EVALUATION OF SOFTCOPY PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SYSTEMS: Hela 
CONCEPTS, TESTING STRATEGY, AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS Om 
inves 
Raad A. Saleh and Frank L. Scarpace p hok 
: ; : . WisL 
University of Wisconsin-Madison conc: 
ERSC, 1225 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53706, USA for 
Phone: (608)262-1585 Fax: (608)262-5964 Internet: raad@cae.wisc.edu, rod] 
scarpace@macc.wisc.edu qui 
Intercommission WG II/III 
KEY WORDS: Digital, Softcopy, Photogrammetric Systems, Production, Evaluation, Testing Thee 
a) F 
These 
ABSTRACT orient 
The field of photogrammetry is undergoing tremendous changes attributed primarily to the way data Sun 
opera 
are handled, analyzed, and presented. The development of many softcopy photogrammetric systems and + 
is a characteristic of the direction of these changes. A significant segment of the user community is oper à 
still cautious about these new systems coming to the marketplace with very impressive claims. 
Furthermore, it may be safe to assume that established photogrammetric mapping production facilities b) Ac 
have already invested a considerable resources in plotting machines, photographic equipment, and 
  
operator training. Therefore, it would be it difficult to shift into a new direction, which not only will SX 
it render the existing equipment outdated, but it will also require new major acquisition. It is evident for di 
that no standardized evaluation yet exists that compares some softcopy systems to a conventional Con 
photogrammetric workstation. Such unbiased evaluation is needed to show users the strengths, and auto 
of course the weaknesses, of softcopy photogrammetric systems. The Laboratory for Softcopy gener; 
Photogrammetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is undertaking an evaluation project of a COD Ve 
number of commercially available softcopy photogrammetric systems. The selection of these systems Con 
is controlled by specific factors, which are budgetary constraints, limited resources of qualified testing autom 
staff, and willingness of manufacturer’s participation. In this paper, evaluation objectives, strategy, gener; 
and preliminary results are presented. In view of certain applications, softcopy systems are found to ATO: 
be competitive, if not superior, to conventional photogrammetric operations. A number of specific The V 
factors, however, must be carefully considered, such as data volume, operator skills, and automation. that e 
direct 
indire 
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation c) Sp 
1. INTRODUCTION (WisDOT) is currently considering options achiev 
regarding the introduction of softcopy extras 
Softcopy photogrammetric systems are increasingly ^ photogrammetry technology into its mapping compa 
available in the commercial market, ranging in production operations. While it is a given that experi 
capabilities, performance, and cost. There is no — conversion is eventual, the issue at hand is Anoth 
doubt that these systems have the potential to — whether current softcopy technology conform to interac 
provide low cost sound  photogrammetric WisDOT standards of performance pertaining to stereo] 
production. However, this evolving technology is ^ mapping operations. There are several issues need is obse 
by no means fully matured, at least for the present to be addressed in answering this question. For with « 
time. this purpose, two high-end systems have been mappii 
examined. These are the Intergraph ISPN and the 
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