Remote sensing

Sensors and Platforms

Ellen Kayendeke
2 Process of remote sensing

1. Energy source required (passive vs. active)

2. Energy interaction with atmosphere
3. Energy interaction with target
4. Recording of energy by sensor
5. Transmission, reception, and processing of the recorded
information to make an image
6. Image interpretation & analysis, integration with
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
7. Application to solve problems
3 Recording of energy by sensor

 Sensors and Platforms

 A sensor is a device that measures and records the

electromagnetic energy.

 Two types of Sensors

 Active
 Passive

 A Platform - where a sensor can be attached

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 Platforms can be
 Ground based
 Air borne
 Space borne

 Sensing can be done

from 1m to 36,000km
 Airborne (100m –
30/40km)
 Space borne (150km-
36,000km)
5 Examples of Passive and Active sensors
6 Passive sensors
1. Gamma ray spectrometer

 Measures amount of gamma rays emitted by upper soil/rock

layers due to radioactive decay.

 The main application of gamma rays is in mineral exploration.

 This type of energy can only be measured a few hundred meters

above the earth's surface
 2. Aerial camera
7
 Mostly mounted on aircrafts and drones,
although low orbiting satellites can also
apply camera techniques.
 Mostly used in topographic and cadastral
mapping.
 Aerial photographs are useful for visual
interpretation which creates information that
can be used by foresters and urban
planners
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3. Multispectral scanner

 A multispectral scanner is an instrument that obtains

observations in a point by point or line by line
manner.

 It has a sensor that systematically scans the earth’s

surface and measures energy reflected by the
viewed area.
  A multispectral scanner measures reflected energy in
9
the visible and infrared portions of the EM spectrum
 For each area scanned, reflected energy is measured for several
wavelength bands, hence the name multi-spectral scanner

 a wavelength band is an interval of the EM spectrum for

which the average reflected energy is measured
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 Each wavelength band is related to specific characteristics of the

earth’s surface

 For example, the reflection in the wavelength range between 2-

2.5μm gives information about the mineral composition of soil while
reflection in the red and infrared bands if used in combination gives
information about vegetation

 Multispectral scanner data are mainly useful in land cover,

vegetation, surface mineralogy, and surface water mapping
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12
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4. Thermal scanner

 Has a single band

 Measures in the range 10-14µm

 Used to determine object temperature

 Used in weather forecasting; clouds, water surface energy losses

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15 Passive sensors cont’d

Multispectral scanner

 Two types of multispectral scanners

 Whiskbroom scanner

 Pushbroom sensor
16 1. Whiskbroom scanner
 Made of a combination of single detector plus a rotating mirror

 Detector beam sweeps (in a straight line) over earth’s surface

across the track of satellite

 As the mirror rotates, it focuses the EME on to the surface of the

detector

 Use solid state detectors (made of semi conducting material) to

measure the transferred energy

 Earth’s surface is scanned systematically as the satellite moves

forward
17 Whiskbroom Scanner
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2. Pushbroom sensor

 Based on use of charged coupled devices (CCDs) for measuring

EME

 A CCD array is a line of photo-sensitive solid-state detectors

 Measures one entire line at a time

 Advantage over whiskbroom scanner is that each position/pixel

in the line has its own detector
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 Which enables a longer period of measurement over a certain

area

 No need for scanning mirror, therefore longer life expectancy

and higher reliability

 However, all individual detectors of the CCD array have their

own characteristics due to variability in manufacturers

 The detectors may show varying levels of degradation during

the mission life of the satellite
20 Pushbroom Sensor
21 Active Sensors
1. Laser scanner
 Example is lidar (light detection and ranging)

 Transmits laser light at certain visible or near-infrared

wavelengths as a series of pulses

 Travel time for the round trip and returned intensity of reflected
pulses are measured

 Can be used to determine altitudes, measure depth of shallow

water
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2. Imaging radar
 Radio detection and ranging

 Operate in 1 to 100cm wavelength range

 Combination of two radar images can provide information

about terrain height

 Can be used to assess changes in height or vertical

deformations with great precision
23 Recording of the information by the sensor
 EM energy can be detected and recorded either
photographically or electronically.

I. Photography uses chemical reactions on light sensitive film,

usually followed by printing

 The film is processed to produce hard copy photographs

 These photographs can be converted into digital format through

scanning
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II. Digital (electronic) images are raster (grid) based and
the images consist of pixels (grid squares) each of which
has 1 or more digital numbers or “brightness values”
associated with it.

