CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE TRENDS
by
William C. Cude
Chief, Topographic Engineering Department
U. S. Army Engineer
Geodesy, Intelligence and Mapping Research and Development Agency
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure you shared my astonishment when Mr. Esten
launched his speech by donning a tophat. Having recovered from the original
shock we were then prepared for rabbits to be produced from this hat, or other
similar surprises.
I, of course, do not know exactly what messages he intended to convey by
this demonstration but I feel that the act and result are quite symbolic of the
present period. There have been so many new developments and so-called "break-
throughs” in science, chiefly through electronics, that we are prepared for and
expect the most incredible achievements to follow one after the other.
As we have heard, electronic computing machines, automatic scanning
devices and new or improved sensing equipment offer opportunities for advance-
ment in the science of photogrammetry. In taking advantage of these oppor-
tunities we will go through several phases. We are now just emerging from the
original idea and exploratory phase. We are proceeding into the design and
practical application or adaptation phase. Here the ideas will be streamlined,
procedures will fit into the actual requirements and as experience is gained
we will determine how to make maximum use of the ideas of the original thinkers.
For example, let us take the electronic computing machine. What are its
advantages? One is that repetitious computations, too time-consuming for human
effort, can be completed in less than a second of time. A second is that
innumerable mathematical comparisons covering or including all types of data
can be made resulting in mathematical decisions or answers in a minimum of time.
But does it have originality? Doesn't everything it does have to be planned or
anticipated? Now consider the automatic scanning and sensing devices. As
mathematical data was collected and compared in the computing machines so images
of various objects are gathered and compared in these devices. Again decisions
and answers can be obtained but each situation must be planned or anticipated in
advance. As we all know there are many, many actions and reactions involved in
photogrammetric map meking from the initial collection of images to the assembly
vhich shows the objects in proper arrangement to scale. Each combination of
these actions and reactions must be anticipated before complete automation is
realized.
During this stage of development we will probably almost work ourselves
to death trying to eliminate or avoid human effort. Eventually we will come up
with devices and systems which will greatly reduce the time factor, improve
accuracy, and require a minimum of human guidance.
Since, in this century, all activities are proceeding at an accelerated
rate, it is only natural to predict considerable success in the practical
application of automation to photogrammetric procedures in the not too distant
future. The rate of progress will depend on current events and economy. Each
Six months will show some advancement. However, much remains to be accomplished
and, therefore, the transition from human effort to automatic machine will be
Spread through a number of years.