Evaluation of Cartosat-1 Multi-Scale Digital Surface Modelling Over France.docVIP

Sensors 2009, 9, 3269-3288; doi:10.3390/OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Evaluation of Cartosat-1 Multi-Scale Digital Surface Modelling Over France Marco Gianinetto * Politecnico di Milano, Remote Sensing Laboratory, BEST Department, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy; E-Mail: marco.gianinetto@polimi.it; Tel. +39-02 Fax: +39-02-Received: 30 March 2009; in revised form: 20 April 2009 / Accepted: 29 April 2009 / Published: 29 April 2009 Abstract: On 5 May 2005, the Indian Space Research Organization launched Cartosat-1, the eleventh satellite of its constellation, dedicated to the stereo viewing of the Earth’s surface for terrain modeling and large-scale mapping, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (India). In early 2006, the Indian Space Research Organization started the Cartosat- 1 Scientific Assessment Programme, jointly established with the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Within this framework, this study evaluated the capabilities of digital surface modeling from Cartosat-1 stereo data for the French test sites of Mausanne les Alpilles and Salon de Provence. The investigation pointed out that for hilly territories it is possible to produce high-resolution digital surface models with a root mean square error less than 7.1 m and a linear error at 90% confidence level less than 9.5 m. The accuracy of the generated digital surface models also fulfilled the requirements of the French Reference 3D?, so Cartosat-1 data may be used to produce or update such kinds of products. Keywords: Satellite remote sensing; Cartosat-1; digital surface model generation; accuracy assessment; C-SAP. 1. Introduction On 5 May 2005, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched Cartosat-1, the eleventh satellite of its IRS constellation, dedicated to the stereo viewing of the Earth’s surface [1,2]. Cart