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ERD AS

IMAGINE Essentials

WHITE PAPER JUNE 2000


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IMAGINE Essentials

is a powerful, low-cost, stand-alone image mapping and visualization prod-uct. It en ables you to quickly and accurately display, visually analyze, and geocorrect o r reproject

you r dat a. IMAGINE Essent ials also allows you t o in tegrate n um erou s raster form ats (e.g., GeoTIFF,

ESRI GRID, ER Mapper, ERDAS .img, and many more) along with vector GIS information, into a com-

m on environm ent for m anipulation and analysis, including m ap creation and updating. IMAGINE

Essentials is ideal for applications requiring the creation and maintenance of geographic information

databases, ranging from traditional cartographic mapping to enterprise-wide GIS databases.

Problem Solving With IMAGINE Essentials

Problem:The Georgia In stitute of Techn ologys Center for GIS n eeded to t ake 372 aerial ph otograph s (in th e

TIFF World form at), coverin g th e wh ole of Metro Atlant a, Georgia, from th e Georgia GIS Data

Clearinghouse and quickly import, define projection information, reproject and mosaic the imageson a coun ty-by-coun ty basis. All this n eeded to be don e in a cost-effective time fram e. Previously,

such processing h ad taken a m onth , and was highly user-intensive.

Solution:With ERDAS IMAGINE, the Georgia Institute of Technologys Center for GIS was able to use the

Batch Wizard to help automate this process, largely removing the need for user intervention. The

first process to be automated was to import all the images the Batch Wizard was used to record the

import p rocess for a single image and th en im port th e remaining images, withou t th e need for an

operator to make any further selections.

Many of the supplied images had been rectified to a different projection from that required by the

project, and the World File did not represent the projection name. Consequently, Batch Wizard could

then be used to add th e correct projection param eters to all the images and then to reproject the

images as required to a common projection system. Once this task was complete, many of the imageswere used as is in the project, while others were mosaicked together on a county-by-county basis.

Rather than taking a month, the entire process was completed within a matter of days. According to

the Project Manager, the Batch Wizard in ERDAS IMAGINE saved us from having our operators

tediously fillin g in in terface param eters over and o ver again for repetitive tasks, such as import ing

and defining image header information. The rapid reprojection capabilities also helped us to com-

plete the project in record time an d within our budget.

The Project Man ager also added o f th e Batch Wizard: Later th is year, we plan to ap ply th at same

process to anot h er 3,500+ images to com plete th e State of Georgia. With out th is tool well, we

would not attem pt to do it.

Problem:Producing cartographic-quality maps often involves the synthesis and management of disparate geo-

graphic data sources. This process is often time-consuming and the translation processes can cause

loss of geograph ic or attribute accuracy. An integrated software solution m aintain s accuracy and

allows users to quickly produce standardized, consistent end-map products.

Solution:IMAGINE Essentials p rovides access to over 90 image and geographic data formats such as the out-

put from desktop scanners, data from the World Wide Web, digital orthophotos, and more. It is

imp erative that t h is geographical data be spatially correct before it is used for m appin g purpo ses.

IMAGINE Essent ials provides th e tools to quickly geom trically correct dat a to a broad range of p rojec-

tions and coordinate system s.

Example 1:

Batch

Processing

of Data

Example 2:

Cartographic Map

Series Production


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On ce geom etrically correct, th e different d ata sources can be overlaid or t iled to gether for com pari-

son or presentation. Full control is provided over the attribute-based symbolization of vector and

raster data.

The data can t hen be produced into cartographic-quality map com positions. Map objects can be

dragged and dropped onto a blank canvas. If standardized mapping products are required, final digi-

tal maps can be automatically generated for printing using map series databases and templates. These

databases and templates contain all the element s required for the end product, such as com pany

logos, copyright notices, attribute legends, and other map objects.

Problem:Many organizations are responsible for creating, updating, and maintaining digital vector databases.

They need to be able to vectorize data from existing paper maps, but they also need to constantly

revise th e data with up-to-date information, or provide new in formation by interpreting secondary

data sources.

