Tutorials 
On the occasion of the XIXth ISPRS Congress several 
tutorials were organised to inform the participants on the 
latest developments in their field. A total of fifteen tutorials 
were offered in the announcement of the congress. Due to 
the initially low numbers of registered participants the 
organising committee decided to cancel nine tutorials. The 
six tutorials that were held took place either in the con- 
gress centre RAI in Amsterdam or at the ITC in Enschede. 
They covered a broad variety of subjects, as one can see 
from the tutorial descriptions below. 
TU1 - Introduction to SAR data 
Convenor: D. Corr 
Location: RAI Amsterdam 
Date: July 15th, morning 
Lecturer: D. Corr 
Number of participants: 18 
This tutorial provided an introduction to Synthetic Aperture 
Radar for anyone who needs to use SAR data or wished for 
a basic introduction to the topic. The tutorial addressed the 
question: What is SAR? It described the processes behind 
image formation and the characteristics of the image. The 
SAR processor was described and the characteristics of the 
output products, including such phenomena as speckle and 
layover. Issues of calibration were addressed. The tutorial 
also looked at a range of techniques which use SAR for par- 
ticular applications, these included classification, interfero- 
metric SAR, Stereo SAR and Multi-polarimetric SAR. Current 
and future SAR systems were described. 
TU2 - Overview, evaluation and testing of digital 
photogrammetric stations 
Convenor: E. Baltsavias 
Location: RAI Amsterdam 
Date: July 15th, whole day 
Lecturers: E. Baltsavias, 
T. Kersten, 
Ms. M. Torre, 
L. Blank 
Number of participants: 41 
The tutorial first provided an overview of existing com- 
mercial digital photogrammetric systems, their technical 
characteristics and their functionality. Thereby, only ‘uni- 
versal' systems (incl. scanners) were treated, i.e. dedi- 
cated close-range or satellite remote sensing were 
excluded, while the focus was on systems using aerial 
imagery in production environments. Secondly, criteria 
and methods of evaluating such systems, using real 
examples, were presented. Thirdly, benchmark tests and 
comparisons of various commercial systems were pre- 
sented. Finally, the performance of the systems was crit- 
ically analysed and compared to the requirements for 
various photogrammetric applications, with emphasis on 
film scanning, aerial triangulation, DTM generation, 
orthoimage generation and mosaicking, and feature 
extraction. The tutorial did not only cover theoretical 
aspects but also included practical experience gained at 
a major photogrammetric company (Swissphoto), as well 
as significant tests performed within ISPRS and OEEPE. 
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In addition, close co-operation with the manufacturers to 
include the latest up-to-date information was aimed for. 
It was the aim that the tutorial, among other benefits, 
would provide attendees with sufficient background 
knowledge to (a) follow better the paper presentations 
during the Congress, and (b) make better use of the exhi- 
bition. 
TUS - Visual dissemination of geo-data via the Worid 
Wide Web 
Convenor: M.-J. Kraak 
Location: ITC Enschede 
Date: July 14th, whole day 
Lecturers: M.-d. Kraak, 
B.J. Kóbben, 
W. Feringa, 
R.M. Hootsmans 
Number of participants: 12 
The World Wide Web (WWW) has rapidly become a wide- 
spread means for the publication of geo-data. The WWW 
has earned this popularity since it is virtually platform- 
independent, it can reach many users at minimal costs and 
it is easy to update. Even more, the WWW meets the 
increasing demand for customised geo-data products. 
Visually disseminating spatial data on the WWW evokes 
special needs for map design, whilst bringing up new 
capabilities and pitfalls for interactive map applications. 
The tutorial addressed and discussed these new develop- 
ments, passed on the knowledge on the state-of-the-art of 
publishing geo-data on the WWW and touched upon the 
capabilities and limitations of web maps through some 
practical exercises. 
TUS5 - An introduction to virtualised reality systems 
Convenor: P. Boulanger 
Location: ITC Enschede 
Date: July 15th, afternoon 
Lecturers: P. Boulanger 
Number of participants: 9 
Virtual reality systems (VR) are increasingly being used 
for industrial, medical and educational training applica- 
tions, to name a few. In many of these applications, the 
truthful representation of the environment and the accu- 
rate manipulation and navigation in the virtualised world 
are crucial. These systems, called Virtualised Reality Sys- 
tems, are similar to standard VR systems with the differ- 
ence that the digital simulation model is created and 
updated from sensor data. In this tutorial, various new 
systems were described which integrate technologies in 
the field of virtual reality, real-time imaging, internet com- 
munication, sensor fusion and 3-D sensing to represent 
in real-time a complete digital simulation of unstructured 
sites. In this tutorial, various systems developed to date 
were described from the point of view of real-time hard- 
ware and software. It was also explained how the various 
monitoring sensors attached to a site can be integrated 
in a coherent and intuitive representation capable of giv- 
ing to an operator a higher level of awareness of an envi- 
ronment or a process. 
- International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIlI, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.