photographs 1 through 3 were exposed
as shown. Parallax measurements in the overlap area of photos 1 and 2 are made with
respect to the solid xy axis system of photo 1 and the solid x′y′ system of photo 2.
 However, due to the aircraft’s curved path of travel, the flight line of photos 2 and 3 is not
in the same direction as the flight line of photos 1 and 2.
 Therefore, parallax measurements in the overlap area of photos 2 and 3must be made with
respect to the dashed xy axis system on photo 2 and the dashed x′y′ system of photo 3

Figure shows: Flight-line axes for

measurement of stereoscopic parallax.

4.6.2 Mono-scopic Methods of Parallax Measurement

 Parallaxes of points on a stereopair measured either monoscopically or
stereoscopically.
 There are certain advantages and disadvantages associated with each method.
 In both method the photographic flight line axes must first be carefully located by
marking principal points and corresponding principal points.
 The simplest method of parallax measurement is the monoscopic approach, in which (pa
= xa- x′a) is solved after direct measurement of x and x′ on the left and right photos,
respectively.
A disadvantage of this method is that two measurements are required for each point.

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 Another monoscopic approach to parallax measurement is to fasten the photographs down on a table or
base material, as shown in Figure.
 In this method o1o2 and o1′o2′ are marked as photographic flight lines
 A long straight line AA′ is drawn on the base material, and the two photos are
carefully mounted and coincident with photographic flight lines.
 D is the distance between the two principal points.
 The parallax of point B is pb = xb – xb′
 d is distance between its images on the left and right photos.
 The advantage is that for each additional
point whose parallax is desired, only a single measurement is required.

Figure shows: Parallax measurement using a simple scale

4.6.3 Parallax Equations

 Images of an object point A appear on the left and right photos at a and a′, respectively.
 The planimetric position of point A on the ground is given in terms of ground coordinates XA
and YA.
 Its elevation above datum is hA.
 The XY ground axis system has its origin at the datum principal point P of the left-hand
photograph;
 the X axis is in the same vertical plane as the photographic x and x′ flight axes; and
 the Y axis passes through the datum principal point of the left photo and is perpendicular to
the X axis.
 According to this definition, each stereopair of photographs has its own unique ground
coordinate system.

Figure shows: Geometry of

an overlapping pair of
vertical photographs

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By equating similar triangles of the above fig , formulas for calculating hA, XA, and YA may be
derived. From similar triangles L1oay and L1AoAy,

Also from similar triangles L2 o′ax′ and L2 Ao′ Ax,

Now substituting the above into each of Eqs. (b) and (a) and reducing gives
Where as hA is the elevation of point A above datum, H is the flying height above datum, B is the
air base, f is the focal length of the camera, pa is the parallax of point A, XA and YA are the ground
coordinates of point A in the previously defined unique arbitrary coordinate system, and xa and ya
the photo coordinates of point a measured with respect to the flight-line axes on the left photo.

 All the above Equations are commonly called the parallax

equations

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Example .A pair of overlapping vertical photographs was taken from a flying height of 1233 m
above sea level with a 152.4-mm-focal-length camera. The air base was 390 m. With the photos
properly oriented, flight-line coordinates for points a and b were measured as xa = 53.4 mm, ya =
50.8 mm, xa′ = –38.3 mm, ya′ = 50.9 mm, xb = 88.9 mm, yb = –46.7 mm, xb′ = –7.1 mm, yb′ = –
46.7 mm. Calculate the elevations of points A and B and the horizontal length of line AB. Solution

4.6.4 Elevations By Parallax Differences

 Parallax differences between one point and another are caused by different elevations of
the two points.
 Parallax differences between one point and another are caused by different elevations of
the two points.