Case Study :The Australian Geological Survey Organization (AGSO) in Canberra, Australia, is responsible for creat-

ing and updating a variety of geologic and other thematic maps for the entire continent of Australia.

Accordin g to Quill William s, th e Busin ess Developm en t Man ager at ESRI Austra lia (th e ERDAS distrib-

ut or in Australia), AGSO ch ose ERDAS IMAGINE geograph ic im aging software to co m plem en t its GIS

because ERDAS provides th e qu ickest an d ea siest w ay to create ArcIn fo (ESRI, Redlan ds, CA) vectors

from raster dat a or to upd ate ArcIn fo vectors from an existing GIS database.

IMAGINE Essent ials is a too l th at en ables you to integrate, up date, an d m anipu late ESRIs ArcIn focoverages with in th e ERDAS IMAGINE environ m ent . The key is that th e vectors and th eir attributes

remain in the ArcInfo format as you view and edit them over current imagery. There are no file con-

version or translation errorsany coverages manipulated can then be directly analyzed in the

ArcIn fo GIS.

Wh ile exiting pap er m aps of geological structures can easily be used as an initial source of digital vec-

tors via the u se of digitizing tablets, these m aps m ay be decades out of dat e, at small scales, or may

be difficult to obtain for more remote regions. Thus, more up-to-date sources are required for inter-

preting features.

Satellite im agery and oth er rem otely sensed data provide an extrem ely cost-effective source of in for-

mation, allowing more frequent update of data than from field surveys, for example, AGSO processes

and utilizes man y disparate sources of data, such as satellite im ages, aerial photo graphs, radar, radio-

metric, magnetic and gravity, to aid in the interpretation and mapping of subsurface geology. Theseraster data types can b e accessed in IMAGINE Essent ials, corrected to a com m on projection system,

and merged to provide multi-layer multi-temporal, large-scale imagery for interpretation.

Existing geologic vector coverages can b e overlaid directly on th ese images, either ind ividually or

simultan eously, to allow geologists to com pare datasets visually on screen an d edit as n eeded using

ERDAS IMAGINE. Th e Blend , Swipe an d Flicker tools allow rapid data comparison to highlight fea-

tures requiring digitization with the suite of vector editing tools.

Th e Image Drape utility in ERDAS IMAGINE provides a further means of interpreting data by allow-

ing th e visualization of surface or subsurface features in 3D.

Results:Spatially accurate, u p-to-date th emat ic databases were rapidly produ ced for Australia.

Technical Specifications

Data VisualizationAll interactive display and processing t akes place in th e viewer

Data lay ers (i.e., raster, vector, annotation, or any combination of these) can be displayed at any

scale or resolution

Attribute information can be en tered or queried

Use multiple view ers to display separate layers, or overlay mu ltiple layers within a single viewer

Geographic linking allows separate viewers to b e linked geographically for simu ltaneou s roam ing.

It also provides overviews of th e cont ents of oth er viewers and m agnification views.

Example 3:Vector Data Update

for National

Mapping Database

Key Benefits


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The viewers support reprojection on-the-fly . You n o

longer need to tediously reproject all your data into a

com m on projection system sin ce ERDAS IMAGINE will

automatically reproject in real-time, both in the viewer

and when analyzing datasets.

A virtual mosaic of separate images can be performed

by displaying multiple neighboring images in a single

viewer.

Interactive scale bars and no rth arrow s can be

continuously displayed to provide contextual

information for data in the viewer. The visual appearance of imagery can be enhanced by

creating, saving an d retrieving look-up tab les, applying

filters, and applying other raster editing functions for

furth er analysis. Edit fun ctions includ e:

copy and paste of user-defined regions

recoding, offsetting, and interpo lation of class

values

un lim ited un do levels

Several display modes are supported for displaying

imagery: grayscale, pseudo color (for th em atic data),

relief shading, and true color (red, green and blue color gun assignment).

Interactively ch ange the initial band combination without reloading th e imagery

Rapidly perform resolution merges or change d etection through the ability to define in dividual

gun s of th e RGB display from different data files.

Measuremen t too ls are provided to quickly assess the widt h of a river, the area of a building, th e

compass orientation of a track, or the geographic coordinate of an object.

