June 06, 2003
Pittsburgh, PA - TerraSim, Inc. has recently completed a Phase I SBIR contract funded by U.S. Army entitled: "DEM fusion to support improved geospatial visualization." Under this SBIR, TerraSim developed a prototype of a Digital Elevation Map (DEM) fusion system that enables users to input DEMs in a variety of formats, perform noise filtering and coordinate and unit conversion, and combine the individual DEMs into one that is more accurate and consistent than its component parts.
Rapid visualization, particularly in urban areas, requires the ability to merge together various DEM sources derived from completely different methods, often unknown to the end user. Typically this includes the combination of multiple DEMs with varying coverages, resolutions, and accuracies to produce a product which covers a larger area with consistent resolution and improved accuracy. Therefore, any successful method for DEM fusion must take into account the derivation as well as the coordinate system and data quality for the source DEMs.
Motivated by the availability of DEMs from traditional sources, such as USGS DEMs and custom commercial compilation from aerial and satellite imagery using traditional automated methods, and elevation models compiled from newer sensors such as LIDAR and IFSAR, this prototype was successfully demonstrated using TerraTools 2.0 to automatically construct several complex DEM fusion examples including those shown below.
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Overview of Fusion DEM Area |
Blending 1 meter and 1 arcsecond DEMs |
Four raw DEM sources ranging from 1 meter, 3 meter, and 1 second post spacing, in UTM and Geodetic coordinate systems and different datums, combined into a seamless 2 meter DEM in UTM.
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San Francisco DEM Fusion |
San Francisco DEM Fusion Detail |
Five raw DEMs sources including coastal bathymetry, terrain DEM, and urban LIDAR with resolutions ranging from 1 meter to 5 meters combined into a seamless 2.5 meter DEM model.
About TerraSim
TerraSim is a high-technology company that provides software solutions and services for advanced visual simulation database construction using cartographic data. TerraTools®, their primary product, is available for both Windows NT/2000/XP and SGI IRIX workstations. TerraTools is used in the automated construction of dense urban environments for regional planning as well as simulation databases for military exercises covering hundreds of one degree geocells. TerraSim also provides database construction services and advanced technology development for both civilian and military customers.
TerraSim®, TerraTools®, and TerraTours® are registered trademarks of TerraSim, Inc.
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