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The Zeiss Planicomp Family:
A User-oriented solution to practical requirements
By D. Hobbie and H. Rüdenauer
Carl Zeiss Oberkochen
West Germany
Commission II
1. Introduction
The C100 Planicomp analytical stereoplotting system from Carl Zeiss, Ober-
kochen, has met with worldwide success since its presentation at the 13th
International Congress for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing in Helsinki
in 1976. The versatility of the computer and the software as well as the
application-oriented handling and measurement support are the major rea-
sons for the success of the C100.
From the outset, the objective was to improve the Planicomp in close co-
operation with the users and to adapt it to new market requirements. Even
though it is being shown for the third time at Rio de Janeiro after Hel-
sinki and Hamburg, the Planicomp is still the main attraction for all
experts. This is due to major enhancements of both the hardware and the
software for all important Planicomp applications: aerotriangulation, DEM
measurement, close-range photogrammetry, and planimetric mapping in’ par-
ticular,
The huge variety of hardware and software components and configurations
now available have resulted in the creation of a system family /1/. The
components and configurations of this family are described in the follo-
wing, with the major innovations being emphasized. Detailed descriptions
of the basic Planicomp principles are given in /2, 3/.
2. Description of the System Components
2.1 Viewer
The viewer is the basic stereoplotter; its appearance and control elements
determine the overall characteristics of the analytical plotter. In the
Planicomp the typical characteristics are the compact self-supporting de-
sign with the efficient photogrammetric panel (Fig. 1), the smooth pro-
gressive-motion joystick for fast floating-mark movement, the prism system
which can also be switched by the computer for orthoscopic, pseudoscopic
and binocular viewing, the combination black-and-white and illuminated
floating mark and the optical output port for connecting e. g. an additio-
nal TV monitor for further observers.
At the Planicomp of the Institut für Photogrammetrie (Prof. Ackermann) of
the University of Stuttgart, Hamamatsu type C1000-35 CCD cameras were con-
nected to this output port for both photos for the first time in an ana-
lytical stereoplotter. Their data outputs were connected with the HP 1000
computer of the C100 /4/. The cameras use geometrically stable CCD matri-
ces with 320 x 244 pixels of 27 micron. 1.35x reduction allows 20 micron
size picture elements of a 6 mm x 5 mm field of view to be digitized and
to be passed on to further processing programs in the HP 1000 as grey shade
matrices.
