Technology Assessment Project

POEC 6381 Fall 2001

Remote Sensing Software Assessment

November 2, 2001

Sonia MongaJohn Baccellieri

Remote Sensing

• The science of obtaining information about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device not in contact with the “particular” under investigation

• Basically: satellite and aerial imagery acquisition and processing

Assessment Methodology• Developed Requirements

Non-RS categories (cost, interoperability, support) Three real world “scenarios” which have different RS

requirements

• Developed “weightings” For each scenario, reflect the relative importance of

each requirement

• Narrowed assessment to four major vendors

• Reviewed literature to score a vendor’s ability to meet each scenario’s requirements. 1 to 10 (high) scoring: considered forced ranking, found it impractical

• Supplemented literature with a hands-on review of two vendors’ offerings

• Applied weightings to raw scores to find best vendor for each scenario

Remote Sensing Organizational Scenarios

I. RS Project OrientedImage interpretationDigital analysisMap composition

Example: detailed land use / land cover analysis and change detection: Fire damage analysis

II. Organization Specializing in Application of RS and GISData acquisitionIntegrate with non-spatial dataAnalyze the combined RS and non-RS dataPresentation of customized reports

Example: Aerial photos merged with parcel data: Micro-level analysis of urban environments

III. Organization With Primary Focus on GISQuality of RS data less importantLimited RS analysis required

Example: Routing, Hydrological, Geological

Vendors Assessed

ERDAS, Inc.www.erdas.comImagine 8.5

2901 Buford Hwy NEAtlanta, GA 30329

404.248.9000

PCI Geomaticswww.pcigeomatics.comGeomatica

50 W. Wilmont St.Richmond Hills, ON L4B1M5

905.764.0614

Earth Resource Mappingwww.ermapper.comER Mapper 6.2

4370 La Jolla VillageSuite 900San Diego, CA92122

619.558.4709

Research Systems, Inc.www.rsinc.comENVI 3.5

4990 Pearl E. CircleBoulder, CO80301

303.786.9900

Assessment Limitations

• Limited to four well-reviewed tool suites

• Scenarios may not reflect real-life needs

• Made on vendor and 3rd party reports

• Hands-on with ERDAS and ENVI only

• Weightings reflect the authors’ opinions

• GIS and RS tools are converging…wait?

That said…

Selection Criteria: Remote Sensing

• Visual display and enhancement• Classification• Rectification and Geometric Registration• Multiple data formats• Orthophoto Creation• RADAR Capabilities• Web Capability• Macro/Programming Language• Extent of Vector Capability

The Scores….

Remote Sensing Functionality

Scores

Remote Sensing Functionality

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

I. II. III.

Scenario

Sco

re

Imagine 8.5

Geomatica 1.0

ER Mapper 6.2

ENVI 3.5

Selection Criteria: Non-RS• Interoperability with major GIS packages

• Performance (*)

• Cost / Value (*)

• Market Share/Installed Base

• Vendor Financial Stability (*)

• Vendor Support Services

• Versioning and Technology Plans

• Training Availability and Quality

• Learning Curve

• Hardware Platforms Supported

• Operating Systems Supported

Non-RS FunctionalityScores

Non-RS Functionality

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

I. II. III.

Scenario

Sco

res

Imagine 8.5

Geomatica 1.0

ER Mapper 6.2

ENVI 3.5

Totals

Total Scores

0123456789

10

I. II. III.

Scenario

Sco

reImagine 8.5

Geomatica 1.0

ER Mapper 3.5

ENVI 3.5

The Bottom Line in RS Software

+___________

Other Vendors

Active KnowledgeKirchenstr 88 D-81675Munich, Germany49-89-458-6773-0, fax: 49-89-458-6773-9Web: http://www.active-knowledge.de

ESRI Inc.380 New York St.Redlands CA 92373-9870909-793-2853, fax: 909-793-5953Web: http://www.esri.com

Applied Analysis Inc.630 Boston RoadSuite 201Billerica, MA 01821978-663-6828Web: http://www.discover-aai.com

LizardTech Inc.The Exchange Building, 18th Floor821 Second Ave.Seattle, WA 98104206-652-5211, fax: 206-652-0880Web: http://www.lizardtech.com

Clark Labs921 Main St.Worcester, MA 01610-1477508-793-7526, fax: 508-793-8842Web: http://www.clarklabs.org

MicroImages Inc. (****)Sharp Tower, 11th Floor206 S. 13th St.Lincoln, NE 68508-2010402-477-9554, fax: 402-477-9559Web: http://www.microimages.com

Definiens AGRindermarkt 780331 München, Germany49-89-2311800, fax: 49-89-23118080Web: http://www.definiens.com

Thinkspace Inc.100 Collip Circle, Suite 225London, ON N6G 4X8 Canada519-858-5047, fax: 519-858-5048Web: http://www.thinkspace.com

Z/I Imaging Corp.301 Cochran Road, Suite 9Huntsville, AL 35824888-538-0713, fax: 256-730-6708Web: http://www.ziimaging.com