Prospective study for an ISPRS database 
D. Burette, GDTA, France 
Ch-H. Latarche, GDTA, France 
D. Pouyllau, CEGET-CNRS, France 
J.H. Ten Haken, ITC, the Netherlands 
Commission VI, Invited paper, 16!" ISPRS congress, Kyoto, Japan 
0 - INTRODUCTION 
The establishment of a photogrammetry and remote sensing database was the subject of a resolution 
taken by Commission VI at the Hamburg Congress in 1980. Slowly but surely, the idea has germinated. 
The different stages can be traced, from the Mainz symposium in 1982 with a significant paper presented 
by J.H Ten Haken titled "An investigation of available on-line databases in the field of photogrammetry 
and remote sensing", to the Rio congress in 1984 with the paper by Prof. J. Hothmer "The ISPRS-IRS 
information retrieval system for literature and factual data" (WG VI-4), of fundamental importance to the 
implementation of the project. 
In parallel, C-H. Latarche presented an updated inventory of existing databases at the Rio congress in 
1984, concluding that the bases were spread across a large number of international hosts. In 1986, the 
Badagry symposium confirmed the previous resolutions. 
Today, our intentions cannot fail to be reinforced by the increasing development of remote sensing, 
particularly with its adoption of the new image processing technologies, and by the recent advances 
made in photogrammetry and the contribution to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). 
In addition to the scattered locations of existing databases and the consequently increasing number of 
access procedures and languages, we are also witnessing a proliferation of different hardware, standards 
and formats due to the explosion of microcomputing and the appearance of a large number of new 
subject-specific databases. 
In view of this background, we consider that it is now urgent for us to firmly assert our wish for joint action 
and coordination, with a view to defining a single set of characteristics for a unified and standardized 
database. 
The ISPRS congress is the decision-maker, the entity responsible for the overall guidance of the project 
and the taking of decisions. The aim of the ISPRS-IRS database feasibility study is to provide the Kyoto 
congress with the political, technical and economic background by which the project itself can be 
justified, advice given regarding the choice between the various configurations (or approaches), and 
funding obtained. The working group, having given consideration to the timeliness of implementing the 
ISPRS-IRS database, has conducted a study into the existing resources based on previous work 
(mentioned above) and conducted a survey in February-March 1988 among the organizations potentially 
interested in the project. The results of the survey and of a questionnaire sent to 600 organizations were 
used to study users' information requirements and to attempt to estimate the potential user community. 
The working group had thus produced specific information on users' needs, and the broad outline of a 
proposed ISPRS-IRS database was beginning to take shape. 
The feasibility study puts forward several possible configurations, each leading to project implementation 
based on a different network of producers. At the end of the complete study it should be possible to 
select a strategy. This would be followed by an ISPRS-IRS database design study, producing an execu- 
tive guideline and a set of technical specifications. To help define this later stage, a simulation was done 
on 50 bibliographic records covering papers read at the "SPOT-1, Utilisation des Images, Bilan, 
Résultats" conference (Paris, November 1987). The implementation of the executive guideline should 
lead to the choice of hardware and human resources, the initialization of the management software, and 
the launching of the application, to be followed by tests and an assessment of the operational result. 
This stage will also include input of data to the chosen host. 
29