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parallaxes of both points can be expressed as

 The difference in parallax 𝑝�𝑎� - 𝑝�𝑐�

 Let pa – pc equal Δp, the difference

in parallax. By substituting H – hA
from this
 and reducing, the following
expression for elevation hA is
obtained:

Example: flight-line axis x and x′ coordinates for the images of a vertical control point C were
measured as xc = 14.3 mm and xc′ = –78.3 mm. If the elevation of point C is 591 m above sea
level, calculate the elevations of points A and B of that example, using parallax difference

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4.6.5 Measurement Of Parallax Differences

 Parallax differences may be determined in any of the following ways:
1. By monoscopic measurement of parallaxes followed by subtraction
2. By taking differences in parallax bar readings
3. By parallax wedge
 A parallax wedge, as illustrated in Figure consists
of a piece of transparent film upon which are
drawn two converging lines

 The left line is a reference line while the line on the

right contains graduations from which readings can be
made

 The spacing of the two lines depends on whether

the parallax wedge will be used with a mirror
stereoscope or a pocket stereoscope

 When a parallax wedge is used, the photos are first

carefully oriented for viewing with a pocket
stereoscope and secured
 The parallax wedge is placed in the overlap area and viewed
stereoscopically; the two lines of the parallax wedge will
Parallax wedge fuse and appear as a single floating line in
areas where the spacing of the lines is slightly less than the
spacing of corresponding photo images.
4.6.6 Error Evaluation
 Some of the sources of error in computed answers using parallax equations are as follows
 locating and marking the flight lines on photos
 Orienting stereopairs for parallax measurement
 Parallax and photo coordinate measurements
 Shrinkage or expansion of photographs
 Unequal flying heights for the two photos of stereopairs
 Tilted photographs
 Errors in ground control

 Other errors of lesser consequence such as camera lens distortion and atmospheric
refraction distortion

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Chapter: Five
Analytical Photogrammetry: part one
5.1 Introduction
Analytical photogrammetry is a term used to describe the rigorous mathematical calculation of
coordinates of points in object space based upon camera parameters, measured photo
coordinates, and ground control. Analytical photogrammetry generally involves the solution of
large, complex systems of redundant equations by the method of least squares.The evolution of
computer technology and photogrammetric software, however, made analytical photogrammetry
a commonplace technique.
 Analytical photogrammetry forms the basis of many modern hardware and software
systems, including:
 stereoplotters (analytical and softcopy),
 digital terrain model generation,
 orthophoto production,

 Digital photo rectification, and aerotriangulation.

5.2 Image Measurements

A fundamental type of measurement used in analytical photogrammetry is an x and y photo
coordinate pair. These coordinates must be related to the principal point as the origin. Since
mathematical relationships in analytical photogrammetry are based on assumptions such as “light
rays travel in straight lines” and “the focal plane of a frame camera is flat”, various coordinate
refinements may be required to correct measured photo coordinates for distortion effects that
otherwise cause these assumptions to be violated.

5.3 Coordinate system for image measurement

 Rectangular axis system formed by joining opposite fiducial marks.
 X-axis is parallel to flight lines, y-axis perpendicular to x-axis
 Origin is the intersection of axis
 Fiducial marks serve as control points from which the photo coordinate axis system can
be determined.

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 Rectangular coordinates are a very basic and useful type of

photographic measurement. As an example, they can be used
to calculate the photo distances between points by using
simple analytic geometry.

5.4 Image Plane Distortion

The nominal amount of shrinkage or expansion present in a photograph can be determined by
comparing measured photographic distances between opposite fiducial marks with their
corresponding values determined in camera calibration. Photo coordinates can be corrected if
inconsistencies exist, and the approach differs depending on the necessary level of accuracy. For
lower levels of accuracy (corresponding to measurements with an engineer’s scale on paper prints)
the following approach may be used. If xm and ym are measured fiducial distances on the positive,
and xc and yc are corresponding calibrated fiducial distances, then the corrected photo coordinates
of any point a may be calculated as

Whereas x′a and y′a are corrected photo coordinates and xa and ya are measured coordinates. The
ratios xc/xm and yc/ym are simply scale factors in the x and y directions, respectively.
Example .For a particular photograph, the measured x and y fiducial distances were 233.8 and
233.5 mm, respectively. The corresponding x and y calibrated fiducial distances were 232.604 and
232.621 mm, respectively. Compute the corrected values for the measured photo coordinates
which are listed in columns (b) and (c) in the table below.