An inqu ire cursor allows you to drive to a kn own location or to provide attribute information at

specific locations.

The Attribut e CellArray provides tools for accessing, defining and manipulating attribute

information in them atic data layers.

Profile tools provide a further means of measuring and analyzing geographic imagery:

The Spectral Profile tool p rovides a spectral profile at a specific geograph ic location, drillin g

down through all the band s in an image and producing a scaled graph of reflectance against

wavelength. This is most often used for analyzing hyperspectral imagery by comparing the

spectral profile of a pixel with a library of kn own spectra to iden tify a material at th at

location.

The Spatial Profile tool prod uces cross-section al plots along a user-defined line an d can be

used to perform line-of-sight an alyses, surface distan ce calculations, or can be used to an alyze

the correlation between variations in different image bands.

The Surface Profile tool can be used t o qu ickly generate isometric views of surfaces, includin g

th e ability to d rape an oth er image over th e surface. Th is is used to assess the results of raster

edits performed on imagery.

The viewer supports the display and m anipulation of various form ats of vector data, allowin g

all types of data to be displayed simultaneously for combined analysis. Currently supported for

direct read in t h e viewer are areas of in terest (AOIs), ann otat ion , ESRI ArcInfo coverages, ESRI

Sh apefiles, ESRI SDE, an d TerraModel (Spectra Precision , Atlan ta, GA) project s.

AOI files are poin ts, lines, or polygons u sed to define areas, or regions, for specific processing.

The use of AOIs is universal throughout ERDAS IMAGINE, with the majority of processes having

the option to constrain to an AOI. AOIs can be:

m anu ally created th rough on -screen heads-up) or tablet digitizing

autom atically created from oth er data layers (e.g., and ArcInfo p olygon coverage, or a class in

a th ematic image)

autom atically generated u sin g the un ique Region Growing (or Seeding) tool, allowing polygonboundaries to be rapidly generated across large areas which would otherwise take many hours

to manually digitize (e.g., for lake or forest edges).

Annotation layers are used to provide simple overlays for imagery, both in the viewer and when

creating map com positions. You can create layers wh ich include:

point sym bols

filled and un filled polygons

lines of various styles

north arrows

geographic tics an d graticules

Unicode text for supp orting 2-byte character sets

Full co ntrol is provided over the way t hese features are displayed, allowing th e user to design n ew

symbols, fill styles an d line styles, and define sizes in term s of map or pap er coordinat e system s. A

The viewer pictured above compares a SPOT image

with shaded relief elevation data using the Swipe too


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custom izable style chooser, or palette, is also provided, from which to select th e style for a

particular feature.

ERDAS IMAGINE is th e only geograph ic im aging software with ESRIs da ta m od els built in, giving

total integration of coverages, Sh apefiles and SDE int o everyday processing.

Take existing vector layers and display them over up-to-date, planem etrically correct imagery

and use the Style Chooser to define the way features are displayed.

Autom atically generate sym bology based on th e topological attribut es

ArcIn fo coverages and Shapefiles m ay also be edited (see the Vector Editing section in th is

White Paper).

TerraMod el projects can be displayed in the viewer, and you control the layers to draw and the

palette to use.

3D VisualizationThe ability to ren der a view of a surface from an oblique

angle with imagery mapped onto the surface provides a

unique insight into the scale and association of features in

a land scape. Th e Image Drape utility m akes use of

OpenGL support to:

allow a surface file, such as a digital elevation m odel

(DEM), to be rend ered from custom -defined o bserver

positions and viewing geometries to provide a true per

spective view, rath er th an an isom etric view.

give th e analyst contro l over vertical exaggeration, back

ground sky definition, atmospheric effect, the types ofimagery draped on to th e surface, and mo re, to provide

ph oto-realistic views of th e groun d or t o visualize the

relationship of th eir GIS an alyses.

Data IntegrationERDAS IMAGINE prov ides several

techn iques for accessing data:

autoload ers, generic

import/export, and direct read via

dyn am ically loadable libraries

(DLLs).