 For each pixel, energy reflected can be recorded for

various wavelength ranges/wavelength bands

 and for each measured wavelength band, a separate

data set is stored which is called a band or a layer (i.e.
band 1, band 2 e.t.c.)
25
26 “Bands” in digital images

 “Bands” are ranges of wavelengths that an electronic sensor can

record.

 Some digital images consist of one band, while others have 4-7.

 Some digital images have 200+ bands! These are called

“hyperspectral images.”

 Various band combinations can be viewed on the computer

screen.
27 Digital numbers example

 Range of recorded
radiance can be
converted into a
specified data
format

 Can be 8 bit format

2^8 =256 possible
DN values (most
common)

 Cab be 12 bit 2^12

= 4096 DN values
28 Remote sensing image bands
(Hyper spectral Images)
 Each pixel has a reflectance
value for various wavelength
ranges of the EM spectrum
 reflectance values can be
plotted against wavelength to
create spectral reflectance
curves for each pixel.
 When these curves are
compared to standard
spectral curves, you can be
able to deduce the dominant
land cover type in that pixel
29 Image data characteristics
 Spatial characteristics
 Spatial coverage is the total area covered by one image

 Spatial resolution refers to the smallest unit area measured

determines minimum detail of objects that can be distinguished

pixel size is the area covered by one pixel on the ground; small pixel
sizes=higher spatial resolution and large pixel sizes = low spatial resolution)
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31  Spectral characteristics
 Spectral coverage refers to total wavelength range observed by
the sensor
 Spectral resolution is related to the width of the spectral wavelength
bands that the sensor is sensitive to
 The smaller the width, the higher the spectral resolution because
very small difference in reflective characteristics of an object can
be observed

 Radiometric characteristics
 Dynamic range refers to the minimum and maximum energy levels
that can be measured by a sensor
 Radiometric resolution refers to the smallest differences in levels of
energy that can be measured by a sensor
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 Temporal characteristics
 Temporal coverage is the span of time over which images are
recorded and stored in image archives
 Revisit time is the minimum time between two successive image
acquisitions over the same location on earth
33 Platforms

 A platform is a vehicle such as a satellite or aircraft that

is used to carry specific kinds of equipment/instruments
i.e. sensors

 Platforms can be static or moving platforms

 multispectral scanner can be mounted to a pole to assess the
changing reflectance characteristics of a given crop during day or
for a given season
 Remote sensing can be either airborne or space borne
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1. Airborne remote sensing

 Carried out using modified aircraft i.e. hole in the floor for the aerial
camera or scanner

 Helicopters, balloons, or kites have also been used in the past to

carry sensors

 Typically, at altitudes ranging from less than 100m to 40km

depending on platform and sensor that is being used

 the data recorded can be processed immediately for use

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2. Space borne remote sensing

 Carried out using sensors mounted on satellites, space vehicles, and space
stations

 The monitoring capability of sensors are determined by

parameters/characteristics of the satellites orbit

 An orbit is the circular path followed by a satellite in its revolution about the
earth
36 Orbit characteristics that are important for remote sensing
 Orbital Altitude
 Distance in km from the satellite to earth’s surface
 Low earth orbit (150-1000km) or geostationary orbit (at 36,000km)

 Orbital Inclination angle

 Angle in degrees between orbital plane and equatorial plane

 Orbital period
 Time in minutes required to complete one full orbit

 Repeat cycle
 Time in days between two successive identical orbits
 determines the revisit time; time between two subsequent images of the same area
37 Common orbit types
1. Polar orbit
 Inclination angle between 800 and 1000
 Angle larger than 900 means satellite motion is in westward direction
 Enable observation of the whole globe, including near the poles

2. Sun-synchronous orbit
 Is a near-polar orbit chosen in such a way that the satellite always
passes over head at the same time
 Inclination angle must be between 980 and 990
 Such orbits normally cross the equator at mid morning (10:30am)
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3. Geostationary orbit

 Orbits in which satellite is placed above the equator

(inclination angle: 00)

 Altitude approximately 36,000km

 Orbital period of satellite is equal to rotational period of the

earth

 Therefore, satellite is at fixed position relative to the earth

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40 Process of remote sensing