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 Each of the measured values is multiplied by the

appropriate constant above, and the corrected coordinates
are entered in columns (d) and (e) of the table.

5.5 Correction for Lens Distortions

 Lens distortion causes imaged positions to be displaced from their ideal locations.
1. The mathematical equations that are used to model lens distortions are typically
comprised of two components:
I. Symmetric radial distortion and
II. Decentering distortion.
 In modern precision aerial mapping cameras, lens distortions are typically less than 5μm
and are only applied when precise analytical photogrammetry is being performed.
 Symmetric radial lens distortion is an unavoidable product of lens manufacture,
although with careful design its effects can be reduced to a very small amount.
 Decentering distortion, on the other hand, is primarily a function of the imperfect
assembly of lens elements, not the actual design.
Radial Distortion types

The radial distortion value was the radial displacement from the ideal location to the actual image
of the collimator cross, with positive values indicating outward displacements.
 The form of the polynomial, based on lens design theory, is

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In above Eq, Δr is the amount of radial lens distortion, r is the radial distance from the principal
point, and k1, k2, k3, and k4 are coefficients of the polynomial. The coefficients of the polynomial
are solved by least squares using the distortion values from the calibration report. To correct the x,
y position of an image point, the distance r from the image point to the principal point is computed
and used to compute the value of Δr. This is done by first converting the fiducial coordinates x and
y, to coordinates and , relative to the principal point & r can be compute with

 After the radial lens distortion value of

Δr is computed,
 its x and y components (corrections δx
and δy) are computed and subtracted
from and , respectively.
 The δx and δy corrections are based on a
similar-triangle relationship, as shown
in Fig. By similar triangles of that figure

 The corrected coordinates xc and yc are then computed by

Example: An older USGS camera calibration report specifies the calibrated focal length f =
153.206 mm and coordinates of the calibrated principal point as xp = 0.008 mm and yp = –0.001
mm. The report also lists mean radial lens distortion values given in columns (a) and (b) of the
table below. Using these calibration values, compute the corrected coordinates for an image point
having coordinates x =62.579 mm, y = –80.916 mm relative to the fiducial axes.

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Solution Compute r values (in meters) in column (c) by the following equation

 Using the least squares method the following k values were computed.

Compute the distance from the principal point to the image point

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Given this value for r and the k coefficients, compute Δr by

 Compute corrected coordinates xc and yc

5.6 Correction for Atmospheric Refraction

It is well known that density (and hence the index of refraction) of the atmosphere decreases with
increasing altitude. Because of this condition, light rays do not travel in straight lines through the
atmosphere, but rather they are bent according to Snell’s law. The incoming light ray from point
A of the figure makes an angle α with the vertical. If refraction were ignored, the light ray would
appear to be coming from point B rather than from point A. Photogrammetric equations assume

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that light rays travel in straight paths, and to compensate for the known refracted paths, corrections
are applied to the image coordinates.

 if a straight path had been followed by the light ray from

object point A, then its image would have been at a′.
 The angular distortion due to refraction is Δα, and the linear
distortion on the photograph is Δr.
 Refraction causes all imaged points to be displaced outward
from their correct positions.
 The magnitude of refraction distortion increases with
increasing flying height and with increasing α angle.
 Refraction distortion occurs from nadir point

The relationship that expresses the angular distortion Δα as a function of α is

In this equation, α is the angle between the vertical and the ray of light,
and K is a value which depends upon the flying height above mean sea level and the elevation of
the object point. A convenient method, adapted from the Manual of Photogrammetry, is to compute
K by

