Pardon me as I post something non-geospatial to end 2009 and begin 2010. To me, these poems are insightful on why it is important check ourselves every so often to make sure we have our priorities in order. Happy New Year.
THE WAYS
But to every man there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.
-John Oxenham
THE WINDS OF FATE
One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
'Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
What is LPS eATE?
LPS eATE is an add-on module to LPS for automatically extracting terrain from stereo optical imagery. The difference between LPS eATE and LPS ATE is the precision and accuracy of LPS eATE is much higher than LPS ATE, requiring less manual editing after the automatic processing is complete.
LPS eATE is a scalable tool, scaling from parallel processing using multiple cores on a single system, to distributed processing using multiple cores on multiple systems on your network.
Because of the processing power and the new algorithms a highly dense point cloud (matching on almost every point in the stereo coverage), can be output.
LPS eATE is being released soon to customers as a technology preview. If you have collected elevation points using optical imagery in the past, you will want to test-drive LPS eATE. (And ERDAS would like your feedback on your test drive.)
LPS eATE is a scalable tool, scaling from parallel processing using multiple cores on a single system, to distributed processing using multiple cores on multiple systems on your network.
Because of the processing power and the new algorithms a highly dense point cloud (matching on almost every point in the stereo coverage), can be output.
LPS eATE is being released soon to customers as a technology preview. If you have collected elevation points using optical imagery in the past, you will want to test-drive LPS eATE. (And ERDAS would like your feedback on your test drive.)
Monday, December 14, 2009
ERDAS APOLLO Benchmarks with Open Source Image Servers
Chris Tweedie, and ERDAS employee did some image server benchmarking on his own time. The results indicate ERDAS APOLLO is as strong in the image server world as its name indicates.
Chris' tests are an extension to the initial OGC Web Map Service raster benchmarks conducted at FOSS4g 2009 in Sydney. Unfortunately ERDAS were unable to participate. Chris took in upon himself to not only run the same suite of tests but expand and test on a completely different platform.
Have a heavy image server load to lift, you owe it to yourself to have a look. http://blog.webmapper.com.au/image-server-benchmark/
Chris' tests are an extension to the initial OGC Web Map Service raster benchmarks conducted at FOSS4g 2009 in Sydney. Unfortunately ERDAS were unable to participate. Chris took in upon himself to not only run the same suite of tests but expand and test on a completely different platform.
Have a heavy image server load to lift, you owe it to yourself to have a look. http://blog.webmapper.com.au/image-server-benchmark/
ERDAS Announces Joel Campbell as new President
ERDAS, Inc. just released this to the press:
ERDAS Announces Joel Campbell as new President
Norcross, GA — ERDAS Inc. is pleased to announce that industry veteran Joel Campbell will join the management team as the new President in January 2010, reporting to the ERDAS Board of Directors.
Mr. Campbell is well known and highly regarded throughout the geospatial industry, where he has been a featured speaker, lecturer and trainer for many geospatial organizations around the world. He has over 20 years of experience in the geospatial industry, in a variety of senior roles including sales, business development and product management. His previous employers include GeoEye, Definiens, EarthData and ESRI, along with operating his own consulting firm.
Most recently, Campbell was the Senior Director of Product Management for GeoEye, where he helped manage the company’s expansion into new commercial markets and supported the launch of products from the recently launched GeoEye-1 earth imaging satellite. During more than a decade with ESRI, he held chief leadership and management positions in the U.S. sales operation. These included Director of U.S. Sales, supervising regional offices and several hundred staff members, as well as expanding the company’s presence in the Washington D.C. area.
“Joel brings invaluable experience to ERDAS.” said Juergen Dold, President, Geospatial Solutions Division, Hexagon “We are pleased that he will be joining the management team, where he can apply his diverse experience across the geospatial value chain from capture to delivery.”
“ERDAS offers a compelling suite of products to the geospatial community, providing the world’s most respected desktop remote sensing and photogrammetry solutions, complimented with innovative enterprise solutions,” said Campbell. “I am thrilled to join the management team as we continue to focus on serving the full spectrum of our customers’ needs.”
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My comment: Joel met with the ERDAS employees last week for a question and answer session. My fellow ERDAS employees (and I) are excited about Joel becoming an Erdasian. Welcome aboard Joel!
ERDAS Announces Joel Campbell as new President
Norcross, GA — ERDAS Inc. is pleased to announce that industry veteran Joel Campbell will join the management team as the new President in January 2010, reporting to the ERDAS Board of Directors.
Mr. Campbell is well known and highly regarded throughout the geospatial industry, where he has been a featured speaker, lecturer and trainer for many geospatial organizations around the world. He has over 20 years of experience in the geospatial industry, in a variety of senior roles including sales, business development and product management. His previous employers include GeoEye, Definiens, EarthData and ESRI, along with operating his own consulting firm.
Most recently, Campbell was the Senior Director of Product Management for GeoEye, where he helped manage the company’s expansion into new commercial markets and supported the launch of products from the recently launched GeoEye-1 earth imaging satellite. During more than a decade with ESRI, he held chief leadership and management positions in the U.S. sales operation. These included Director of U.S. Sales, supervising regional offices and several hundred staff members, as well as expanding the company’s presence in the Washington D.C. area.
“Joel brings invaluable experience to ERDAS.” said Juergen Dold, President, Geospatial Solutions Division, Hexagon “We are pleased that he will be joining the management team, where he can apply his diverse experience across the geospatial value chain from capture to delivery.”
“ERDAS offers a compelling suite of products to the geospatial community, providing the world’s most respected desktop remote sensing and photogrammetry solutions, complimented with innovative enterprise solutions,” said Campbell. “I am thrilled to join the management team as we continue to focus on serving the full spectrum of our customers’ needs.”
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My comment: Joel met with the ERDAS employees last week for a question and answer session. My fellow ERDAS employees (and I) are excited about Joel becoming an Erdasian. Welcome aboard Joel!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 available for download...
Customers may download ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 by going to the ERDAS IMAGINE Product page Download tab: http://www.erdas.com/products/ERDASIMAGINE/ERDASIMAGINE/Downloads.aspx
The "ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 What's New" and "Increasing Workflow Efficiency with ERDAS IMAGINE 2010" documents found in the Product Literature tab should be very beneficial.
ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 is supported on the following platforms:
Windows XP Professional x32 and x64 SP3 or higher
Windows Vista x32 and x64 SP2 or higher, Business, Enterprise & Ultimate
Windows 7 x32 and x64 Professional & Ultimate
Windows Server 2008 x32 and x64 SP2 or higher
Note: Microsoft Windows XP x32 has limited large output file sizes. The maximum file size depends upon system configuration and rarely exceeds 70GB. All other supported OS versions do not experience this limitation.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Signed, Sealed and Delivered: ERDAS 2010 Software Release Now Available
ERDAS, Inc. Press Release.....
Norcross, GA – ERDAS Inc. announces the availability of the ERDAS 2010 annual software release, which includes new and updated versions of ERDAS’ products to author, manage, connect and deliver geospatial information.
The ERDAS 2010 Software includes new versions of ERDAS IMAGINE, LPS, ERDAS ER Mapper, ERDAS Extensions for ArcGIS, ERDAS ADE, ERDAS APOLLO and ERDAS TITAN Client. In addition, ERDAS is introducing several new products, including IMAGINE Feature Interoperability and IMAGINE SAR Interferometry, as well as a technology preview of a new automated terrain extraction capability in LPS eATE. Product downloads, collateral and licensing information are available on the ERDAS website. Media kits will begin shipping later this month to software maintenance customers.
“The ERDAS 2010 software is a significant release, bringing remarkable productivity, performance, interoperability and value to geospatial users throughout the industry,” said Mladen Stojic, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Marketing, ERDAS. “ERDAS 2010 caters to the needs of our users worldwide. This release provides a renaissance in the usability of ERDAS IMAGINE through the new ribbon interface, parallel processing support and a fully integrated enterprise geoprocessing offering based on the OGC WPS specification.”
ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 is an all in one, fully integrated desktop authoring platform, incorporating image analysis, remote sensing and GIS capabilities. Featuring a new ribbon interface, ERDAS IMAGINE makes it easier for users to streamline workflows and customize their workspace. ERDAS IMAGINE also provides enhanced tools for parallel batch processing, spatial modeling, map production, mosaicking and change detection.
LPS 2010 is a powerful softcopy photogrammetry system for a variety of workflows, including defense, remote-area mapping, transportation planning, orthophoto production (for basemap generation) and close-range applications. LPS eATE enables users to generate high-resolution terrain information from stereo imagery like never before, ensuring speed and accuracy, providing an unparalleled environment for processing terrain data from airborne and satellite sensors.
ERDAS APOLLO 2010 is equipped to fully understand, competently manage and rapidly serve large volumes of vector, raster and terrain data. ERDAS APOLLO implements an out-of-the box Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), that provides a publish, find and bind workflow for any data type. Integrating ERDAS Image Web Server and ERDAS TITAN, ERDAS APOLLO is now available in three tiers to cater to any organization’s management, collaboration and delivery needs. From a low-cost, remarkably fast image and feature server to a comprehensive data management and on demand geoprocessing system, ERDAS APOLLO provides unprecedented performance, even when handling the largest data archives.
