Comprehensive evaluation of Pléiades-1A bundle images for geospatial applications

Abstract

This paper presents the results of comprehensive evaluation of Pleiades 1A which is the first civilian satellite of Europe with sub-meter resolution. The analyses consist of radiometric evaluation, georeferencing accuracy assessment, pan-sharpening performance, digital surface/terrain model quality and vector map production. The effective resolution is estimated with a factor slightly below 1.0 for triplet panchromatic images, and signal to noise ratio is in the range of other comparable space borne images. The georeferencing accuracy was estimated with a standard deviation in X and Y directions in the range of 0.45 m by bias-corrected and sensor-dependent rational functional model. 3D standard deviation of ± 0.44 m in X direction, ± 0.51 m in Y direction and ± 1.82 m in the Z direction were reached in spite of the very narrow angle of convergence by the same mathematical model. The generated digital surface/terrain models were achieved with ± 1.6 m standard deviation in Z direction in relation to a reference digital terrain model. The pan-sharpened images were generated by various methods, and were validated by quantitative and qualitative analyses. Moreover, a vector map was generated in the level of detail 0 to analyse information content.