Direct Read: open and use

imagery in its native format via

rast er DLLs. An y ERDASIMAGINE ap plication which

accesses information via the

raster DLL can be used to

process raster data in its

native format. The DLL

approach allows developers to

easily add support for new

raster form ats in ERDAS

IMAGINE by utilizing the raster

DLL socket.

Autoloaders: provide m eans to au tom atically

convert numerous data formats to ERDAS

IMAGINEs internal .img file format, without

the need to provide any information regarding the data itself. This gives you rapid access to datawhile retainin g as mu ch of th e origin al formats inform ation as possible. Th e export of ERDAS

IMAGINE files to m an y com m on ly used exch an ge form ats, such as JPEG or GeoTIFF, is also

supported.

Generic Impo rt/Expo rt: ERDAS IMAGINE provides a generic ut ility for im portin g inform ation for

which no autoloader exists. This provides access to most image data by manually providing further

information, such as the n um ber of rows and colum ns in an image file.

Image Drape viewer

Vector Attribute CellArray


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Image ManagementAn intu itive, m ap-based graphical display tool

enables you to:

easily index, view, man age, archive, and

retrieve im agery from an ywhere on the

network.

quickly display image footprints on your

choice of map back ground, and a single click

sends th e selected im age(s) to a viewer

query the m ap display to find imagery by

geographical location or use th e CellArray toperform attribute-based queries

custom ize a catalog to suit a particular project

or use it to manage a corporate image

database

Geometric CorrectionIMAGINE Essentials provides over 200 map projections

and datum s, and allows you to d efine custom projec-

tion libraries.

ERDAS IMAGINEs geom etric correction too l provid es

a stand ard int erface for geolocating im agery based on

geometric m odels. Different m odels are available

depending on the t ype of geometric distortions in theimagery and the desired output accuracy require-

ments. Data can be georeferenced to control refer-

ences, such as scann ed m aps, GPS, vector data, paper

m aps and existing im agery. The imagery is tied to

these references through th e use of the Ground

Control Point (GCP) Editor. The GCP Editor allows

comm on GCPs to be identified in both the im age and

reference in order to construct th e geometric model

which translates the image to a planar projection system.

Numerous tools are supplied to help the user and speed this process, such as:

zoom windo ws, with autom atic tracking to GCPs

independent residual error reporting, to identify poorly defined or measured GCPs so that they can

be corrected check point definition, to d eterm ine accuracy of the geometric model

coordinate calculator, for changing the projection system of control reference points

autom atic point prediction and m atching, with autom atic drive to coordinate for fine-tuning of

measurements

use digitizin g tablets to derive accurate reference cont rol from paper m aps

Imagery does not need to be resampled to the particular projection systemcalibration and on-the-

fly warping retain the integrity of your source data. Calibration provides a rapid means of geocoding

imagery for time-sensitive applications, such as military target mapping or emergency response situa-

tions, but can also be used to reduce the time and disk space used for producing final mapping prod-

ucts.

Geolocated imagery can be used as an accurate base map for further analysis, map production, and

map updates.

Vector EditingIn ad dition to p roviding tools for creatin g and upd ating raster-based m aps, IMAGINE Essent ials pro-

vides tools for combining and editing vector-based maps. Tools for editing AOI and annotation lay-

ers, an d creating or editin g ArcInfo an d Shapefile coverages includ e:

add label point s, arcs, polygon an d tic objects by m ouse, keyboard or d igitizin g tablet

user-defined editing tolerances for weed, grain, arc sn ap, and n ode snap d istances

split and merge arcs

symbolized display or arcs, label point s, polygon s

symbolized display of dangling and pseudo nodes

symbolized display of polygon errors

splin e, den sify, an d gen eralize capabilities

An example of the Image Catalog

A sample GCP Editor session


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display and manipulate individual vertices on a line

reshape a portion of a line

cut, copy and paste features

m ultiple undo levels

poin t-and-click, or area-based, selection

add and m anipulate attribute fields and records

region grow (seed)

create ArcInfo vectors from o th er ERDAS IMAGINE vector form ats

The ability to display a vector layer over imagery backgroun ds provides a po werful way to create or

upd ate th e data, since all the viewer visualization tools are available to th e analyst. Out-of-date fea-tures in an existing ArcInfo coverage can be iden tified by displaying over a recently acquired an d

geometrically corrected im age and using th e Blend, Swipe or Flicker chan ge detection tools.

