Abstract
Since the launch of Landsat-1 in 1972, several earth observation satellites have been launched by government and private agencies. To select the optimum data for a specific application and for combining data from different sources require good clarity and understanding of various specifications provided by the sensor manufacturers. Many of the sensor parameters are not unambiguously defined in the product data-sheet. The paper reviews how the specifications adopted to describe various performance parameters of earth observation electro-optical camera are understood, and addresses the need for consistency in defining various specifications. The paper also proposes a figure-of-merit to compare various cameras for its target discrimination capability. A possible standard set of specifications are suggested, to be provided by all camera developers which would benefit both developers and users of such instruments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baghdadi, N., & Zribi, M. (2016). Optical remote sensing of land surfaces: Techniques and methods. Amsterdam: ISTE Press - Elsevier.
Bhatt, R., Doelling, D., Haney, C., Scarino, B., & Gopalan, A. (2018). Consideration of radiometric quantization error in satellite sensor cross-calibration. Remote Sensing,10(7), 1131.
Blanc, P., & Wald, L. (2009). A review of earth-viewing methods for in-flight assessment of modulation transfer function and noise of optical space borne sensors. HAL Id: hal-00745076 https://hal-mines-paristech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00745076. Accessed 14 October 2019.
Boreman, G. D. (2001). Modulation transfer function in optical and electro-optical systems (Vol. 4). Bellingham, WA: SPIE Press.
Cui, T., Ding, J., Jia, F., Mu, B., Liu, R., Xu, P., et al. (2018). Out-of-band response for the coastal zone imager (CZI) Onboard China’s ocean color satellite HY-1C: Effect on the observation just above the sea surface. Sensors,18(9), 3067.
Driggers, R. G. (Ed.). (2003). Encyclopedia of optical engineering: Las-Pho, pages 1025–2048 (Vol. 2). Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Dove Constellation. (2019). Dove satellite constellation. Retrieved September 12, 2019, from https://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/other-satellite-sensors/dove-3m/.
Fiete, R. D. (2007). Image chain analysis for space imaging systems. Journal of Imaging Science and Technology,51(2), 103–109.
Fiete, R. D., & Tantalo, T. A. (2001). Comparison of SNR image quality metrics for remote sensing systems. Optical Engineering, 40, 574–585.
Gibson, P. (2000). Introductory remote sensing principles and concepts. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hein, A. G. A. G. I. (2017). A systems analysis of cubesat constellations with distributed sensors (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Johnson, B. R., McGlinchy, J., Cattau, M., Joseph, M., & Scholl, V. (2018). Harnessing commercial satellite technologies to monitor our forests. In W. Gao, et al. (Eds.), Remote sensing and modeling of ecosystems for sustainability XV (Vol. 10767). Bellingham: SPIE - International Society for Optics and Photonics.
Joseph, G. (2000). How well do we understand Earth observation electro-optical sensor parameters? ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing,55(1), 9–12.
Joseph, G. (2015). Building earth observation cameras. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Joseph, G., & Jeganathan, C. (2018). Fundamentals of remote sensing. Hyderabad: Universities Press (India) Private Limited.
Leachtenauer, J. C., & Driggers, R. G. (2001). Surveillance and reconnaissance imaging systems: modeling and performance prediction. Artech House
Leger, D., Viallefont, F., Deliot, P., & Valorge, C. (2004). On-orbit MTF assessment of satellite cameras (pp. 67–76). London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Morfitt, R., Barsi, J., Levy, R., Markham, B., Micijevic, E., Ong, L., et al. (2015). Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance on-orbit. Remote Sensing,7(2), 2208–2237.
Norwood, V. T. (1974). Balance between resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in scanner design for earth resources systems. Proceedings of SPIE,51, 37–42.
Pagnutti, M., Ryan, R. E., Kelly, M., Holekamp, K., Zanoni, V., Thome, K., et al. (2003). Radiometric characterization of IKONOS multispectral imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment,88(1–2), 53–68.
Palmer, J. M. (1984). Effective bandwidths for LANDSAT-4 and LANDSAT-D’ multispectral scanner and thematic mapper subsystems. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing,22(3), 336–338.
Pandya, M. R., Murali, K. R., & Kirankumar, A. S. (2013). Quantification and comparison of spectral characteristics of sensors on board Resourcesat-1 and Resourcesat-2 satellites. Remote Sensing Letters,4(3), 306–314.
Qian, S. E. (2013). Optical satellite signal processing and enhancement. Bellingham, WA: SPIE Press.
Ren, H., Du, C., Liu, R., Qin, Q., Yan, G., Li, Z. L., et al. (2014). Noise evaluation of early images for Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager. Optics Express,22(22), 27270–27280.
Reulke, R., & Weichelt, H. (2012). SNR evaluation of the RapidEye space-borne cameras. Photogrammetrie-Fernerkundung-Geoinformation,2012(1), 29–38.
Syafrudin, H., Hasbi, W., & Rahman, A. (2013). Camera payload systems for LAPAN-A2 experimental microsatellite. In Proceedings of 34th ACRS, Bali, Indonesia.
Tedesco, M. (2014). Remote sensing of the cryosphere. Hoboken: Wiley.
Teubner, U., & Brückner, H. J. (2019). Optical imaging and photography. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH.
Triana, J. S., Bautista, S., & González, F. A. D. (2015). Identification of design considerations for small satellite remote sensing systems in low earth orbit. Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management,7(1), 121–134.
Zhou, G., Li, C., Yue, T., Jiang, L., Liu, N., Sun, Y., et al. (2015). An overview of in-orbit radiometric calibration of typical satellite sensors. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing & Spatial Information Sciences, 40, 235–240.
Acknowledgements
I am thankful to a number of my colleagues in ISRO for critically going through the paper and giving valuable suggestions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
About this article
Cite this article
Joseph, G. How to Specify an Electro-optical Earth Observation Camera? A Review of the Terminologies Used and its Interpretation. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 48, 171–180 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-020-01105-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-020-01105-8