To learn more about ERDAS 2010 Software, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com.
Norcross, GA – ERDAS Inc. announces the availability of the ERDAS 2010 annual software release, which includes new and updated versions of ERDAS’ products to author, manage, connect and deliver geospatial information.
The ERDAS 2010 Software includes new versions of ERDAS IMAGINE, LPS, ERDAS ER Mapper, ERDAS Extensions for ArcGIS, ERDAS ADE, ERDAS APOLLO and ERDAS TITAN Client. In addition, ERDAS is introducing several new products, including IMAGINE Feature Interoperability and IMAGINE SAR Interferometry, as well as a technology preview of a new automated terrain extraction capability in LPS eATE. Product downloads, collateral and licensing information are available on the ERDAS website. Media kits will begin shipping later this month to software maintenance customers.
“The ERDAS 2010 software is a significant release, bringing remarkable productivity, performance, interoperability and value to geospatial users throughout the industry,” said Mladen Stojic, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Marketing, ERDAS. “ERDAS 2010 caters to the needs of our users worldwide. This release provides a renaissance in the usability of ERDAS IMAGINE through the new ribbon interface, parallel processing support and a fully integrated enterprise geoprocessing offering based on the OGC WPS specification.”
ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 is an all in one, fully integrated desktop authoring platform, incorporating image analysis, remote sensing and GIS capabilities. Featuring a new ribbon interface, ERDAS IMAGINE makes it easier for users to streamline workflows and customize their workspace. ERDAS IMAGINE also provides enhanced tools for parallel batch processing, spatial modeling, map production, mosaicking and change detection.
LPS 2010 is a powerful softcopy photogrammetry system for a variety of workflows, including defense, remote-area mapping, transportation planning, orthophoto production (for basemap generation) and close-range applications. LPS eATE enables users to generate high-resolution terrain information from stereo imagery like never before, ensuring speed and accuracy, providing an unparalleled environment for processing terrain data from airborne and satellite sensors.
ERDAS APOLLO 2010 is equipped to fully understand, competently manage and rapidly serve large volumes of vector, raster and terrain data. ERDAS APOLLO implements an out-of-the box Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), that provides a publish, find and bind workflow for any data type. Integrating ERDAS Image Web Server and ERDAS TITAN, ERDAS APOLLO is now available in three tiers to cater to any organization’s management, collaboration and delivery needs. From a low-cost, remarkably fast image and feature server to a comprehensive data management and on demand geoprocessing system, ERDAS APOLLO provides unprecedented performance, even when handling the largest data archives.
To learn more about ERDAS 2010 Software, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com.
Friday, November 20, 2009
JPEG2000 Performance
When the former ER Mapper, Ltd (purchased in May 2007 by ERDAS) began work in 2003 to add support for JPEG2000 (JP2) to the ECW SDK, ER Mapper noticed JP2 specifications were very broad. As a result, JP2’s speed would not approach ECW speeds for decades, if ever. Think of it this way, JP2 is a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV or 4-wheel drive) and ECW is a Formula 1 Ferrari.
The geospatial industry deals with dozens to thousands of images at a time and speed is critical. While geospatial users need the Formula 1 Ferrari, they must drive on public roads (lowest common IT standards), and thus must use the S
UV not the Formula 1.How can SUV owners get more speed from their JP2 beast? By using the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK’s J2I file. This ‘index’ file to the JP2 file allows customers to more rapidly access JP2 data in a viewing technology that uses the ECW SDK to read ECW and JP2 files. The J2I file will significantly improve your performance by fine tuning your existing engine.
The improvement in speed depends on the encoding method. Some encoding methods mandated by less geospatially sophisticated IT departments are like pulling a loaded trailer behind the SUV. An engine tuning helps, but slow starts cannot be avoided.
You may ask, how do I create these on JP2 J2I files in ERDAS IMAGINE 2010? For one image at a time, just touch the file with any ERDAS IMAGINE function, and like the aux file, it is automatically created.
For batch creation, use the Edit Image Metadata (aka Image Command Tool). Select one image needed, select ‘Batch’, the select all images needed in the batch tool.
You may be asking, why is there no check-box function for creation the J2I file on Edit Image Metadata? All you need to do is touch the file with any ERDAS IMAGINE function and it is created. Thus only touching the file in Batch Mode is needed.
And with the IMAGINE Advantage 2010 batch mode, you can touch up to four images at a time with each IMAGINE Advantage floating license you have available.
Back to our cars (image file formats); what I want from my GIS and remote sensing data format and software is a street version Ferrari (has a roof, stereo, leather seats, electric windows, air-conditioning, and of course GPS).Ref: What are J2I files? and Why compress?
See info on the latest ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK.
Friday, November 13, 2009
GEOINT 2009 Interview with GISCafe
Here is an interview with me at GEOINT 2009 found in GISCafe.
http://www10.giscafe.com/video/display_media.php?category_id=10197&link_id_display=29522
http://www10.giscafe.com/video/display_media.php?category_id=10197&link_id_display=29522
Monday, November 9, 2009
Transparency with MrSID background data
For many years ERDAS IMAGINE has not provided correct transparency creation with the IMAGINE MrSID Encoders. This was addressed in 9.3 and continues on through the 9.3 Service Packs and into ERDAS IMAGINE 2010. Yet, it is not obvious how to do this.
The user must set the NoData (NullData) in ImageInfo (LayerInfo) or in Image Command Tool (Image Metadata Editor in 2010), then use the IMAGINE MrSID Encoders. Voilà you have a true transparent background data.
ERDAS will make the correct transparency creation ability more prominent and flexible in a future release.
Here is one big thing to remember; ERDAS uses 0 as the transparent value while ESRI uses 255. ERDAS as well as other remote sensing and photogrammetric packages have a black background page while ESRI has a white background page. The more careful image providers now create 8-bit data with a range from 1 to 254 rather than 0 to 255. All 0 and 255 values will be outside of the actual image footprint. This approach allows their customers to be flexible with whatever package they they are using at the moment.
The user must set the NoData (NullData) in ImageInfo (LayerInfo) or in Image Command Tool (Image Metadata Editor in 2010), then use the IMAGINE MrSID Encoders. Voilà you have a true transparent background data.
ERDAS will make the correct transparency creation ability more prominent and flexible in a future release.
Here is one big thing to remember; ERDAS uses 0 as the transparent value while ESRI uses 255. ERDAS as well as other remote sensing and photogrammetric packages have a black background page while ESRI has a white background page. The more careful image providers now create 8-bit data with a range from 1 to 254 rather than 0 to 255. All 0 and 255 values will be outside of the actual image footprint. This approach allows their customers to be flexible with whatever package they they are using at the moment.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
MrSID Performance on MosaicPro and more....
ERDAS has researched, researched, tuned and tuned.... now we are processing 3982 MrSID DOQQs (all the state of Georgia, USA) into one seamless mosaic. The memory usage does not exceed 1GB at any point. We did not get an exact time, and file size.... but it took about 3 days and produced a >700GB output file.
3982 is NOT the maximum number, just the largest number we have tested. The steady memory usage indicates the maximum number is much, much higher than 3982.
One thing to note..... There is a bug in Microsoft's XP x32 operating system affecting very large file creation. Our conversations with Microsoft have lead to the conclusion the bug was introduced between XP SP1 and XP SP2. The bug keeps the operating system from supporting very large files. The maximum file size you can create depends on your system configuration. The largest we have heard of is 70GB. Most systems cannot exceed 35GB.
We have tried rolling back the XP operating systems back to SP1, or back to the original Windows XP, but that has not been successful. Once Windows XP SP2 is loaded, something is not being unloaded. This is a puzzle for both ERDAS and Microsoft.
What is the solution for large file creation in ERDAS IMAGINE 9.3.x? Use Windows XP x64 or Windows Vista. ERDAS will expand operating system support for ERDAS IMAGINE 2010, the versions to be announced later.
** A post-post clarification, if I may. I received a few emails concerning the XP x32 file size limit. This limit is not related to any specific file format. Rather, it is limited to the operating system not allowing the creation of a single large file of any type. Again, there are some variations, but if you need large files of any type you must move from Windows XP x32. For all its bad press, Vista x32 does not have this problem.
Monday, August 24, 2009
More on Consolidated Mosaic
Well, it has become well known by now that MosaicPro will be included as a native part of IMAGINE Advantage and LPS Core in ERDAS IMAGINE 2010, due Fall 2009. The new MosaicPro had an internal working name of Consolidated Mosaic. MosaicTool, MosaicPro, lessons from ER Mapper and more were used to create the new MosaicPro (http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2009/06/consolidated-mosaic.html). Moreover, we have optimized MosaicPro to be much more RAM and CPU scalable, and that it touches each pixel the fewest times possible.
Yet, let me yell this from the house top.... all ERDAS IMAGINE and LPS customers with current Software Maintenance (SWM) will be receiving this 'new' MosaicPro in version 2010. It is a real gem. You will be impressed.