H is the flying height of the

camera above mean sea level in kilometers, and h is the elevation of the object point above mean
sea level in kilometers. The units of K are degrees

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Example: A vertical photograph taken from a flying height of 3500 m above mean sea level
contains the image a of object point A at coordinates (with respect to the fiducial system) xa =
73.287 mm and ya = –101.307 mm. If the elevation of object point A is 120 m above mean sea
level and the camera had a focal length of 153.099 mm, compute the x′ and y′ coordinates of the
point, corrected for atmospheric refraction.
Solution Compute r

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Analytical Photogrammetry: part two

5.7 Control Points
In addition to measurement of image coordinates, a certain number of control points in object
space are generally required for analytical photogrammetry. Object space coordinates of these
control points, which may be either image identifiable features or exposure stations of the
photographs themselves, are generally determined via some type of field survey technique such as
GPS. It is important that the object space coordinates be based on a three-dimensional Cartesian
system which has straight, mutually perpendicular axes.
 GCPs are identifiable features located on the Earth’s surface that have known ground
coordinates in X, Y, and Z.
 Depending on the type of mapping project, GCPs can be collected from the following
sources.
 Total station survey
 RTK GPS
GCP Requirements
 The maximum GCP requirements for an accurate mapping project vary with respect to
the size of the project.

 Generally, processing image for the purpose of ortho-rectification, the minimum number
of GCPs required is three.
In establishing the mathematical relationship between ground and image space, some
parameters must be determined. The parameters include a scale factor (describing the scale
difference between image space and ground space); X, Y, Z coordinates (defining the
positional differences between image space and ground space); and three rotation angles
(omega, phi, and kappa) that define the rotational relationship between image space and ground
space. It is highly recommended that a greater number of GCPs be available than are actually
used in the block triangulation. Additional GCPs can be used as check points to independently
verify the overall quality and accuracy of the block triangulation solution. The result of the
analysis is an RMSE that defines the degree of correspondence between the computed values
and the original values. Lower RMSE values indicate better results

Tie Points
A tie point is a point that has unknown ground coordinates, but is visually recognizable in the
overlap area between two or more images and computed during block triangulation. It can be
measured both manually and automatically and should be visually well-defined in all images.

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Tie points should also be well distributed over the area of the block and typically, nine tie points
in each image are sufficient for block triangulation. The following figure shows the placement of
tie points.

In a block of images with 60% overlap and 25-30% side lap, nine points are sufficient to tie
together the block as well as individual strips as shown in the following figure

5.8 Collinearity Condition

The most fundamental and useful relationship in analytical photogrammetry is the collinearity
condition. Collinearity, is the condition that the exposure station, any object point, and its photo
image all lie along a straight line in three-dimensional space. The collinearity condition is
illustrated in Following, where L, a, and A lie along a straight line. Two equations express the
collinearity condition for any point on a photo: one equation for the x photo coordinate and another
for the y photo coordinate. The mathematical relationships are developed in App. D and expressed
by Eqs. (D-5) and (D-6). They are repeated here for convenience.

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where 𝑥� and 𝑦� are the photo coordinates of image point 𝑎�: 𝑋�𝐴�, 𝑌�𝐴�, and 𝑍�𝐴� are object space
coordinates of point A. 𝑋�𝐿�, 𝑌�𝐿� , and 𝑍�𝐿� are object space coordinates of the exposure station 𝑓�
is the camera focal length 𝑥�0 and 𝑦�0 are the coordinates of the principal point (usually known
from camera calibration) the 𝑚�′𝑠� are functions of three rotation angles, and most often
omega, phi, and kappa are the angles employed .

5.9 COPLANARITY CONDITION

 Coplanarity, as illustrated in the following figure, is the condition that the two exposure
stations of a stereopair, any object point, and its corresponding image points on the two
photos all lie in a common plane.
 In the figure, for example, points L1, L2, a1, a2, and A all lie in the same plane. The
coplanarity condition is developed in Sec. D-7 and shown in Eq.

