UPGRADING THE O.M.I. AS11-B1 ANALYTICAL STEREOPLOTTERS 
Charles E. Harvey 
O.M.I. Corporation of America 
1319 Powhatan Street 
Alexandria, Virginia 22214 
ABSTRACT 
The United States Defense Mapping Agency has recently released a number of 
O.M.I.  ASI1-BI stereoplotters to the government surplus system. These 
viewers designed and built in collaboration with the Bendix Research 
Laboratory were data collection systems using flying-spot scanners for 
fully automatic correlation of the photographs. O.M.I. Corporation of 
America has developed a retrofit package to replace the original 
electronics with a new interface allowing the system to become a fully 
operational analytical stereoplotter system. 
INTRODUCTION 
The ASll1-Bl systems were conceived in 1965. and. were finally realized 
toward the end of the 1960's. About a dozen of these systems were 
manufactured consisting of a 9 by 18 inch two stage viewer with computer 
servo controlled dove prism and zoom optics, a Bendix computer system and 
interface which also included the electronics to support an auto- 
correlation system using dual flying spot scanners and photomultiplier 
tubes for the actual data collection. Subsequent to their manufacture, the 
government replaced the Bendix computers with Modular Computer Corporation 
ModComp II's, but retained the Bendix interface and correlation 
electronics. The resulting systems have been in production until recently 
when they were removed from service, and put on the government's surplus 
equipment list for disposal. These systems have since been acquired by 
several different agencies which now face the decision of how to make 
these systems operational and productive. 
The Defense Mapping Agency's operating procedure is such that the software 
written for these systems is not applicable for the general requirement of 
map production, and therefore, the stereoviewer systems are not genuinely 
functional as stand-alone systems. Further, the original interface and 
auto-correlation electronics as well as the ModComp computers are now 
considered obsolete, and non-maintainable due to their age and design 
technology. The stereoviewers on the other hand are still in good 
condition and are quite capable of a much longer service life. O.M.I. 
Corporation of America (OMICA) proposes a retrofit of these viewers which 
will make them productive to those groups which have been able to obtain 
these surplus systems. 
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