Here are some early tests:
Dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, standard disks, Vista Business
Load 3840 images:
9.3.2 16:40 minutes; 463 MB RAM
2010 3:05 minutes; 98 MB RAM
Load 4896 images:
9.3.2 35:06 minutes; 669 MB RAM
2010 4:16 minutes; 113 MB RAM
Cutline Generation on 4896 images:
9.3.2 45:47 minutes; 1,606 MB RAM
2010 01:41 minutes; 125 MB RAM
Mosaicking 127 images:
9.3.2 41:41 minutes
2010 29:11 minutes
Dual Quad-core 2.328 GHz CPU, 16GB RAM, average speed disk array, XP-64
Mosaicking 3982 images:
9.3.2 Not possible
2010 >700GB output file in under 2.5 days
Mosaicking 1147 images:
9.3.2 Not possible
2010 >2.6TB output file in under 5.5 days
All processes used a maximum of just over 800MB of RAM. We researched using more RAM with MosaicPro and found it does not help. This is because we have tuned it so thoroughly that the bottleneck is now the operating system’s thread handling, and hard disk I/O. So, it is time to test fast disks.
But, when using the new added ECW / JPEG2000 direct-write from MosaicPro, MosaicPro will need more RAM. We are working on that as well. We expect we can protect the speed while shrinking down the memory requirement significantly. We expect this will occur in version 2010.1 (Sprilg 2010) or version 2011 (Fall 2010).
Now, we are ready to take MosaicPro to 64-bit. As you can see, when ERDAS goes to 64-bit, we will really take advantage of what 64-bit can really do. Many companies have used a 64-bit port to mask their sloppy coding by accessing more RAM. Not at ERDAS! We know there are a lot of issues surrounding true speed improvement and large file handling. We want our loyal customers to have it all! (http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2009/02/benefits-of-64-bit-architecture-in.html)
Personally, I enjoy looking at ERDAS IMAGINE as a CPU race-car entry. Maybe we can get Intel to test MosaicPro as it does ECW in its performance testing matrix?
Yet, let me yell this from the house top.... all ERDAS IMAGINE and LPS customers with current Software Maintenance (SWM) will be receiving this 'new' MosaicPro in version 2010. It is a real gem. You will be impressed.
Here are some early tests:
Dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, standard disks, Vista Business
Load 3840 images:
9.3.2 16:40 minutes; 463 MB RAM
2010 3:05 minutes; 98 MB RAM
Load 4896 images:
9.3.2 35:06 minutes; 669 MB RAM
2010 4:16 minutes; 113 MB RAM
Cutline Generation on 4896 images:
9.3.2 45:47 minutes; 1,606 MB RAM
2010 01:41 minutes; 125 MB RAM
Mosaicking 127 images:
9.3.2 41:41 minutes
2010 29:11 minutes
Dual Quad-core 2.328 GHz CPU, 16GB RAM, average speed disk array, XP-64
Mosaicking 3982 images:
9.3.2 Not possible
2010 >700GB output file in under 2.5 days
Mosaicking 1147 images:
9.3.2 Not possible
2010 >2.6TB output file in under 5.5 days
All processes used a maximum of just over 800MB of RAM. We researched using more RAM with MosaicPro and found it does not help. This is because we have tuned it so thoroughly that the bottleneck is now the operating system’s thread handling, and hard disk I/O. So, it is time to test fast disks.
But, when using the new added ECW / JPEG2000 direct-write from MosaicPro, MosaicPro will need more RAM. We are working on that as well. We expect we can protect the speed while shrinking down the memory requirement significantly. We expect this will occur in version 2010.1 (Sprilg 2010) or version 2011 (Fall 2010).
Now, we are ready to take MosaicPro to 64-bit. As you can see, when ERDAS goes to 64-bit, we will really take advantage of what 64-bit can really do. Many companies have used a 64-bit port to mask their sloppy coding by accessing more RAM. Not at ERDAS! We know there are a lot of issues surrounding true speed improvement and large file handling. We want our loyal customers to have it all! (http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2009/02/benefits-of-64-bit-architecture-in.html)
Personally, I enjoy looking at ERDAS IMAGINE as a CPU race-car entry. Maybe we can get Intel to test MosaicPro as it does ECW in its performance testing matrix?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Return to Singapore
After 16 years and 11 months, I am returning to Singapore. In September 1992 I traveled to Singapore with Karen Willoughby, Bruce Rado and Jack Dangermond; followed up by Adelaide, Australia. The trip was to attend the 1992 South Asia and OZRI User Group Meetings (UGM). In those days, ERDAS and ESRI held joint international UGMs as most of our distributors sold both companies products and the companies were considered business partners.
At the UGMs I presented a pre–release version of ERDAS IMAGINE 8.0.2. The products I presented were the recently released IMAGINE Digital Ortho and the soon to be released WYSIWYG Map Composer, IMAGINE Vector Module, and the graphic flow chart model builder enhancement to Spatial Modeler script language, Model Maker.
During the same meetings, Jack presented ESRI’s soon to be released product, ArcView. This was ESRI’s move to a graphical user interface. While ERDAS IMAGINE had already made the jump in 1991, ESRI was making the jump in 1992.
When we had some quiet time, Jack demoed ArcView to me and answered my questions. I was impressed at the simplicity of the product. I recognized it a difficult task to take niche technology and create a product to reach out to a wider, non-geospatial trained community. As I discussed ArcView with him, I saw that the product could make that transition.
After we finished looking and discussing ArcView, Jack said he wanted to see IMAGINE Model Maker. Of course, I ran the models that I had planned to run and knew the models would run. Then, as I did to Jack, he asked me to do things that were not planned. He wanted a specific model built from the beginning. I cannot remember the models, but I built and ran them… no problems (ArcView had crashed all over the place on Jack when I asked for specific things).
Almost 17 years later, ArcView has grown up to ArcGIS. For the release of ArcGIS 9.0 in 2004, ESRI copied the Model Maker idea to create Model Builder. ArcView targeted a horizontal expansion of the market and Model Maker targeted a deeper penetration in the existing market. Both product ideas are powerful and have succeeded.
Where will geo-processing be in another 16 years and 11 months? As for ERDAS IMAGINE, imagine that ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 is just the beginning.
At the UGMs I presented a pre–release version of ERDAS IMAGINE 8.0.2. The products I presented were the recently released IMAGINE Digital Ortho and the soon to be released WYSIWYG Map Composer, IMAGINE Vector Module, and the graphic flow chart model builder enhancement to Spatial Modeler script language, Model Maker.
During the same meetings, Jack presented ESRI’s soon to be released product, ArcView. This was ESRI’s move to a graphical user interface. While ERDAS IMAGINE had already made the jump in 1991, ESRI was making the jump in 1992.
When we had some quiet time, Jack demoed ArcView to me and answered my questions. I was impressed at the simplicity of the product. I recognized it a difficult task to take niche technology and create a product to reach out to a wider, non-geospatial trained community. As I discussed ArcView with him, I saw that the product could make that transition.
After we finished looking and discussing ArcView, Jack said he wanted to see IMAGINE Model Maker. Of course, I ran the models that I had planned to run and knew the models would run. Then, as I did to Jack, he asked me to do things that were not planned. He wanted a specific model built from the beginning. I cannot remember the models, but I built and ran them… no problems (ArcView had crashed all over the place on Jack when I asked for specific things).
Almost 17 years later, ArcView has grown up to ArcGIS. For the release of ArcGIS 9.0 in 2004, ESRI copied the Model Maker idea to create Model Builder. ArcView targeted a horizontal expansion of the market and Model Maker targeted a deeper penetration in the existing market. Both product ideas are powerful and have succeeded.
Where will geo-processing be in another 16 years and 11 months? As for ERDAS IMAGINE, imagine that ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 is just the beginning.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
IMAGINE Your Future (The Map of the Future is an Intelligent Image)
Here is a corporate video I believe was created from interviews made during the 1991 ERDAS User Group Meeting at SwissHotel; and completed during the spring of 1992. I am in this video at about 3:48. Thanks are due to Rob Luxeder (in the video at 6:08) for finding this jewel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2L0dJBHZBw
People I see in the video are: Doug Stowe, Rudolph Richter, Bob Parrott, Kass Green, Richard Lacey, Gail MacAulay, Bill Newland, Roger Hoffer, Oliver Weatherbee, John Althausen (both then students at South Carolina), Bruce Rado, Lawrie Jordan, Brad Skelton, Jeff Dooley, Steve Sperry, Cheryl Brantley, Andy Zusmanis, Andy Bury, Xinghe Yang, Stan Quinn, Donn Rodekohr, Kurt Schwoppe, Barrie Collins, Rob Luxeder, Mike Schlemmer, Fred Woods, Andrea Gernazian, Hongyue Lin, Bill Sharp, Lynn Davis and Paul Beaty.
