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UPDATING MAPS IN A WELL-MAPPED COUNTRY USING HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE 
IMAGERY 
David Holland (corresponding author), Paul Marshall 
Ordnance Survey, Romsey Road, Southampton, SO16 4GU UK 
david.holland@ordnancesurvey.co.uk paul marshall@Gordnancesurvey.co.uk 
Inter Commission WG II/VI 
KEY WORDS: High Resolution, Satellite, Change Detection, QuickBird, Mapping, Cartography 
ABSTRACT: 
Since the successful launch of IKONOS in 1999, a new source of imagery has been available to the civilian spatial-data user. In many 
parts of the world high resolution satellite imagery from KONOS, QuickBird and, more recently, ORBVIEW 3, has proved to be a 
useful data source for the creation of orthorectified images and associated mapping products. One of the great advantages of satellite 
imagery is the ease of access to areas which have previously been too remote or too dangerous to reach using conventional aerial 
photography. However, for areas of the Earth which are not difficult to reach, and which have a tradition of high resolution mapping 
from aerial photography, this advantage is of rather limited importance. Ordnance Survey, Great Britain's national mapping agency, 
currently makes extensive use of aerial imagery in the collection of large scale geospatial data. In 2003, a project was initiated 
which would determine whether satellite imagery could replace, or complement, aerial photography in this data collection process; 
or could be used in other ways within a production environment to make the process more efficient. Interim results of this research 
are presented in this paper. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
High resolution images from satellites such as IKONOS and 
QuickBird have proved their usefulness over the past few years, 
especially in the mapping and surveillance of otherwise 
inaccessible areas, for example in areas of military conflict, 
such as Afghanistan and Iraq (see, for example, Kumar and 
Castro, 2001, Petrie 2003). Such images have also been used to 
update maps, or generate completely new mapping, in many 
areas of the world, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia 
(Mandeville, 2001) and Alaska. In most cases up until now 
these applications have been in parts of the world that do not 
have a tradition of detailed mapping. In these areas, which 
often do not possess the resources required to collect and 
process aerial photography, high resolution satellite imagery 
can provide a rapid, high-quality data source for the production 
of image maps, thematic maps and vector-maps, to satisfy a 
variety of needs. 
In traditionally well-mapped areas of the world, such as 
Western Europe, the position is different. In these areas, 
detailed databases of geospatial information have been built up 
over many years, using both field survey and photogrammetric 
techniques. In addition, the infrastructure required to capture 
and process aerial photography is already well established. In a 
country such as Britain, the maintenance of existing mapping, 
rather than the creation of new information, is the main 
business of the national mapping organization. High resolution 
satellite sensor imagery has only recently been adopted as a 
data source in large projects in these well-mapped areas of the 
world (e.g. European Space Imaging, 2003). This paper seeks 
to discover whether high resolution satellite imagery could be 
used to assist in the revision of mapping in these well-mapped 
countries; specifically in Great Britain. 
At Ordnance Survey, Great Britain's national mapping agency, 
a project was initiated in 2003 to investigate the potential of 
QuickBird imagery as a source for updating mapping at mid 
scale (1:25 000 and 1:50 000) and large scale (1:10 000 and 
larger). The initial findings of this research were presented at 
the ISPRS *High Resolution Mapping From Space" Workshop 
747 
in Hannover [Holland and Marshall, 2003]. During this 
research, the use of QuickBird imagery for topographic 
mapping, change detection, and quality auditing was 
investigated. The initial findings indicated that it was feasible 
to produce a topographic map at a scale of 1:6000, using 
QuickBird imagery. This paper follows on from the above 
research, and presents new findings from the second phase of 
the project. At the time of writing, a full production trial is due 
to start soon, in which a mid-scales mapping product will be 
updated using both high resolution satellite imagery and a 
traditional revision method. Two further aspects of the project 
have already been completed: an assessment of QuickBird 
imagery for topographic change detection; and an evaluation of 
QuickBird imagery for auditing purposes. The results of these, 
and a recap of the results of the original map update project, are 
discussed in this paper. 
2. UPDATING MAPS FROM SATELLITE IMAGERY 
Ever since the first commercial high-resolution satellite sensors 
were heralded in the mid 1990s, mapping agencies have shown 
a keen interest in the possible use of satellite imagery in their 
data collection programmes. Since as long ago as 1996 
(reported in Ridley ef al, 1997) Ordnance Survey has been 
investigating this potential, initially using images synthesized 
from aerial photography, more recently using satellite imagery 
from the IKONOS and QuickBird sensors. A recently-published 
OEEPE (now EuroSDR) report presented findings of an 
investigation into the potential of IKONOS data for mapping. 
undertaken by several European mapping agencies and 
institutions (Holland e/ al. 2003). The results suggested that 
there is potential in this field, especially in rural areas at scales 
between 1:10 000 and 1:50 000. 
To extend the OEEPE research further, Ordnance Survey 
purchased QuickBird images of several areas in Great Britain 
and began a series of investigations into the potential of such 
imagery in a geospatial data production context. The study 
arcas covered several different types of land, including urban. 
suburban and rural, and are listed in Table ]. The images were