J.S.A.
unced at the
. Supporting
ort effort has
systems has
on the focal
articular, the
1 pushbroom
sinforced by
1 by older
terial as the
ns. Satellite
nners to take
— Film
si
Chax
ngle
imaging
system was
information,
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B1. Istanbul 2004
which realized the three-line push broom principle is the patent
issued to O. Hofmann in Germany in 1979.
The culmination of all ideas concerning three-line pushbroom
technology occurred, when Leica Geosystems and DLR
(German Aerospace Centre) signed a cooperation agreement in
1996 to design and produce the first commercial airborne large
format digital camera worthy of that name. This resulted in the
launch of the ADS40.
After approximately 20 years of observing the market and the
developments in different technologies, such as CCD sensors,
storage media, GPS, inertial measurement systems and
computing technology, Leica Geosystems was finally in a
position in 1994 to start investigating seriously how to
manufacture a series production digital airborne sensor. In 1998
LH Systems (which in 2001 was reintegrated into Leica
Geosystems) announced the ADS40 and in the year 2000 it was
presented at the ISPRS Congress in Amsterdam.
The innovation process and the formulation of requirements,
which is the theme of this paper, essentially took place between
1996 and 1998.
3. COLLECTING IDEAS AND REQUIREMENTS
3.1 Market Research to Establish User Requirements
Market research consisted mainly of:
e Observing technological advances and developments in
similar markets, such as satellite platforms equipped with
remote sensing equipment
e Analysing state of the art hyperspectral airborne sensors
e Observing the competition
e International market research in GIS and mapping
e Direct questioning of users.
Among other conclusions a graphic representation was
circulated around the world that positioned the ADS40 and
solidified the decision to risk the development of such a
technological breakthrough.
Hyperspectral
Multispectral
Spectral Resolution
Panchromatic — ——
400 40
Spatial Resolution m
Figure 2. Markets and applications (1998)
3.2 Constraints in the Airborne Environment
A major challenge was to make this new sensor a reliable tool
in the very demanding airborne environment. For example one
of the most critical issues was the adaptation to the atmospheric
requirements.
| Extreme
| temperature
fof ISO Model
! between 15?N
and 80°N
12500
10000
Pressure Altitude m
-60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature °C
Figure 3. Atmospheric requirements for airborne applications
The Instrument Requirement Document was established by
product management and was the tool to communicate to the
engineering department the objective of their detailed research
and development. This Document not only described what the
instrument should be able to accomplish but also laid down the
physical limitations that should not be exceeded, for example
weight, size, power consumption and last but not least
performance characteristics.
This Document had to encompass not only the usefulness of the
instrument but also any other requirements. External constraints
such as price, standards, worldwide export regulations,
certification requirements, worldwide ^ warranty and
supportability, patent issues, had to be taken into account.
3.3 User Requirements
Of course all the details laid down in the Instrument
Requirement Document had to serve the purpose of fulfilling
certain customer requirements. Before the technical
requirements of the instrument were frozen, therefore, the input
from the user community was required.
Research into the user requirements is a remarkably demanding
task. Users are limited in their ability to communicate their
ideas and requirements of a new instrument owing to the
following main limitations:
e Users do not have the latest information on technological
advances
e Users do not have time to research and develop new
solutions, much less pause to describe what they would
like to have from a supplier
