AUTOMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STEREOMAT B~8
INTRODUCTION:
The term Stereomat refers to a device making use of a plotting instrument
which has been especially equipped so that the X and Y parallax can be
detected by electronic scanning of diapositives, The Y parallax error is nulled
automatically during the relative orientation operation by servos which drive
the appropriate tip and tilt axes. The magnitude of the X parallax is then used
as a control or error signal which actuate.5 X and Y servos to drive the machine
in either the automatic contouring mode or the automatic profiling mode*
The Stereomat owes its origin to G. L. Hobrough, who initially, in 1958
automated a Kelsh instrument and then in I960, a Nistri Photo mapper # VI.
The latter, called Stereomat II has been described by Hobrough (1), Stereomat
II was delivered to the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories of the
U, S* Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir.
This papex is concerned with the B-8 Stereomat system completed in January
1964 for the U. S, Army Map Service in Washington.
B-8 STEREOMAT
The B-8 system possesses features which result in greater speed, improved
accuracy, better operator viewing of the stereo model during operation, and
elimination of the terrain slope restriction. The relatively small stereo model
scale with the consequent lower inertia makes faster model scanning possible.
The large optical aperture gives better light efficiency for an improved signal to
noise ratio. The separate viewing and scanning system for each photograph makes
the introduction of differential scan control possible, thus improving slope
handling. The major addition has been the orthophoto attachment, which automatic
ally produces a completely rectified negative of the stereo model.
The automation of a standard B-8 would have meant adding a carriage for the
scanning device at each camera position, and coupling this device, plus the pickup
photo multiplier, to the existing optical carriage. This would have increased