1. Energy source required (passive vs. active)

2. Energy interaction with atmosphere
3. Energy interaction with target
4. Recording of energy by sensor
5. Transmission, reception, and processing of the recorded
information to make an image
6. Image interpretation & analysis, integration with
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
7. Application to solve problems
41 Process of remote sensing

1. Energy source required (passive vs. active)

2. Energy interaction with atmosphere
3. Energy interaction with target
4. Recording of energy by sensor
5. Transmission, reception, and processing of the recorded information
to make an image
6. Image interpretation & analysis, integration with Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)
7. Application to solve problems
42
Image Analysis

 Extract meaningful information from imagery

(Classification)

 Manual interpretation vs. digital analysis

43 Image Classification: Concepts
Knowledge of Remote Sensing

Ground truthing

- Visual/Manual classification
- Automated/computer classification Product
- Semi-automated
44 Image analysis – visual interpretation
 Recognition elements of tone, shape, size, pattern, texture, shadow, and
association
45 Digital image processing
 Using the computer to digitally enhance, transform, and classify the image
 Can be unsupervised or supervised
46  Un-supervised: The image analyst only determines the total number of
classes
 Statistical based techniques (means, SDs) of N-dimensional DNs

C
B
A
47  Supervised: the image analyst provides sample pixels of objects
48 Process of remote sensing

1. Energy source required (passive vs. active)

2. Energy interaction with atmosphere
3. Energy interaction with target
4. Recording of energy by sensor
5. Transmission, reception, and processing of the recorded information
to make an image
6. Image interpretation & analysis, integration with Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)
7. Application to solve problems
49 Applications
 Each specific
application has its own
demands for spectral,
spatial, and temporal
resolutions.

 Examples include
agriculture, forestry,
geology, hydrology,
land cover, urban
planning, and
mapping/integration
with GIS
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51 Process of remote sensing (Recap)
1. Energy source required (passive vs. active)
2. Energy interaction with atmosphere
3. Energy interaction with target
4. Recording of energy by sensor
5. Transmission, reception, and processing of the recorded information to
make an image
6. Image interpretation & analysis, integration with Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)
7. Application to solve problems
52 Examples of operational Earth Observation Systems
Satellites and sensors they carry
 These systems are grouped into the following categories;

1. Low resolution systems (1km to 5km)

Platform Orbit Sensor Res. #b Swath Revisit

Meteosat GEO VISSR 2.5 km 3 ½Earth 30 min

NOAA Polar AVHRR 1 km 7 3000 km Daily

Resurs-O1 S-sync MSU-SK1 200 m 4 760 km 3-5

days
SeaStar S-sync SeaWiFS 1.1 km 8 2800 km Daily
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2. Medium resolution systems (10 m to 100m)

Platform Sensor Res. #B Swath Angle Revisit

Landsat 4 & 5 TM 30 m 7 185 km No 16 days

IRS 1C & 1D LISS-3 24 m 4 142 km No 24 days
Landsat 7 ETM+ 15 m (PAN) 8 185 km No 16 days
Spot 1-3 HRV 10 m (PAN) 3 60 km 27 4-6 days
Spot 4 HRVIR 10 m (PAN) 4 60 km 27 4-6 days
CBERS * HRCC+ 20 m 9 120 km 32 3 days
Terra (EOS AM-1) * ASTER 15 m 14 60 km 24 5 days
Resource21 * M10 10 m (PAN) 6 205 km 30 3-4 days
* = not operational at 1-10-1999
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3. High resolution systems (spatial resolution better than 10m)

Platform Sensor Res. #b Swath Angle Revisit

IRS 1C & 1D PAN 5.8 m 1 band 70 km 26 5 days

Cosmos KVR-1000 2m 1 band 160 km No N/A
EROS A+ * CCD 2m 1 band 12.5 km 45 3 days
Ikonos OSA 1m 4 bands 11 km 45 1-3 days
OrbView-3* PAN 1m 4 bands 8 km 45 3 days
QuickBird * QBP 1m 4 bands 27 km 30 1-3 days
* = not operational at 1-10-1999
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Orbit types
•Polar or near polar = inclination between 90-100 degrees = global coverage
•Sun synchronous = passes overhead at same time of day
•Geo-stationary = period of satellite equals period earth = fixed position
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meteosat

NOAA

TM

SPOT
IRS

KVR
Ikonos
50km 1km 30m 10m 2 <1m