Parent Topic: FLIGHT

PARAMETERS

FLIGHT is controlled by the following global parameters:

Name     Prompt                                  Count     Type
FILE     Database File Name                      1-64      Char
FILM     Database Master File Name               0-64      Char
DBGC     Database Ground Control Segment         1         Int
DBEC     Database Elevation Channel List         0-1       Int
INPXSZ   Input Spacing (range, azimuth)          2         Real
ESCALE   Elevation Scale and Offset              0-2       Real
MAPTOL   Map Error Tolerance                     0-1       Real
DELAY    Time Delay to First Input Pixel         1         Real
ALTI     Altitude Above Sea Level (m)            1         Real
HEAD     Heading Angle in Degrees                1         Real
POINT    Point on Flight Path (E, N)             2         Real
ORDER    Order of Polynomial Equation            0-1       Int
RANGETYP Range Data Type: SLANT/GROUND           1-6       Char
HEIGHT   Height Above Ground (m)                 0-1       Real
REPORT   Report mode: TERM/OFF/filename          0-64      Char

The following parameters receive output:

OALTI    Altitude Above Sea Level (m)            1         Real
OHEAD    Heading Angle in Degrees                1         Real
OPOINT   Point on Flight Path (E, N)             2         Real
OCOEFF   Coefficients for Line Function          2-9       Real

FILE

Specifies the name of the PCIDSK database file containing the SAR slant or ground range input image and ground control point segment (DBGC).

 EASI>FILE="filespec"

FILM

Specifies the name of the master PCIDSK database file containing the elevation image (DBEC). FILM will contain the corrected SAR image output by STG. If FILM is not specified, then it defaults to FILE.

 EASI>FILM="filespec"          | FILE and FILM are different
 EASI>FILM=                    | FILE and FILM are the same

DBGC

Specifies the database ground control point segment which contains the GCPs which map the input SAR image on the uncorrected file (FILE) to the elevation image (DBEC) on the master file (FILM). The GCP segment must be on the uncorrected file (FILE). Coordinates must be in either PIXEL units or the georeferencing units of the master image. If DBEC is not specified, then the elevation for each GCP is taken from the GCP segment.

 EASI>DBGC=segment            | existing GCP segment number
There must be at least ORDER+2 GCPs on the GCP segment. If ORDER=1 (default value), then 4 to 6 GCPs are required for accurate results. If DBEC is specified and there are GCPs whose coordinates are not within the master image, then an error message is printed and the program terminates.

DBEC

Specifies the image channel containing the elevation data on the master file. The elevation image must be geometrically corrected and registered. If DBEC is not specified, then the elevation for each GCP is taken from the ground control point segment (DBGC).

 EASI>DBEC=i                   | elevation channel on master image
 EASI>DBEC=                    | elevation is taken from GCP segment

INPXSZ

Specifies the pixel spacing of the input slant or ground range SAR image in metres, for both horizontal (range) and vertical (azimuth) directions.

 EASI>INPXSZ=Xsize,Ysize       | two real values

ESCALE

Optionally specifies the scale and offset to apply to the elevation values in the elevation channel (DBEC) to convert values to metres. If not specified, scale defaults to 1, and offset defaults to 0.

 EASI>ESCALE=                   | no scaling
 EASI>ESCALE=scale              | scale (no offset)
 EASI>ESCALE=scale,offset       | scale and offset
The equation for the conversion is:

 elevation in metres = scale * (value + offset)
For example, to convert elevation values from feet to metres, where a value of 0 represents 1000 feet:

 EASI>ESCALE=0.3048,1000        | metres = 0.3048 * (value + 1000)

MAPTOL

Specifies map error tolerance in metres, used to determine when the estimates for the output flight path parameters (OALTI, OHEAD, and OPOINT) have reached a desired level of accuracy. If MAPTOL is not specified, it defaults to the horizontal pixel size of the elevation data defined by FILM's georeferencing segment.