Who can you find?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2L0dJBHZBw
People I see in the video are: Doug Stowe, Rudolph Richter, Bob Parrott, Kass Green, Richard Lacey, Gail MacAulay, Bill Newland, Roger Hoffer, Oliver Weatherbee, John Althausen (both then students at South Carolina), Bruce Rado, Lawrie Jordan, Brad Skelton, Jeff Dooley, Steve Sperry, Cheryl Brantley, Andy Zusmanis, Andy Bury, Xinghe Yang, Stan Quinn, Donn Rodekohr, Kurt Schwoppe, Barrie Collins, Rob Luxeder, Mike Schlemmer, Fred Woods, Andrea Gernazian, Hongyue Lin, Bill Sharp, Lynn Davis and Paul Beaty.
Who can you find?
See the Brief History of ERDAS IMAGINE in this blog here: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2009/04/brief-history-of-erdas-imagine.html
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Reprojecting Compressed Images
Have you ever had a very large compressed image you needed to reproject? The challenge is, you do not want to reproject to a new uncompressed version of the image file and then re-compress.
Have you used Calibration in ERDAS IMAGINE?
Let’s say you have a 2GB 20:1 MrSID compressed color infrared (CIR) image you need to deliver to an ArcGIS user in your organization. The last thing you want to do is resample and re-compress, right? That takes too much disk space and time.
Display the image in the Viewer, select Raster > Geometric Correct > Reprojection. On the dialog that appears, select the new projection and then select the ‘ruler’ on the Geo Correction Tools dialog to calibrate the image.
This process will create a .aux for you MrSID file storing the mathematical model to reproject the image on-the-fly.
Deliver both the MrSID image and the .aux file to your ArcGIS friend. That as fast and simple.
Notes:
Have you used Calibration in ERDAS IMAGINE?
Let’s say you have a 2GB 20:1 MrSID compressed color infrared (CIR) image you need to deliver to an ArcGIS user in your organization. The last thing you want to do is resample and re-compress, right? That takes too much disk space and time.
Display the image in the Viewer, select Raster > Geometric Correct > Reprojection. On the dialog that appears, select the new projection and then select the ‘ruler’ on the Geo Correction Tools dialog to calibrate the image.
This process will create a .aux for you MrSID file storing the mathematical model to reproject the image on-the-fly.
Deliver both the MrSID image and the .aux file to your ArcGIS friend. That as fast and simple.
Notes:
- Starting ERDAS IMAGINE 9.2+, the IMAGINE MrSID encoders write full projection information to the MrSID header. WKT strings are written to MG2, and WKT strings and GeoTIFF tags to MG3 data.
- With this change, the need for .sdw files and .aux files for map and projection data are no longer needed, but are available.
Monday, July 6, 2009
ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 will have a Shoebox, what is that?
In the new Ribbon Interface for ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 we will add a new feature named, "Shoebox." The idea is to provide the customer a easy to use tool where a list of the data they are likely to use in a project are readily available. The Shoebox will not load the data in a database, but rather create an XML list of the locations of the data.
Hammad Kahn outlines some of the basic concepts of the Shoebox in, “Kicking Around With the Shoebox,” found at labs.erdas.com. Some of you have commented and asked questions below the article.
We may seem a little vague at times when discussing things on labs.erdas.com because it may not be the right time to discuss the more strategic features and future of new tool. Please do not feel we are offended when we side-step a question. In fact, we will use the specific question to help refine the new tool and from time-to-time contact you in private for clarification.
Anyway, please check out Kicking Around With the Shoebox at: http://labs.erdas.com/blog_view.aspx?q=6098
Hammad Kahn outlines some of the basic concepts of the Shoebox in, “Kicking Around With the Shoebox,” found at labs.erdas.com. Some of you have commented and asked questions below the article.
We may seem a little vague at times when discussing things on labs.erdas.com because it may not be the right time to discuss the more strategic features and future of new tool. Please do not feel we are offended when we side-step a question. In fact, we will use the specific question to help refine the new tool and from time-to-time contact you in private for clarification.
Anyway, please check out Kicking Around With the Shoebox at: http://labs.erdas.com/blog_view.aspx?q=6098
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Consolidated Mosaic
Consolidated Mosaic is a working name for a new mosaic paradigm that will be introduced in ERDAS IMAGINE 2010. Consider the different tools ERDAS, Inc. has for mosaicking images:
- ERDAS IMAGINE's MosaicTool (original mosaic tools, good defaults options)
- ERDAS MosaicPro (advanced MosaicTool, easy cutlines, ortho-correct from block files )
- ERDAS ER Mapper Mosaic (fast virtual mosaic, a lot of capacity, limited capability)
- ERDAS ER Mapper Color Balance (fast color balance, limited to true color)
- ERDAS Image Compressor (fast ECW and JPEG 2000 compression)
- ERDAS IMAGINE's MosaicDirect (Wizard to feed to MosaicPro and batch)
- ERDAS IMAGINE's MosaicWizard (Wizard to process mosaic)
- ERDAS IMAGINE's Virtual Mosaic (more capability than ER Mapper Mosaic, less capacity)
What if we combined these products in a single product? What if you could mosaic >2.5 terapixels of data straight into a single >2.5 terapixel IMG, or to a 20:1 compressed ECW, or to a lossless compressed JPEG2000 image. What if you could break that >2.5 terapixel mosaic into tiles with your shapefiles (and it has no temp files)? What if you could do all this within a 32-bit operating system environment?
If you think this can help you, keep your eyes open for a WebEx or an erdas labs discussion on this topic very soon.
I gave you a hint of where we were going when I asked Hammad to post to The Field Guide in: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2009/02/benefits-of-64-bit-architecture-in.html
Monday, June 8, 2009
Web Demo of ERDAS Enterprise Server Products
Recently, ERDAS placed web demos of ERDAS Enterprise Server Products on the web for the world to play with. The data are from Cherokee County, Georgia. I believe the speed is incredible. Give it a look at: http://demo.erdas.com/
If you wish, compare to the online mapping of: http://www.richlandmaps.com/#mapping
If you wish, compare to the online mapping of: http://www.richlandmaps.com/#mapping
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Preview the Future of ERDAS IMAGINE and more on ERDAS Labs
This is going to be fun....
ERDAS Inc. announces the launch of ERDAS Labs, an informative new site highlighting technology currently being developed.
“ERDAS Labs provides the market and our customers a window into our product development activities; whether it’s a concept or idea we’re exploring, or a new feature under development for a product,” said Bruce Chaplin, Senior Vice President, Product Development, ERDAS. “We’ll showcase projects under active development, engaging our customers in conversations about these projects and soliciting their feedback.”
Whether it is an innovative new idea being explored or a major new feature being implemented for the next version of a product, ERDAS Labs provides a forum for discussion with the development team.
Visit http://labs.erdas.com/.
ERDAS Inc. announces the launch of ERDAS Labs, an informative new site highlighting technology currently being developed.
“ERDAS Labs provides the market and our customers a window into our product development activities; whether it’s a concept or idea we’re exploring, or a new feature under development for a product,” said Bruce Chaplin, Senior Vice President, Product Development, ERDAS. “We’ll showcase projects under active development, engaging our customers in conversations about these projects and soliciting their feedback.”
Whether it is an innovative new idea being explored or a major new feature being implemented for the next version of a product, ERDAS Labs provides a forum for discussion with the development team.
Visit http://labs.erdas.com/.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Vote Early and Vote Often
Please cast your vote for the image file formats you use.
Пожалуйста отдайте свой голос за формат или форматы, которые Вы чаще всего используете.
Para favor lance seu voto para os formatos de arquivo de imagem que você usa.
Vote para favor para los formatos de archivo de imagen que usted utiliza.
S'il vous plaît voter pour les formats de dossier d'image vous utilisez.
使用されている画像フォーマットの投票に参加してください。
请为你使用的图像文件格式投票。
Stem alstublieft op de raster formaten die u het meest gebruikt.
Bitte wählen Sie die Bildformate, mit welchen Sie arbeiten.
Per favore di lanciare il suo voto per i formati di file di immagine lei usa.
Behag støp din stemme for avbildene arkivene formatene som du bruker.
The "Vote Early and Vote Often" phrase in the US is a humorous way of saying, "Make sure you vote, and vote in each election." It appears I am saying, "Vote early in the morning and vote many times during the same election." That is illegal and morally wrong. I would be disappointed in someone who would do that.
Пожалуйста отдайте свой голос за формат или форматы, которые Вы чаще всего используете.
Para favor lance seu voto para os formatos de arquivo de imagem que você usa.
Vote para favor para los formatos de archivo de imagen que usted utiliza.
S'il vous plaît voter pour les formats de dossier d'image vous utilisez.
使用されている画像フォーマットの投票に参加してください。
请为你使用的图像文件格式投票。
Stem alstublieft op de raster formaten die u het meest gebruikt.
Bitte wählen Sie die Bildformate, mit welchen Sie arbeiten.
Per favore di lanciare il suo voto per i formati di file di immagine lei usa.
Behag støp din stemme for avbildene arkivene formatene som du bruker.
The "Vote Early and Vote Often" phrase in the US is a humorous way of saying, "Make sure you vote, and vote in each election." It appears I am saying, "Vote early in the morning and vote many times during the same election." That is illegal and morally wrong. I would be disappointed in someone who would do that.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Scanned Aerial Photo Pixel Size Determination
Many GIS people are collecting historical aerial photos to understand the changes in their areas of responsibility. I became interested in historical aerial photos when a student of Drs. John Jensen and Dave Cowan at the University of South Carolina (Dept. of Geography). One of Jensen’s graduate teaching assistants gave us a stereo pair of black and white aerial photos for us to use in our aerial photo interpretation lab. Among the tasks we had to perform was to decide what part of the US the photos covered. It was a trick question.
