The Generation of True Orthophotos from High Resolution Satellites Images

The purpose of this investigation is to generate true orthophotos from high resolution satellite images. The major works of this research include 4 parts: (1) determination of orientation parameters, (2) generating traditional orthophotos using terrain model, (3) relief correction for buildings, and (4) process for hidden areas. To determine the position of satellites, we correct the onboard orientation parameters to fine tune the orbit. In the generation of traditional orthophotos, we employ orientation parameters and digital terrain model(DTM) to rectify tilt displacements and relief displacements for terrain. We, then, compute relief displacements for buildings with digital building model (DBM). To avoid double mapping, we detect hidden areas. Due to the satellite’s small field of view, an efficient method for the detection of hidden areas and building rectification will be proposed in this paper. Test areas cover the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. Test images are from the QuickBird satellite.