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 In the above Eq. Subscripts 1 and 2 affixed to terms D, E, and F indicate that the terms
apply to either photo 1 or photo 2. The m’s again are functions of the three rotation angles
omega, phi, and kappa. One coplanarity equation may be written for each object point
whose images appear on both photos of the stereopair. The coplanarity equations do not
contain object space coordinates as unknowns; rather, they contain only the elements of
exterior orientation of the two photos of the stereopair.
Like collinearity equations, the coplanarity equation is nonlinear and must be linearized by using
Taylor’s theorem and solved iteratively for corrections to approximations of the orientation
parameters.

5.10 Space Resection by Collinearity

Space resection, is a method of determining the six elements of exterior orientation (ω, ϕ, κ, XL,
YL, and ZL) of a photograph. This method requires a minimum of three control points, with known
XYZ object space coordinates, to be imaged in the photograph.If the ground control coordinates
are assumed to be known and fixed, then the linearized forms of the space resection collinearity
equations for a point A are

In Eqs. (11-6) and (11-7), the terms are as defined in Secs. 11-4 and D-5. Two equations are formed
for each control point, which gives six equations if the minimum of three control points is used. In
this case a unique solution results for the six unknowns, and the residual terms on the right sides
of Eqs. (11-6) and (11-7) will be zero. If four or more control points are used, more than six
equations can be formed, allowing a least squares solution. Since the collinearity equations are
nonlinear, and have been linearized using Taylor’s theorem, initial approximations are required
for the unknown orientation parameters.

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5.11Space Intersection by Collinearity

If space resection is used to determine the elements of exterior orientation for both photos of a
stereopair, as described in the preceding section, then object point coordinates for points that lie in
the stereo overlap area can be calculated. The procedure is known as space intersection, so called
because corresponding rays to the same object point from the two photos must intersect at the
point, as shown below Fig. To calculate the coordinates of point A by space intersection,
collinearity equations of the linearized form given by Eqs. (11-3) and (11-4) can be written for
each new point, such as point A of Fig. Note, however, that since the six elements of exterior
orientation are known, the only remaining unknowns in these equations are dXA, dYA, and dZA.
These are corrections to be applied to initial approximations for object space coordinates XA, YA,
and ZA, respectively, for ground point A.

The linearized forms of the space intersection equations for point A are

In the following equation, the terms are as defined

in Secs. 11-4 and D-5. Two equations of this form
can be written for point a1 of the left photo, and
two more for point a2 of the right photo; hence
four equations result, and the three unknowns dXA,
dYA, and dZA can be computed in a least squares
solution.

5.12 Analytical Stereomodel

 Aerial photographs for most applications are taken so that adjacent photos overlap by more
than 50 percent.
 Two adjacent photographs that overlap in this manner form a stereopair, and object points
that appear in the overlap area constitute a stereomodel.
 The mathematical calculation of three dimensional ground coordinates of points in the
stereomodel by analytical photogrammetric techniques forms an analytical stereomodel

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The process of forming an analytical stereomodel involves three primary steps: interior orientation,
relative orientation, and absolute orientation. After these three steps are achieved, points in the
analytical stereomodel will have object coordinates in the ground coordinate system. These points
can then be used for many purposes, such as digital mapping, serving as control for orthophoto
production, or DEM generation. The three orientation steps can be performed as distinct
mathematical operations, or it is possible to combine them in a simultaneous solution.

5.13 Analytical Interior Orientation

 Interior orientation for analytical photogrammetry is the step which mathematically
recreates the geometry that existed in the camera when a particular photograph was
exposed.
 This requires camera calibration information as well as quantification of the effects of
atmospheric refraction.
 In the case of film photography, a two-dimensional (usually affine) coordinate
transformation can be used to relate the comparator, or softcopy coordinates to the fiducial
coordinate system as well as to correct for film distortion.
 There is no need for fiducial measurements when using photographs from a digital camera,
since it has a consistent coordinate system in the form of pixels.
 For both film and digital photography, the lens distortion and principal-point information
from camera calibration are then used to refine the coordinates so that they are correctly
related to the principal point and free from lens distortion.
 Finally, atmospheric refraction corrections can be applied to the photo coordinates to
complete the refinement and, therefore, finish the interior orientation.