The stereo pairs were from the late 1930s, had smoothly rolling terrain, and were mostly covered by hay, corn and other crops. Trees were only located to provide shade for homes and along the larger streams. All but one student guessed Kansas was the area. The one who guessed differently said Nebraska (he was from Nebraska). We were all wrong. It was from Laurens County, South Carolina about 60 miles north of the university. Look on Google today.
We missed it because in 1989 (and today) when we drove through the area, there was little farming and the area was mostly covered by trees. But if we had looked carefully, we would have noticed that most of the trees were less than 50 years old.
So, thus began an interest in historical aerial imagery. The chart below was born at that time when I was a graduate student and working at South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The stereo pairs were from the late 1930s, had smoothly rolling terrain, and were mostly covered by hay, corn and other crops. Trees were only located to provide shade for homes and along the larger streams. All but one student guessed Kansas was the area. The one who guessed differently said Nebraska (he was from Nebraska). We were all wrong. It was from Laurens County, South Carolina about 60 miles north of the university. Look on Google today.
We missed it because in 1989 (and today) when we drove through the area, there was little farming and the area was mostly covered by trees. But if we had looked carefully, we would have noticed that most of the trees were less than 50 years old.
So, thus began an interest in historical aerial imagery. The chart below was born at that time when I was a graduate student and working at South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
1:40000 | 1:9600 | 1:4800 | 1:2400 | 1:1200 | |||||||
DPI | Microns | Feet | Meters | Feet | Meters | Feet | C'meters | Inches | C'meters | Inches | C'meters |
508 | 50 | 6.56 | 2.00 | 1.57 | 0.48 | 0.79 | 24.00 | 4.72 | 12.00 | 2.36 | 6.00 |
635 | 40 | 5.25 | 1.60 | 1.26 | 0.38 | 0.63 | 19.20 | 3.78 | 9.60 | 1.89 | 4.80 |
847 | 30 | 3.94 | 1.20 | 0.94 | 0.29 | 0.47 | 14.40 | 2.83 | 7.20 | 1.42 | 3.60 |
1016 | 25 | 3.28 | 1.00 | 0.79 | 0.24 | 0.39 | 12.00 | 2.36 | 6.00 | 1.18 | 3.00 |
1270 | 20 | 2.62 | 0.80 | 0.63 | 0.19 | 0.31 | 9.60 | 1.89 | 4.80 | 0.94 | 2.40 |
1411 | 18 | 2.36 | 0.72 | 0.57 | 0.17 | 0.28 | 8.64 | 1.70 | 4.32 | 0.85 | 2.16 |
1814 | 14 | 1.84 | 0.56 | 0.44 | 0.13 | 0.22 | 6.72 | 1.32 | 3.36 | 0.66 | 1.68 |
2540 | 10 | 1.31 | 0.40 | 0.31 | 0.10 | 0.16 | 4.80 | 0.94 | 2.40 | 0.47 | 1.20 |
3629 | 7 | 0.92 | 0.28 | 0.22 | 0.07 | 0.11 | 3.36 | 0.66 | 1.68 | 0.33 | 0.84 |
- These are in photo scales; not in map scales.
- Diapositive or negative transparencies provide the best results. The original scan resolution should be at least 20% smaller than the final pixel size. Scanning images above 50 microns will make it difficult to measure fiducials correctly, and is discouraged when doing ortho-correction.
- The best available resolution is determined from the "Camera Calibration Report" in the "Lens Resolving Power" section. Depending on the quality of the camera, lens and film; resolution quality will vary across the image. 1000 / Tangential Line value will calculate the available resolution of the image in microns. As an example, cameras used to capture US Geological Survey (USGS) National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) imagery typically had a maximum resolving ability from 8.85 to 15.38 microns. Using this information, the USGS typically scanned CIR NAPP imagery at 14 microns.
- Below is a graphic Spatial Model to convert scanned negatives to positives. It is simply each digital number minus 255 (if the data are 8-bit). You may wish to add another step to the model to the model eliminate all zero and 255 values. Remote sensing software (including ERDAS IMAGINE) like zero as the background values (black). ESRI's ArcGIS likes 255 as the background value (white). The difference comes from image analysts wanting a black background to ease eye strain, while GIS analysts wanting a white background for the map composition. Although the ArcGIS user could make the 255 values transparent, many are not familiar with this option. Thus ESRI made it simple for their customers.
PAGESIZE 6, 8 INCHES;
CELLSIZE MINIMUM;
PRINTERPAGESIZE 8.5, 11;
MARGINS 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5;
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT;
PRINTSCALE 100;
WINDOW UNION;
PROJECTION DEFAULT;
AOI NONE;
OPTIMIZE NO;
RASTER {
ID 1;
TITLE "n1_memory";
POSITION 0.833329, 0.666667;
TEMPFILE;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE FLOAT;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
FUNCTION {
ID 2;
TITLE "$n1_memory";
POSITION 1.68889, 1.91111;
VALUE "$n1_memory - 255";
AREA UNION;
CHILD 3;
}
RASTER {
ID 3;
TITLE "n3_memory";
POSITION 2.54444, 3.28889;
TEMPFILE;
NEWFILE;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE FLOAT;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
}
Friday, May 22, 2009
Fill Holes and Slivers in Imagery (Table of Values)
Here is a graphic Spatial Model (PaulBeaty_HoleFiller_Table.gmd) I created when I was at Georgia Tech. It fills DEM and other raster data (including imagery) holes and slivers with data calculated values from surrounding pixel values. These 1, 2 and sometimes 3 pixel wide artifacts are common to users who have reprojected butt-matched raster data. This model finds the "to-be-replaced" values from a table of values and determines whether a 3 x 3 or 5 x 5 focal mean should be applied. The model ignores the replacement values when calculating the focal mean.
Copy and paste the text below into a text editor and save as ANSI text file without the text editor's formatting. Save as PaulBeaty_HoleFiller_Table.gmd and open in Model Maker.
PAGESIZE 6.04444, 8.73889 INCHES;
CELLSIZE MINIMUM;
PRINTERPAGESIZE 8.5, 11;
MARGINS 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5;
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT;
PRINTSCALE 100;
WINDOW INTERSECTION;
PROJECTION DEFAULT;
AOI NONE;
OPTIMIZE YES;
RASTER {
ID 1;
TITLE "n1_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.855556, 1.4;
PROMPT;
IGNORE 0;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE UNSIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
AREA RECT 26, -2.079167 : 26.628333, -5.184167;
AOI NONE;
RECODE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
FUNCTION {
ID 2;
TITLE "EITHER";
POSITION 2.18889, 3.21111;
VALUE "EITHER (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n6_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer ) ) IF ( (FOCAL MAJORITY ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass ) == $n28_Custom_Integer) ) OR (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer ) ) OTHERWISE";
AREA UNION;
CHILD 4;
}
MATRIX {
ID 3;
TITLE "n3_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.42222, 5.36667;
SIZE 3, 3;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
RASTER {
ID 4;
TITLE "n4_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.944445, 5.24444;
PROMPT;
NEWFILE;
IGNORE 0;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE UNSIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
}
MATRIX {
ID 6;
TITLE "n6_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.26667, 1.68889;
SIZE 5, 5;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 7;
TITLE "Repair Holes and Slivers using a Table of Values";
POSITION 2.67778, 0.344445;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 18;
}
TEXT {
ID 8;
TITLE "5 x 5 filter";
POSITION 3.26667, 0.988889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 10;
TITLE "Value(s) to Replace";
POSITION 0.788889, 2.57778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 11;
TITLE "3 x 3 filter";
POSITION 3.52222, 4.66667;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 13;
TITLE "Conditional statement to determine";
POSITION 3.8, 2.78889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 14;
TITLE "which filter is more appropriate. If a majority";
POSITION 4.06667, 2.96667;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 15;
TITLE "of the pixels are the \"Value(s) to Replace,\"";
POSITION 4.01111, 3.18889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 16;
TITLE "the 5 x 5 filter is used. Otherwise, ";
POSITION 3.8, 3.38889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 17;
TITLE "the 3 x 3 filter is used.";
POSITION 3.4, 3.58889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 18;
TITLE "Be sure to define the correct";
POSITION 1.03333, 6.23333;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 19;
TITLE "\"Data Type\" in the output file.";
POSITION 1.03333, 6.43333;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 20;
TITLE "Created in IMAGINE 8.4 - Developed by Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.72222, 7.08889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 21;
TITLE "Center for Geographic Information Systems";
POSITION 2.72222, 7.47778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 22;
TITLE "Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta Georgia, USA";
POSITION 2.82222, 7.65556;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 26;
TITLE "Both filters ignore the \"Value(s) to Replace\"";
POSITION 4.06667, 3.77778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 27;
TITLE "when calculating the mean.";
POSITION 3.58889, 3.98889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TABLE {
ID 28;
TITLE "n28_Custom_Integer";
POSITION 0.744445, 3.21111;
SIZE 4;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
VALUE 0, 10, 20, 30;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 29;
TITLE "Add and delete values";
POSITION 0.8, 4.08889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 30;
TITLE "Integer or float?";
POSITION 0.777778, 4.27778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 31;
TITLE "Modified in IMAGINE 8.7 - Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.71111, 7.27778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
Copy and paste the text below into a text editor and save as ANSI text file without the text editor's formatting. Save as PaulBeaty_HoleFiller_Table.gmd and open in Model Maker.