Identifying th e exact boun daries of a feature to be digitized is possible by applying any o f these

image enhancement functions:

edge enhancing filters to highlight a road or track

edge detection filters to identify buildings

look-up t able manipulation to increase the contrast in natural vegetation areas

increasing the spatial resolution of color imagery by merging a higher resolution panchromatic

image to help identify small features

As the an alyst digitizes, the viewer will autom atically pan in th e direction of editing.

Sim ple Im age ClassificationIMAGINE Essentials provid es a too l to categorize images int o classes, each class represen tin g a dis-tinct feature in th e image, wheth er it be forest areas, agricultural fields, urban areas, or th e like. Th e

ISODATA process is fully auto m atic, requiring th at you m erely specify th e m aximu m nu m ber of class-

es to identify in the image.

Cartographic ProductionIMAGINE Essent ials includes a h ighly interactive, cartograph ic-quality m ap com position t ool for

designing and printing hardcopy output. The capabilities can be summarized at three levels: custom

map compositions, template map compositions, and the Map Series Tool.

Custom Map Compositions: Individual map composi-

tions can be designed from scratch, starting with a

clean, white canvas of user-specified size. Objects can

then be positioned on this canvas to build up th e finalmap. The data are then reproduced in the map compo-

sition at the desired scale and extent.

Template Map Com positions: Standard map tools can

be used to design a tem plate map con taining all the

features and objects required. Your dat a can th en be

quickly dropped into the empty frames, any necessary

m odifications m ade, and p rinted using th is standard

layout schem e.

Map Series Tool: The Map Series Tool takes the concept

of the template to anoth er level by fully autom ating

the process of producing multiple, standardized output

m ap compositions when th e areal extent of your data

necessitates producing n um erous hardcopy maps to

cover the entire area.

Batch ProcessingIf you n eed to im port 1 00 images, create 500 classifications, or perform any t ype of repetitive task

within ERDAS IMAGINE, th e Batch Wizard p rovides an in tuitive tool for aut om ating you r prod uction

flow. The Batch Wizard leads you th rough th e process of constructing re-useable batch scripts. Th e

Batch Wizard:

Records a process (such as an im port o peration ), or series of processes, as a batch com m and script

Autom ates the batch com man d script so that it can be re-used with oth er data files

Selects m ultiple files using lists or wildcards as inpu t to th e recorded batch process

Creates output file names automatically with user-defined patterns

Allows you to edit th e variables in th e batch script to m odify the recorded process

Map series tiles


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Saves batch scripts for re-use in oth er projects, or to share stand ard processin g steps

Ease of Use Comm on, generic tools are provided so th at an analyst familiar with th eir use in one con text can

easily start using other functions without having to learn a completely new interface.

A preferen ce editor is inclu ded for custo m izing ERDAS IMAGINE to you r particular u ser

environment.

Many dialogs in ERDAS IMAGINE support preview windows, allowing you to easily open listings of

recently accessed directories and files.

All operations with in ERDAS IMAGINE are suppo rted by ext ensive hypertext On -Line Help, as well

as bubble-help options

Ease of Custom ization System-wide, intuitive graph ical user interface, which is easily mod ified to suit a particular

production environment.

Delivered with th e ERDAS Macro Language (EML), a scripting lan guage which allows you to m odify

the interface, or add/access extra functions, in order to produce custom applications.

ExtensibilityMan y app lication pro gram s within ERDAS IMAGINE h ave sockets (DLLs), which sp ecific filters or

functions are plugged into for that application to interpret.

DLLs can be used to provide plug-in functionality for geometric models, resampling techniques,

EML application functions, and more, making it easy to extend the capabilities of an application

without having to rewrite or recompile that application.

The software supp orts stand ard TrueType an d PostScript Type 1 fon ts, and provides an ad dition al

built-in library of fonts for ann otating data an d for use in m ap com positions.