5.14 Analytical Relative Orientation

 Analytical relative orientation is the process of determining the relative angular attitude
and positional displacement between the photographs that existed when the photos
were taken.
 This involves defining certain elements of exterior orientation and calculating the
remaining ones.
 In analytical relative orientation, it is common practice to fix the exterior orientation
elements 𝜔, 𝜑 , 𝜅, 𝑋𝐿, and 𝑌𝐿 of the left photo of the stereopair to zero values.
 Also for convenience, 𝑍𝐿 of the left photo ((𝑍𝐿1)) is set equal to 𝑓 , and 𝑋𝐿 of the right
photo (𝑋𝐿2) is set equal to the photo base 𝑏 (With these choices for 𝑍𝐿1 and 𝑋𝐿2, initial
approximations for the unknowns are more easily calculated, as will be explained later)
⇨ This leaves five elements of the right photo that must be determined.
 The Figure illustrates a stereomodel formed by analytical relative orientation

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Figure, Analytical relative orientation of a stereopair

5.15 Analytical Absolute Orientation

 For a small stereomodel such as that computed from one stereopair, analyticalabsolute
orientation can be performed using a three-dimensional conformal coordinate
transformation.
 This requires a minimum of two horizontal and three vertical control points, but additional
control points provide redundancy, which enables a least squares solution.
 It is important for the ground system to be a true cartesian coordinate system, such as local
vertical, since the three-dimensional conformal coordinate transformation is based on
straight, orthogonal axes. Once the transformation parameters have been computed, they
can be applied to the remaining stereomodel points, including the 𝑋𝐿, 𝑌𝐿, and 𝑍𝐿
coordinates of the left and right photographs. This gives the coordinates of all stereomodel
points in the ground system

Photo mosaicking
 It is a combination of air photographs, cut and fitted in proper layout and sequence forming
one composite picture of the terrain with continuity of detail. It is prepared for qualitative
study of the terrain before any work is started on the project. For all kinds of preliminary
studies, without difficulty of maps; mosaics are found to be of great help both from speed
and cost of view. A mosaic differs from a map in the following ways: In a map scale is
uniform throughout and ground objects appear in their azimuth or directions while in a
mosaic this is not so because of distortions by tilt and relief; A mosaic is more useful to a
layman who is not conversant with the map symbols and interpretations as the detail in a
mosaic appears in its natural form; A mosaic can be prepared in a much shorter times as

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compared to map making which is a long and costly affair; andA mosaic can be prepared
only of flat terrain and of vertical photos. It is extremely difficult to make mosaic of an
oblique photo or a vertical photo of highly mountainous terrain because of large scale
difference.

CHAPTER: SIX
Part one Flight line planning
6.1 Introduction
Why flight planning?
 Photography available for a particular area could be outdated for applications such as land
use mapping.
 10yrs vs 5yrs Rural vs Urban respectively
 Available photography may have been taken in the wrong season and time.
 Flights are usually scheduled between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for maximum illumination and
minimum shadow. When new photography of an area is required, overall, a great deal of
time, effort, and expense go into the planning and implementation of a photographic
mission. Below, we discuss the geometric aspects of the task of flight planning parameters.