PAGESIZE 6.04444, 8.73889 INCHES;
CELLSIZE MINIMUM;
PRINTERPAGESIZE 8.5, 11;
MARGINS 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5;
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT;
PRINTSCALE 100;
WINDOW INTERSECTION;
PROJECTION DEFAULT;
AOI NONE;
OPTIMIZE YES;
RASTER {
ID 1;
TITLE "n1_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.855556, 1.4;
PROMPT;
IGNORE 0;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE UNSIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
AREA RECT 26, -2.079167 : 26.628333, -5.184167;
AOI NONE;
RECODE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
FUNCTION {
ID 2;
TITLE "EITHER";
POSITION 2.18889, 3.21111;
VALUE "EITHER (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n6_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer ) ) IF ( (FOCAL MAJORITY ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass ) == $n28_Custom_Integer) ) OR (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n28_Custom_Integer ) ) OTHERWISE";
AREA UNION;
CHILD 4;
}
MATRIX {
ID 3;
TITLE "n3_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.42222, 5.36667;
SIZE 3, 3;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
RASTER {
ID 4;
TITLE "n4_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.944445, 5.24444;
PROMPT;
NEWFILE;
IGNORE 0;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE UNSIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
}
MATRIX {
ID 6;
TITLE "n6_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.26667, 1.68889;
SIZE 5, 5;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 7;
TITLE "Repair Holes and Slivers using a Table of Values";
POSITION 2.67778, 0.344445;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 18;
}
TEXT {
ID 8;
TITLE "5 x 5 filter";
POSITION 3.26667, 0.988889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 10;
TITLE "Value(s) to Replace";
POSITION 0.788889, 2.57778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 11;
TITLE "3 x 3 filter";
POSITION 3.52222, 4.66667;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 13;
TITLE "Conditional statement to determine";
POSITION 3.8, 2.78889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 14;
TITLE "which filter is more appropriate. If a majority";
POSITION 4.06667, 2.96667;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 15;
TITLE "of the pixels are the \"Value(s) to Replace,\"";
POSITION 4.01111, 3.18889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 16;
TITLE "the 5 x 5 filter is used. Otherwise, ";
POSITION 3.8, 3.38889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 17;
TITLE "the 3 x 3 filter is used.";
POSITION 3.4, 3.58889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 18;
TITLE "Be sure to define the correct";
POSITION 1.03333, 6.23333;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 19;
TITLE "\"Data Type\" in the output file.";
POSITION 1.03333, 6.43333;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 20;
TITLE "Created in IMAGINE 8.4 - Developed by Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.72222, 7.08889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 21;
TITLE "Center for Geographic Information Systems";
POSITION 2.72222, 7.47778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 22;
TITLE "Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta Georgia, USA";
POSITION 2.82222, 7.65556;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 26;
TITLE "Both filters ignore the \"Value(s) to Replace\"";
POSITION 4.06667, 3.77778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 27;
TITLE "when calculating the mean.";
POSITION 3.58889, 3.98889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TABLE {
ID 28;
TITLE "n28_Custom_Integer";
POSITION 0.744445, 3.21111;
SIZE 4;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
VALUE 0, 10, 20, 30;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 29;
TITLE "Add and delete values";
POSITION 0.8, 4.08889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 30;
TITLE "Integer or float?";
POSITION 0.777778, 4.27778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 31;
TITLE "Modified in IMAGINE 8.7 - Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.71111, 7.27778;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
Fill Holes and Slivers in Imagery (Single Value)
Here is a graphic Spatial Model (PaulBeaty_HoleFiller.gmd) I created when I was at Georgia Tech. It fills DEM and other raster data (including imagery) holes and slivers with data calculated values from surrounding pixel values. These 1, 2 and sometimes 3 pixel wide artifacts are common to users who have reprojected butt-matched raster data. This model finds the "to-be-replaced" value and determines whether a 3 x 3 or 5 x 5 focal mean should be applied. The model ignores the replacement value when calculating the focal mean.
Copy and paste the text below into a text editor and save as ANSI text file without the text editor's formatting. Save as PaulBeaty_HoleFiller.gmd and open in Model Maker.
PAGESIZE 6.04444, 8.83889 INCHES;
CELLSIZE MINIMUM;
PRINTERPAGESIZE 8.5, 11;
MARGINS 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5;
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT;
PRINTSCALE 100;
WINDOW INTERSECTION;
PROJECTION DEFAULT;
AOI NONE;
OPTIMIZE YES;
RASTER {
ID 1;
TITLE "n1_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.8, 1.7;
PROMPT;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE SIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
AOI NONE;
RECODE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
FUNCTION {
ID 2;
TITLE "EITHER";
POSITION 2, 3.3;
VALUE "EITHER (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n6_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n5_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n5_Integer ) ) IF ( (FOCAL MAJORITY ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass ) == $n5_Integer) ) OR (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n5_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n5_Integer ) ) OTHERWISE";
AREA UNION;
CHILD 4;
}
MATRIX {
ID 3;
TITLE "n3_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.3, 5.9;
SIZE 3, 3;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
RASTER {
ID 4;
TITLE "n4_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.988889, 5.5;
PROMPT;
NEWFILE;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE SIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
}
SCALAR {
ID 5;
TITLE "n5_Integer";
POSITION 0.6, 4;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
VALUE -32767;
SHOW;
CHILD 2;
}
MATRIX {
ID 6;
TITLE "n6_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.2, 1.8;
SIZE 5, 5;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 7;
TITLE "Repair DEM Holes and Slivers";
POSITION 2.4, 0.5;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 18;
}
TEXT {
ID 8;
TITLE "5 x 5 filter";
POSITION 3.2, 1.1;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 10;
TITLE "Value to Replace";
POSITION 0.644444, 3.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 11;
TITLE "3 x 3 filter";
POSITION 3.4, 5.2;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 13;
TITLE "Conditional statement to determine";
POSITION 3.7, 2.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 14;
TITLE "which filter is appropriate. If a majority";
POSITION 3.8, 3;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 15;
TITLE "of the pixels are the \"Value to Replace,\"";
POSITION 3.83333, 3.18889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 16;
TITLE "the 5 x 5 filter is used. Otherwise, ";
POSITION 3.7, 3.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 17;
TITLE "the 3 x 3 filter is used.";
POSITION 3.3, 3.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 18;
TITLE "Be sure to define the correct";
POSITION 1.2, 6.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 19;
TITLE "\"Data Type\" in the output file.";
POSITION 1.2, 6.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 20;
TITLE "Created in IMAGINE 8.4 - Developed by Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.7, 7.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 21;
TITLE "Center for Geographic Information Systems";
POSITION 2.7, 7.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 22;
TITLE "Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta Georgia, USA";
POSITION 2.8, 7.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 26;
TITLE "Both filters ignore the \"Value to Replace\"";
POSITION 3.9, 3.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 27;
TITLE "when calculating the mean.";
POSITION 3.48889, 4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
Copy and paste the text below into a text editor and save as ANSI text file without the text editor's formatting. Save as PaulBeaty_HoleFiller.gmd and open in Model Maker.
