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• A density wedge (to show range of shaded relief)
• Digital, terrain-elevation data printed in a typed format
Although these operations are essentially automated, human skill is required for
stereoscopic identification of photographic detail, and for precise stereo measure
ment of control points. In addition, the final editing of maps on photoscribing mat
erials to conform to cartographic practice requires the skill of experts.
The results of Systems I*and II*(as of June 1964) can be summarized as follows:
Contour Factor
Time to Produce
Model on IBM 7094
A.S.P.
Stds.
I.S.P.
Stds.
Contour
Map Data
Orthophoto Data
and Contour Map
System I
> 250
> 400
*
137
System II
> 180
> 250
45 min.
59 min.
The present accuracy of these output maps and orthophotos is limited by several
equipment and programming factors. The errors in survey and calibration data
will in time limit the accuracy of the System’s output. This fact suggests that cal
ibration data for lenses, camera platens, and diapositive surfaces will be needed
from testing laboratories on a point-by-point basis in the foreseeable future. This
major problem is the basis for a Commission II Proposal contained in Appendix A.
Processing Data for Cartographic Operations
A special IBM drum scanner/printer was built at Kingston for experimental work
on digital cartographic operations. This unit (Fig. 8) scans and digitizes a chart,
photograph, or drawn overlay at a maximum spot density of 1,000,000 spots per
square inch over an area up to 9 x 20 inches. The drum scanner/printer digitizes
each spot at up to 16 shades of gray and records them on an IBM 727 tape unit at
a 15 KC rate. Up to 540 million bits (each spot is usually 3 bits, to permit 8 shades
of gray) can be extracted from the maximum area of 180 square inches.
The data can be processed to perform some cartographic operations and to print the
results on film. Examples of these operations are:
• Changing chart, map scale, or projection
• Removing distortions
* System I produces the contour map and orthophoto data concurrently (if either is
produced separately the time is the same). System II produces the contour map first,
and then the orthophoto. Complete system diagrams are shown in ’’Automatic Map
Compilation Using Digital Techniques”, referred to previously.