ANALYSIS OF IMAGES GEOMETRIC RECTIFICATION FOR QUICKBIRD 
WANG Chong-chang a , WANG Li-li \ Zhang Li a , Zhang Kai-xuan a , Ma Zhen-li a , ZHANG Zhen-yong b 
a School of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, Liaoning, China, 123000 
b Institute Exploring and Surveying of Fushun City, Fushun Liaoning, China, 113000 
Cell-phone: 13704982336, E mail: wcc_clxwang@yahoo.com.cn 
KEY WORDS: remote sensing, geometric rectification, image fusion, RMS, precision 
ABSTRACT: 
QuickBird as one of the civil satellites holds the best resolution at present in the world, so our experimental research was made about 
the geometry rectification of remote sensing images taken by QuickBird. The result of study indicates that the standard image taken 
by QuickBird has favourable interior geometric precision, and the overall geometry rectification on images by polynomial 
mathematic models (normally first order or second order) can achieve the precision of 0.6 pixels and 1:2000 scaled topographic 
maps. Meanwhile, the result of study also indicates that the order numbers in polynomials are not the linear proportional relationship 
to the rectificated precision in the geometric rectification with polynomials. 
1. INTRODUCTION 2. EXPERIMENT DATA 
With the technical development in the fields of aerospace, 
computer, sensor, global positioning system (GPS) and so on, 
the modem remote sensing technology develops and perfects 
gradually. The remote sensing images with high resolution, 
high definition, rich information and the strong current trend 
have already become the important one of data source to get 
geo-spatial information for human being. The remote sensing 
images with high resolution are no longer the military 
appropriative, and its applications get more and more progress 
in the commerce field during the past few years, and this marks 
the resolution in data collection and revision for human being. 
The traditional map data collection and revision usually spend 
large amount of manpower and material resources, and the can 
make use of the high resolution remote sensing images to gain 
the data in only several days, so that the short period of ready 
made maps and cycle of satellite remote sensing images makes 
data capture, information processing, data revision and data 
analysis easily. High resolution remote sensing images have 
already become the more and more important data source of 
surveying and mapping field. 
The resolution and precision of remote sensing images decide 
mapping scale of topographic map. The visual resolution of 
paper map for people is about 0.07~0.1mm, in other words, the 
mapping of topographic map demands that the resolution of 
satellite remote sensing images usually need to reach less than 
0.1mm, but the revision of topographic map also demands that 
the resolution of remote sensing images need to 0.2mm in the 
image. Along with the resolution of remote sensing satellites 
become more and more high, surveyors are very interested in 
applications of the remote sensing technology. 
The resolution of QuickBird satellite is the most highest among 
the commercial satellite in the world at present, but what degree 
the plane precision can reach, it still need to verify by the 
experiment. 
2.1 The brief introductions to QuickBird satellite 
QuickBird . high resolution remote sensing satellites are 
launched successfully by Digital Globe/ EarthWatch of USA on 
October 18, 2001, whose resolution is the most highest one 
among the commercially satellites in the world at present. 
QuickBird remote sensing satellite images have much 
remarkable advantages including spatial resolution (0.61m), 
multispectral imaging (one panchromatic channel, four 
multispectral channels), imaging width (16.5kmx 16.5km), 
imaging angle (0-25°). The spacecraft parameters of QuickBird 
are showed in Table 1. 
Tabled QuickBird Characteristics 
Launch Data 
October 18, 2001 
Launch Vehicle 
Boeing delta II 
Launch Location 
Vandenberg air force base, 
California 
Orbit Altitude 
450 km 
Orbit Inclination 
97.2 degree, sun-synchronous 
Speed 
7.1 km/second 
Equator Crossing 
10:30 a.m.(descending node) 
Time 
Orbit Time 
93.5 minutes 
Revisit Time 
1-3.5 days depending on latitude 
(30°off-nadir) 
Swath Width 
16.5 km x 16.5 km at nadir 
Metric Accuracy 
23-meter horizontal (CE90%) 
Digitization 
1 lbits 
Pan: 61 cm (nadir) to 72 cm 
Resolution 
(25°off-nadir) 
MS: 2.44 m (nadir) to2.88 m 
(25°off-nadir) 
Pan: 450 - 900 nm Blue: 450 
- 520 nm 
Image Bands 
Green: 520 - 600 nm Red: 630 
- 690 nm 
Near IR: 760 - 900 nm 
Table 1. QuickBird Characteristics