DEM generation from KOMPSAT-1 Electro-Optical Camera Data

The first Korean remote sensing satellite, Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT-1), is going to be launched in 1999. This will carry a 7m resolution Electro-Optical Camera (EOC) for earth observation. The primary mission of the KOMPSAT-1 is to acquire stereo imagery over the Korean peninsular for the generation of 1:25,000 cartographic maps. For this mission, research is being carried out to assess the possibilities of automated or semi-automated mapping of EOC data and to develop, if necessary, such enabling tools. This paper discusses the issue of automated DEM generation from EOC data and identifies some important aspects in developing a for DEM generation system from EOC data. This paper also presents the current status of the development work for such a system. The development work has focused on sensor modelling, stereo matching and DEM interpolation techniques. The performance of the system is shown with a SPOT stereo pair. A DEM generated from a commercial software is also presented for comparison. The paper concludes that the proposed system creates preferable results to the commercial software and suggests future developments for successful generation of DEM for EOC data.