PAGESIZE 6.04444, 8.83889 INCHES;
CELLSIZE MINIMUM;
PRINTERPAGESIZE 8.5, 11;
MARGINS 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5;
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT;
PRINTSCALE 100;
WINDOW INTERSECTION;
PROJECTION DEFAULT;
AOI NONE;
OPTIMIZE YES;
RASTER {
ID 1;
TITLE "n1_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.8, 1.7;
PROMPT;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE SIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
AOI NONE;
RECODE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
FUNCTION {
ID 2;
TITLE "EITHER";
POSITION 2, 3.3;
VALUE "EITHER (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n6_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n5_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n5_Integer ) ) IF ( (FOCAL MAJORITY ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass ) == $n5_Integer) ) OR (FOCAL MEAN ( $n1_PROMPT_USER , $n3_Low_Pass , IGNORE_VALUE $n5_Integer , APPLY_AT_VALUE $n5_Integer ) ) OTHERWISE";
AREA UNION;
CHILD 4;
}
MATRIX {
ID 3;
TITLE "n3_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.3, 5.9;
SIZE 3, 3;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
RASTER {
ID 4;
TITLE "n4_PROMPT_USER";
POSITION 0.988889, 5.5;
PROMPT;
NEWFILE;
INTERPOLATION NEAREST;
ATHEMATIC;
DATATYPE SIGNED16;
DECLARE "Integer";
COMPRESSION UNCOMPRESSED;
COORDINATES MAP;
RECODE NO;
}
SCALAR {
ID 5;
TITLE "n5_Integer";
POSITION 0.6, 4;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
VALUE -32767;
SHOW;
CHILD 2;
}
MATRIX {
ID 6;
TITLE "n6_Low_Pass";
POSITION 3.2, 1.8;
SIZE 5, 5;
DATATYPE SIGNED32;
BUILTIN LOWPASS;
VALUE 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
1, 1, 1, 1, 1;
NORMALIZE NO;
CHILD 2;
}
TEXT {
ID 7;
TITLE "Repair DEM Holes and Slivers";
POSITION 2.4, 0.5;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 18;
}
TEXT {
ID 8;
TITLE "5 x 5 filter";
POSITION 3.2, 1.1;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 10;
TITLE "Value to Replace";
POSITION 0.644444, 3.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 11;
TITLE "3 x 3 filter";
POSITION 3.4, 5.2;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 12;
}
TEXT {
ID 13;
TITLE "Conditional statement to determine";
POSITION 3.7, 2.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 14;
TITLE "which filter is appropriate. If a majority";
POSITION 3.8, 3;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 15;
TITLE "of the pixels are the \"Value to Replace,\"";
POSITION 3.83333, 3.18889;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 16;
TITLE "the 5 x 5 filter is used. Otherwise, ";
POSITION 3.7, 3.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 17;
TITLE "the 3 x 3 filter is used.";
POSITION 3.3, 3.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 18;
TITLE "Be sure to define the correct";
POSITION 1.2, 6.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 19;
TITLE "\"Data Type\" in the output file.";
POSITION 1.2, 6.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 20;
TITLE "Created in IMAGINE 8.4 - Developed by Paul Beaty";
POSITION 2.7, 7.4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 21;
TITLE "Center for Geographic Information Systems";
POSITION 2.7, 7.6;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 22;
TITLE "Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta Georgia, USA";
POSITION 2.8, 7.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 26;
TITLE "Both filters ignore the \"Value to Replace\"";
POSITION 3.9, 3.8;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
TEXT {
ID 27;
TITLE "when calculating the mean.";
POSITION 3.48889, 4;
FONT "new century schoolbook";
SIZE 10;
}
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A Brief History of ERDAS IMAGINE
+++While this blog post was originally in April 2009, I have added to it to keep it up-to-date on releases and new information uncovered in my historical research.+++
I thought I would take some time to briefly outline some of the major points in the history of ERDAS IMAGINE. I have rebuilt this history from "What's New" PowerPoints, "What's New" documents, software documentation, release plans, software media, software code, advertisements, and personal interviews.
Since its beginning, ERDAS software was designed to be a blend of remote sensing and GIS analysis capabilities. Combining remote sensing with GIS allowed ERDAS to deliver a product which analyzed existing geospatial information and create updated information for re-analysis rather than use outdated data; allowing the customer to make the most informed decision on the their part of an ever changing world. Combining remote sensing and GIS analysis capabilities made the ERDAS software a true decision support tool as a GIS is intended to be (Cowen, D. PE&RS, Nov 1988).
From the 1984 ERDAS 2400 Users' Manual Page 1-1 we read,
"In early 1979 a group of the multi-disciplinary professionals (including Planners, Landscape Architects, Geologists, Remote Sensing Specialists, and Electrical Engineers) collaborated on the design of a microcomputer-based geographic information system to be used for planning and resource analysis applications. This Earth Resources Data Analysis System (ERDAS) was designed to be used by professionals in application areas without requiring a prior knowledge of computers or computer programming. Some of the original major design issues included:
Another page from the first manual may be found here.
Here is an outline of changes in the software from the beginning.
1978, ERDAS 4 introduced (hardware and software turnkey solution)
1997, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.3 released
1998, ERDAS 8.3.1 released on Windows 95 and NT 4.0
1999, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.4 released
2000, ERDAS Stereo Analyst released
2001, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.5 released
2004, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.7 released
2005, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.0 released
2006, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.1 released
2008, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.2, 9.3 and 9.3.1 released
2009, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.3.2 and 2010 released
2010, ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 Versions 10.1, and 2011 released
I thought I would take some time to briefly outline some of the major points in the history of ERDAS IMAGINE. I have rebuilt this history from "What's New" PowerPoints, "What's New" documents, software documentation, release plans, software media, software code, advertisements, and personal interviews.
Since its beginning, ERDAS software was designed to be a blend of remote sensing and GIS analysis capabilities. Combining remote sensing with GIS allowed ERDAS to deliver a product which analyzed existing geospatial information and create updated information for re-analysis rather than use outdated data; allowing the customer to make the most informed decision on the their part of an ever changing world. Combining remote sensing and GIS analysis capabilities made the ERDAS software a true decision support tool as a GIS is intended to be (Cowen, D. PE&RS, Nov 1988).
From the 1984 ERDAS 2400 Users' Manual Page 1-1 we read,
"In early 1979 a group of the multi-disciplinary professionals (including Planners, Landscape Architects, Geologists, Remote Sensing Specialists, and Electrical Engineers) collaborated on the design of a microcomputer-based geographic information system to be used for planning and resource analysis applications. This Earth Resources Data Analysis System (ERDAS) was designed to be used by professionals in application areas without requiring a prior knowledge of computers or computer programming. Some of the original major design issues included:
- The need to integrate LANDSAT remotely sensed imagery into a more comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) with other data sources such as soils, topography, cultural features, etc.
- The design of a “user-friendly” system environment through the use of keyword oriented menus and conversational programs.
- The ability to expand both the system hardware and software over time as new data sources (e.g. LANDSAT 4, digital soils and terrain tapes), new techniques, and new applications needs to be identified.
Another page from the first manual may be found here.
Here is an outline of changes in the software from the beginning.
1978, ERDAS 4 introduced (hardware and software turnkey solution)
- Cromemco microcomputers using the 8-bit Z80 CPU and CDOS operating system
- Built into a desk, color monitor (256 x 256), monitor,
- Two 8" floppy drives (one each for software and data)
- Optional 5MB or 10MB hard disk
- Added CAT 400 display option
- More image processing capabilities
- Large table digitizers to convert existing maps
- Hard disk added (80MB fixed disk and 16MB removable platter), it was the size of a washing machine
- Added PDP 11/24 16-bit processor with 10MB removable hard drive option
- Added CAT 800 display option
- IBM XT using Intel CPU and MSDOS operating system
- Turnkey hardware and software solution
- Color monitor (512 x 512), B&W monitor, one 5.25” floppy drive
- Added menu system to command prompts system
- Jan 1984, first PC license sold to Dr. John R. Jensen at the Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina (then Ph.D candidate Michael E. Hodgson and MS candidate Bruce A. Davis drive to Atlanta to take receipt of turnkey system).
- ERDAS 7.2 on IBM-PC/AT, VAX, Data General and Prime
- Dedicated added dual 1024 x 32-bit display to existing 512 x32-bit display
- Hardware roam, zoom and histogram manipulation
- Over 120 programs (including GIS analysis, topographic & 3D capabilities and classification)
- Menu driven, color scaled hardcopy, 9-track tape handling
- Video digitization of imagery introduced
- Georeferencing of imagery introduced through research on Intelligent Indexing System
- ERDAS – PC ARC/INFO Link (first ERDAS ESRI COTS collaboration) introduced
- Stitch (mosaic) introduced
- Support for CPQ-DOS allowing 32MB partitions
- ERDAS for Sun 3 Workstation introduced
- Classification enhancements, training samples, accuracy assessment, etc.