Data Visualization

Versatile dat a viewer

Look-up Table m anipu lation

Data and attribute editing

Spatial and Spectral m easuremen t

3D view generation

Data Integration

Direct read of open form ats

Import/Export routines

Access to attribute inform ation

Image Management

Graph ical Image Catalog

Data archiving and retrieval

Batch Processing

Batch Wizard records processes

Apply to mu ltiple file lists

Schedu le jobs for overnight execution

Geom etric Co rrection

Exten dible geometric m odels GCP Editor

Stan dard or user-defined projection libraries

Coordin ate calculator

On -the-fly warping and reprojection

Vector Editing

ESRI dat a m od els built-in

Vector editing tools

Autom ated viewer roam

Key Features and

Capabilities


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Classification

Unsup ervised image classification

Cartographic Map Produ ction

Custom map definition tools

Drag and drop map objects

Template maps

Map Series generation

Industry standard printer language support

Ease of Use and Customization Comm on tools used throughou t ERDAS IMAGINE

Preference editor

Chooser menu s

Con text-sen sitive h ypertext On -Line Help

Custo m izable with ERDAS Macro Lan guage (EML)

Extensibility

Applications designed with DLLs

Font m anager

ERDAS IMAGINE is suppo rted un der th e following platform s. For m ore detailed inform ation o n t he

supported system requirements for a particular type of PC or workstation, please refer to the relevant

platform specification, available either from ERDAS, your local distributor or the ERDAS web site at

http://www.erdas.com.

Workstation Minimum Operating System Minimum Memory

Intel PC Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 64 MB

Microsoft Windows 98 64 MB

Microsoft Windows 2000 64 MB

Sun SPARC Solaris 2.6, 7.0 64 MB

Silicon Graphics R4400 to R10000 IRIX 6.5 64 MB

Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series 7000 HP-UX 11.00 64 MB

IBM RS/6000 AIX 4.3.2, 4.3.3 96 MB

DIGITAL AlphaStation COMPAQ Tru64 UNIX 4.0F 96 MB

System

Requirements


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ERDAS IMAGINE Product Packaging

ERDAS IMAGINE offers a com plete, easy-to-use geograph ic im aging software suite th at h elps a variety

of people within an organization turn geographic imagery into valuable information. The ERDAS

IMAGINE produ ct suite offers a wide ran ge of fun ctionality from data visualization to stan dard d ata

manipulation algorithms, to advanced image classification.

ERDAS IMAGINE makes geographic imaging simple in a multitude of ways. The system-wide graphi-

cal user interface shortens learning curves and makes it easy to work back and forth between prod-

ucts. The software hides the complexity and automates standard processes, integrates key data types,

and enables imagery to be used as a rapid, accurate and intelligent source of geographic information.

ERDAS IMAGINE pro du cts are stru ctured in a tiered fashion , with IMAGINE Essentials as th e base tier.

Each tier of ERDAS IMAGINE includes an d exten ds th e fun ctionality of t he previous level. Together

with the ability to float these individual components across a network, the tiered approach enables

you to purchase an integrated system that meets your processing requirements and is flexible enough

to accommodate changes in your work flow.

IMAGINE Essentials icon panel

Copyright 1997-2000 ERDAS, Inc. All right s reserved. ERDAS, ERDAS IMAGINE and IMAGINE Essentials are registered trademarks of ERDAS, Inc. CellArray is a trademark ofERDAS, INC. Geographic Imaging Made Simple is a service mark of ERDAS, Inc. Other brands and product names are the properties of their respective owners. cc 3/00 Part No. ?

G e o g r a p h i c I m a g i n g M a d e S i m p l eSM

ERDAS Worldwide Headquarters

Toll Free: +1 877-GO-ERDAS (463-7327)

Phone: +1 404-248-9000

Fax: +1 404-248-9400

ERDAS in Europe, Africa, M iddle East,

Asia/Pacific Rim

Phone: +44 1223-881774

Fax: +44 1223-880160

All Other Worldwide Inquiries

Phone: +1 404-248-9000

Fax: +1 404-248-9400

2801 Buford H ighway, N.E.

Atlanta, Georgia 30329-2137 USA

www.erdas.com

If you would like more information about our geographic imaging solutions, please contact us.

Well respond immediately.