6.2 parameters for flight line planning

1. The focal length of the camera to be used;
2. The film format size;
3. The photo scale desired;
4. The size of the area to be photographed;
5. The average elevation of the area to be photographed;
6. The overlap and side-lap desired;
7. The ground speed of the aircraft to be used.
 Based on the above parameters, the mission planner prepares computations and a flight
map that indicate to the flight crew:
 The flight direction of the aircraft
 The flight height above datum from which the photos are to be taken;
Ground coverage of film format size per photo Ground separation between photos The time
interval between exposures Ground distance between photos per flight direction Number of photos
per flight direction Ground distance per flight lines Number of flight lines to be made over the area
to be photographed; Total number of photos needed to cover the area The overlap of the

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photographs in the direction of flight line is known as forward overlap and is kept at about 60%.
The overlap between the adjacent flight lines is known as the side overlap and is
kept at about 20% - 30%.

Reasons for overlap:

1. The central portion of the print is always less distorted than the outer edges.
2. For a stereoscopic vision only the overlapped portion is useful.
3. If a proper side overlap is provided, there will be no possibility of gaps left because of
the deviation of the aircraft from the proposed flight line.

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EXAMPLE
A study area is 10 km long in the east-west direction and 16 km in the north-south direction. A
camera having a 152-mm-focal-length lens and a 230-mm format is to be used. The desired photo
scale is 1: 25,000 and the nominal end-lap and side-lap are to be 60 and 30 percent respectively.
Beginning and ending flight lines are to be positioned along the boundaries of the study area and
the average Elevation is 300 m above datum. Perform the computations necessary to develop a
flight plan.
Solution
1. Determine the flight direction of the aircraft.
Use north-south flight lines. Note that using north-south flight lines minimizes the number of
lines required and consequently the number of aircraft turns and realignments necessary.
2. Find the flying height above terrain:

3. Determine ground coverage per image from film format size and photo scale:

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4. Determine ground separation between photos on a line for 40 percent advance per photo (i.e.,
60 percent end-lap):
= uncover-end lap* ground coverage per image from film format size

5. Find the time between exposures if the aircraft speed is 160 km/hr, the time between
exposures is

6. Find the distance between photos

7) Compute the number of photos per 16-km line by dividing this length by the photo advance.
: Add one photo to each end and round the number up to ensure coverage

Remember that (1+1) is a total of one photo added to each end of the flight line to ensure
complete coverage of the area of interest.
8. Find the distance between flight lines? (Side lap=30%)

9) Find the number of flight lines required to cover the 10-km study area width by dividing this
width by distance between flight lines

10. Find the total number of photos needed:

Photos/line 10x 4 lines = 40 photos

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Part two 6.2 Lidar Remote Sensing

What Is Lidar?
LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a remote sensing method that uses a laser to measure
distances. Pulses of light are emitted from a laser scanner, and when the pulse hits a target, a
portion of its photons are reflected back to the scanner. The laser emits millions of such pulses,
and records from whence they reflect producing a highly precise 3D point model which can be
used to estimate the 3D structure of the target area.
How are LiDAR data collected?
Most often, the scanning laser is mounted in an aircraft typically a fixed-wing airplane although
increasingly in drones and scans the ground along its route or direction of flight. Occasionally
scanning lasers are mounted on a tripod or vehicle for terrestrial based laser (TLS) scans.

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Figure of plus

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How Are Lidar Data Different From Aerial Or Satellite Imagery?

 Similar to a photograph without a flash, aerial and satellite imagery are considered passive
in that they record information from reflected sunlight. In other words, the light source is
external because the sensor does not emit anything. In contrast, with its emitted pulses of
light, LiDAR is an active remote sensing method. Furthermore, whereas imagery contains
spectral data, LiDAR data do not; rather LiDAR data contain the structural information in
the form of 3D coordinates, and the intensity of each echo.
What Format Do The Data Come In And How Large Are The Datasets?
 Most often, LiDAR data come in compressed LAS/LAZ format. LAS format is a standard
format for LiDAR data storage, and LAZ format is a compressed format of LAS.
 What programs are available for processing LiDAR data?
 There are many programs that have been tailored specifically for processing and analyzing
LiDAR data, and the most common GIS and remote sensing programs are able to process
LiDAR data in LAS/LAZ format as well.

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