- Support for large format electrostatic plotters introduced
- ERDAS – PC ARC/INFO Link renamed to ERDAS – ARC/INFO Live Link and added to additional platforms
- GISMO (GIS MOdeling, a script language) introduced
- Uses single display toggle mechanism for customers who cannot afford dual screen configuration
- All commands available, excluding dual screen specific commands
- ERDAS Digital Ortho (single frame resection) on ERDAS 7.5 on Sun Workstations introduced
- Beta version of ERDAS IMAGINE introduced in October 1991 at the ERDAS Users Group Meeting in Atlanta, GA
- Name combined ERDAS brand with IMAGINE, playing off the word image and the concept of creating ideas and data
- First graphical user interface for ERDAS product, replacing former ERDAS menu structure
- Sun Workstation only
- Multiple Viewers, GUI, geographic linking
- Spatial Modeler (GIS script modeling language) replaces GISMO, has over 150 commands
- ERDAS 7.5 delivered much of the processing capability until 8.1 was released in 1994
- IMAGINE Digital Ortho released; upgraded user interface and capability from ERDAS Digital Ortho 7.5
- Model Maker (graphic flow chart model builder enhancement to Spatial Modeler) introduced
- Map Composer (WYSIWYG map composition tools) introduced
- Vector Module (first COTS user interface for editing ESRI Arc Coverage) introduced
- May 1993, phrase "Intelligent Images Map the Future" introduced; in Sept 1993 trademarked to "The Map of the Future is an Intelligent Image"
- OrthoMAX replaces Digital Ortho introduces block-bundle adjustment and DEM creation and stereo editing
- Image Interpreter introduced (build upon Spatial Modeler)
- Radar Interpreter introduced
- Area of Interest (AOI) processing introduced
- Cell Array introduced
- Raster editing and raster attribute editor introduced
- 'Seed' collection tools added to supervised classification
- Multi-threading in Viewer introduced
- Image Catalog Introduced
- AutoWarp (model based automatic image registration) introduced
- Return to PC from UNIX with release of Windows NT product
- Map Series Tool added to Map Composer
- VirtualGIS and NITF introduced
1997, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.3 released
- MosaicTool released Subpixel Classification expanded to more platforms
- ERDAS 8.3.1 for UNIX released at the end of the 1997
1998, ERDAS 8.3.1 released on Windows 95 and NT 4.0
- Renamed IMAGINE Vista to IMAGINE Essentials
- Introduced IMAGINE Advantage
- Renamed IMAGINE Production to IMAGINE Professional
- Native editing of ESRI Arc Coverages without a Vector Module license introduced
- Introduced ERDAS ArcView Image Anlaysis 1.0 (based on ERDAS IMAGINE technology)
- Introduced ERDAS MapSheets 1.0 (based on ERDAS IMAGINE technology)
1999, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.4 released
- StereoSAR DEM and OrthoRadar introduced
- OrthoBASE released replacing OrthoMAX
- ESRI 2D Shapefile and SDE support introduced
- Read capability of LizardTech's MrSID compressed image format introduced
- Batch Tools added
- Fuzzy Classifier and Fuzzy Convolution introduced
- Expert Classifier introduced
- Reprojection on the fly fully implemented
- Break 2.1 GB file barrier, introduce .ige and .rde data extension files
- First deliver of Raster Data Objects (RDO) to ESRI; ERDAS IMAGINE technology imbedded into ArcMap
2000, ERDAS Stereo Analyst released
2001, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.5 released
- OrthoBASE Pro Introduced
- IMAGINE MrSID Encoders introduced
- ESRI Geodatabase support introduced
- ESRI 3D Shapefile support introduced
- Anaglyph stereo image creation introduced
- GLT Viewer introduced
- CIB / CADRG (RPF) production introduced
- Virtual Mosaic, Virtual Layer Stack and Virtual Independent Files introduced
- Spectral Analysis tools for hyperspectral image processing introduced
- Vertical Datum support introduced
- Frame Sampling and Class Grouping Tools introduced
- Dodging added to MosaicTool
2004, ERDAS IMAGINE 8.7 released
- LPS released replacing OrthoBASE Pro
- Terrain Editor, PRO600 and ORIMA introduced to LPS product line
- LPS marketed separately from ERDAS IMAGINE (still based on IMAGINE Technology)
- Multi-threaded added to GLT Viewer
- Fuzzy Recode introduced
- Mosaic Wizard and Mosaic Direct, the engines behind Leica MosaicPro released in 8.7.2 (Feb 2005).
- MrSID Generation 3 read and write support added
2005, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.0 released
- AutoSync introduced
- Oracle Spatial 10g support introduced
- Previously introduced in a minor release, Leica MosaicPro Module released.
2006, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.1 released
- EasyTrace introduced
2008, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.2, 9.3 and 9.3.1 released
- 9.2, Massive improvements to raster roam quality and speed
- 9.3, IMAGINE Subpixel Classifier becomes part of IMAGINE Professional
- 9.3, Massive improvements on vector and annotation display speed
- 9.3, Improvements in MrSID projection support
- 9.3, Initial ERDAS ER Mapper integration efforts released (ECW, joint product licensing)
- 9.3, ECW SDK v3.6 used for ECW and JPEG2000 creation (except for NITF JPEG2000)
- 9.3.1, IMAGINE InSAR replaces IMAGINE IFSAR DEM; Coherence Change Detection introduced
2009, ERDAS IMAGINE 9.3.2 and 2010 released
- 9.3.2, Support for non-Earth map coordinates introduced
- 9.3.2, ECW SDK v 3.6 used for all ECW and JPEG2000 creation (including NITF)
- 2010, Ribbon User Interface introduced
- 2010, ERDAS MosaicPro has massive improvements and is moved into IMAGINE Advantage, no longer a separate module
- 2010, ER Mapper Image Compressor (ECW, JPEG2000 file and mosaic compression) moved into ERDAS IMAGINE
- 2010, LizardTech MrSID metadata added and file handling capacity increased
- 2010, ER Mapper Algorithms moved into ERDAS IMAGINE
- 2010, Parallel Batch Processing introduced to IMAGINE Advantage; 4 per Advantage license
- 2010, IMAGINE SAR Interferometry released (InSAR, CCD and new D-InSAR capabilities in one module)
2010, ERDAS IMAGINE 2010 Versions 10.1, and 2011 released
- 2010 v10.1, ERDAS ECW JPEG2000 SDK v4.1 integrated into ERDAS IMAGINE and ERDAS ER Mapper. Performance improvements for JPEG2000 and ECW are very significant.
- 2010 v10.1, Direct read MrSID DLL performance improved (up to 30% in some applications), direct write to lossless introduced
- 2010 v10.1, 'Large Address Aware' support introduced for Windows 64-bit operating systems
- 2010 v10.1, Image Segmentation memory management introduced for large file handling
- 2010 v10.1 First Spectral Shift Filter from DLR (German Aerospace) introduced in IMAGINE SAR Interferometry
- 2010 v10.1, Transparency masks for ECW and JPEG2000 introduced in ERDAS ER Mapper
- 2011, Transparency masks for ECW and JPEG2000 introduced in ERDAS IMAGINE
- 2011, Further ECW and JPEG2000 performance improvements in Export, MosaicPro and direct write
- 2011, Surface Tool contour generation moved into Terrain Prep Tool
- 2011, Distributed processing added to multi-core processing, 4 per Advantage license or ERDAS Engine
- 2011, Improved Imagery Analysis Workflow within the IMAGINE ribbon replaces GLT
- 2011, LAS Import rasterization incorporates all returns, intensities, classifications and RGB values
- Each version addresses maintenance issues and customer enhancement requests
- Each version expands use of Large Address Aware
- Each version expands map projection support
- 11.0.2, Improved Bing Basemap performance in slower internet areas
- 11.0.2, Added capability to ECW Export to define transparency area via AOI layer
- 11.0.3, Add Spectral Angle and Spectral Correlation Mapper to Supervised Classification
- 11.0.3, Add data re-scaling to MosaicPro
- 11.0.3, Add process distribution of output images tiles in MosaicPro
- 11.0.4, Add support fro GDAL OVRs
- 11.0.5, Improved JP2 decoding inherited from ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK improvements
- 11.0.5, Added 'Live Link' with GeoMedia
- 11.0.5, Added support for GeoMedia Warehouses
- 2013, Asynchronous raster data engine in ERDAS IMAGINE adds rapid pull architecture
- 2013, Spatial Modeler re-designed with new UI, and pull architecture for real-time processing
- 2013, Point cloud visualization in 2D and 3D introduced
- 2013, Point cloud file to file processing added
- 2013, LPS ribbonized
- 2013, ECW/JP2 SDK upgraded, v3 file format introduced
- 2013, Add support for ECW transparency layer (aka opacity or NODATA layer)
- 2013, Realtime vegetation and other indices with new modeler technology
- 2013, Preference Editor redesigned
- 2013, Geomedia vector warehouse support improved
- 2013, Geomedia vector warehouse processing put into 'new' Spatial Modeler
- 2013, MosaicPro performance improved
- 2013, Add support for Point Cloud (LAS)
- 2013, Radar Analyst UI introduced
- 13.00.0002, Upgrade ECW/JP2 SDK verison
- 13.00.0002, Stengthen support for ECW NODATA layer
- 13.00.0002, Speeds up Export ECW
- 2014, Move raster engine, spatial modeler, and MosaicPro to 64-bit applications
- 2014, expand support for Point Cloud (LAS)
- 2014, Upgrade to 64-bit ECW/JP2 SDK
- 14.00.01, Add support for LAZ
- 14.00.01, Add Orient to Map and enhance ECW NODATA Layer support in Export ECW
- 14.00.01, Update to latest ECW/JP2 SDK
- 2015, Significant speed improvements for MosaicPro
- 2015, Expand point cloud editing
- 2015, Expand point cloud processing
- 2015, Add fast point cloud streaming in 2D Viewer from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials
- 2015, Add point cloud volumetric analysis
- 2015, Improve DEM editing in Terrain Editor
- 2015, Add Image Change and Stretch Panel to 2D Viewer
- 2015, Add more Spatial Modeler operators, including RapidAtmospheric and DodgePlus
- 2015, Add new Zonal Change Detection processing engine and review UI
- 2015, Upgrade to latest 64-bit ECW/JP2 SDK
- 15.00.01, Update to latest 64-bit ECW/JP2 SDK
- 15.00.01, Add more Spatial Modeler operators
- At HxGN Live in June in Las Vegas, Mladen Stojic introduces the phrase "The Map of the Future is a Smart M.App". This is a natural extension of the 1993 ERDAS, Inc. trademarked phrase, "The Map of the Future is an Intelligent Image."
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