Pass processing of IRS-1C/1D PAN subscene blocks

Abstract

This paper describes a method for pass processing of IRS-1C/1D imagery acquired by the three CCD arrays of the panchromatic (PAN) camera. It is based on the fact that during a single pass, the image data stream from the three CCD arrays of the PAN camera can be adjusted together as a single image, exploiting the knowledge of the internal geometry and the angular relationships between the CCD arrays. The geometry of this extended image can be rectified with a single ground control point (GCP). A full PAN scene consists of nine subscenes, each with a dimension of 23.5 km×23.5 km. The method is not restricted in the number of continuous full scenes (in the same pass) that can be adjusted. The scale variations between the images from the three detectors are corrected by computing the relative focal lengths of detectors 1 and 3 with respect to detector 2. Two tests were conducted to verify the accuracy of the adjustment procedure. Average root-mean-square (RMS) errors of ±10.5 m in the latitude direction and ±11.3 m in the longitude direction were obtained with a single surveyed GCP and a set of survey points used as checkpoints. The results of the tests show that the adjustment of full PAN scenes, as proposed in this paper, is an effective means of reducing the number of GCPs required for precise determination of ground coordinates.