 EASI>MAPTOL=                  | defaults to elevation pixel size
 EASI>MAPTOL=error             | positive real value

DELAY

Specifies the radar time delay (in microseconds) to the first input SAR pixel.

 EASI>DELAY=microseconds       | positive real number
DELAY is used to determine the slant range distance in metres to the first input pixel in the SAR image. This is calculated using the following formula, where the speed of light is 299.793 m per microsec.:

   slant range distance = DELAY * speed of light / 2

ALTI

Specifies an estimate of the aircraft platform altitude in metres above sea level. If there are no elevation data (DBEC is defaulted), then ALTI specifies the estimated altitude above ground instead. ALTI must be specified.

 EASI>ALTI=x                    | positive real value
If RANGETYP="GROUND", then the HEIGHT parameter must also be specified.

HEAD

Specifies an estimate of the aircraft heading in degrees clockwise from due north. If radar image is left-looking, then 180 degrees must be added or subtracted from the actual heading angle. If this is not done, the resulting image from STG will be empty!

 EASI>HEAD=angle                | real value between 0.0 and 360.0

POINT

Specifies an estimate of the coordinates of any point on the flight path. Coordinates must be specified using the georeferencing units of the master image (usually UTM).

 EASI>POINT=easting,northing    | positive real values
POINT does not have to specify a coordinate within the area covered by the elevation data on DBEC.

ORDER

Specifies the order of the polynomial equation which calculates the line numbers in the input SAR image, given the distance along the flight path in metres from the UTM coordinate, OPOINT. ORDER defaults to 1, which means that FLIGHT assumes that the aircraft was flying at a constant velocity. Specifying higher values for ORDER allows for variations in the aircraft velocity. ORDER can range from 1 to 8, but is normally set to 1.

 EASI>ORDER=i         | Integer between 1 and 8
 EASI>ORDER=          | defaults to 1 = constant velocity
There must be at least ORDER+2 GCPs on GCP segment.

RANGETYP

Specifies the type of input SAR image which is to be corrected. Two types of SAR data are supported: slant range and ground range.

 EASI>RANGETYP="SLANT"         | slant range data
 EASI>RANGETYP="GROUND"        | ground range data

HEIGHT

Specifies the assumed aircraft height in metres above ground, when the input SAR data is ground range instead of slant range. HEIGHT must be set to the aircraft height that was assumed when the ground range image was created.

 EASI>HEIGHT=x                  | positive real value

REPORT

Specifies the report device to which the generated report should be appended. FLIGHT generates a report on the calculated flight path parameters and the GCPs used to estimate them.

 EASI>REPORT="filename"         
 EASI>REPORT=                   | defaults to terminal output
The following names have special meaning:

 EASI>REPORT="TERM"      | Output the report to the terminal
 EASI>REPORT="DISK"      | Append the report to file IMPRPT.LST
 EASI>REPORT="OFF"       | No report is produced

OALTI

FLIGHT calculates the aircraft altitude in metres above sea level, and saves the result in the output parameter OALTI. The value of OALTI must be used as input to STG.

OHEAD

FLIGHT calculates the aircraft heading in degrees clockwise from due north, and saves the result in the output parameter OHEAD. The value of OHEAD must be used as input to STG.

OPOINT

FLIGHT calculates the UTM coordinates of a point on the flight path, and saves the result in the output parameter OPOINT. The value of OPOINT must be used as input to STG.

OCOEFF

FLIGHT calculates the coefficients of the polynomial function used to determine the line numbers in the input SAR image, given the distance along the flight path in metres from OPOINT. The values of OCOEFF must be used as input to STG.

The output coefficients a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i are assigned to OCOEFF in an ascending order:

     L = a + (b * D   ) + (c * D**2) + (d * D**3) + (e * D**4)
           + (f * D**5) + (g * D**6) + (h * D**7) + (i * D**8)
D is the distance in metres from OPOINT, and L is the input SAR image line number. D can be positive or negative, depending on whether the input line number is ahead or behind the coordinate specified by OPOINT.


Parent Topic: FLIGHT
About PCI Help Gateway