Airborne digital imaging technology: A new overview

This paper concentrates on the developments in airborne digital imaging systems that have taken place in the 3-year period since the ISPRS Congress was held in Istanbul, rather than claiming to be a review of those that were already well established in the market. It provides a coherent narrative follow-up to the authors' invited presentation (Petrie and Walker, 2006) to the ISPRS Commission I Symposium at Marne-la-Vallee, France in July 2006, as already briefly reported to readers of The Photogrymmetric Record by Mills and Cracknell (2006). In the first part of the paper, the significant advances that have taken place in the sensor technologies used in airborne imaging will be reviewed. The second part of the paper covers the developments that have occurred in airborne digital frame cameras, including small-format airborne cameras and systems as well as the medium- and large-format systems that are of most importance to photogrammetrists. The third part of the paper covers airborne pushbroom scanners. Besides the well-established Leica ADS40, the current state of development with the several other pusbbroom scanners is discussed. The final part of the paper analyses the present situation in airborne digital imaging including technical, commercial and operational aspects of this rapidly developing field of activity.