download PDF - Imaging Notes

THE WORLD’S GUIDE TO COMMERCIAL REMOTE SENSING 

Spring 2004 Vol. 19 No. 2 

More than imagery … intelligence 

Securing airports 

Warfighter use of imagery 

Geospatial technology 

& world threats 

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spring 2004 

contents » vol.19 » no.2 

departments 

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Cover Image 

Dublin Airport 

6 MarketScan 

Industry Info 

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31 

Policy Watch 

A Challenge from Europe: GMES 

Events Calendar 

6 

12 

28 

features 

12 

16 

20 

22 

25 

28 

Law Enforcement 

Transit-based technology solutions 

Geospatial Technology and 

World Threats 

Modeling of disaster scenarios in American cities 

Warfighter Use of 

Commercial Imagery 

Better battlespace situational awareness 

Optical Processing 

Adding shape-based search technology 

More Than Imagery — 

Intelligence 

The transition of earth imagery to a critical 

element in homeland security 

Securing Airports 

GIS mapping and AVL technology 

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cover image 

The World’s Guide to Commercial Remote Sensing 

Spring 2004 / Vol. 19 / No. 2 

PUBLISHER 

Myrna James Yoo 

Publishing Partnerships LLC 

myrna@publishingpartnerships.com 

ART DIRECTOR 

Jürgen Mantzke 

Enf ineitz LLC 

jmantzke@earthlink.net, 

www.enf ineitz.com 

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 

Imaging Notes welcomes contributions 

for feature articles. We publish articles on 

the remote earth imaging industry, including 

applications, technolog y, and business. 

Please see Contributor’s Guidelines on 

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to editor@publishingpartnerships.com. 

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Imaging Notes is published quarterly by 

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PO Box 11569, Denver CO 80211 

Regarding national security 

and defense, airports, ports 

and other points of entry 

are significant. 

This is an IKONOS natural color image 

of Dublin Airport in the Irish Republic, 

locally known as Aer Rianta, Dublin. This 

airport is some 10 kilometers north of 

the city of Dublin, which is on the eastern 

shore of the island of Ireland. 

The image, acquired October 19th, 

2002, is superimposed with an airport 

mapping database (AMDB) developed 

by Space Imaging Solutions. These 

vector GIS databases implemented 

in ESRI Shapefiles provide extensive 

details about the runways, taxiways, 

aprons, parking positions, hangars 

and other surface features of the 

airport. This airport is also known as 

EIDW, its designation by the International 

Civil Aviation Organization. « 

Imaging Notes (ISSN 0896-7091), 

Copyright © 2004 

by Space Imaging LLC, 

12076 Grant Street, 

Thornton, CO 80241 

Although trademark and copyright symbols 

are not used in this publication, 

they are honored. 

© 2004 Space Imaging LLC 

www.imagingnotes.com 

Imaging Notes is printed on 

20% recycled (10% post-consumer 

waste) paper. All inks used contain 

a percentage of soy base. Our printer meets 

or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation 

Recovery Act (RCRA) Standards. 

4 S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 w w w . i m a g i n g n o t e s . c o m

ASPRS — 70 years of service to the profession 

NEW! 

The Manual of Remote Sensing, 3 rd Edition 

Volume 4: Remote Sensing for Natural Resource Management & 

Environmental Monitoring 

Andrew B. Rencz, PhD, Editor-in-Chief 

Volume Editor: Susan Ustin 

848+ pp. Hardcover + CD Rom. 2004. 

ISBN: 0-471-31793-4 

Stock # 4571 

Students $120 

List Price: $198 ASPRS Members $150 

Volume 4 addresses the use of remote sensing technology in 

natural resource management and environmental monitoring. 

Comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date, it covers 

terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, and agriculture 

ecosystems, as well as future directions in technology and 

research. 

Chapters 

1. Soils and Soil Processes 

2. Biophysical Remote Sensing Signatures of Arid and 

Semi-arid Ecosystems 

3. Arid Regions: Challenges and Opportunities 

4. Temporate and Boreal Forests 

5. Tropical Forests 

6. Tropical Freshwater Wetlands 

7. Rivers & Lakes 

8. Coastal Margins and Estuaries 

9. Grazing Agriculture - Managed Pasture, Grassland 

and Rangeland 

10. Dryland Crops 

12. Application of Image-based Remote Sensing to 

Irrigated Agriculture 

13. Environmental Processes: State of the Science and 

New Directions 


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market scan 

Industry Info 

Research Available 

The 10-Year Industry Forecast, sponsored 

by NOAA and NASA, is available 

from ASPRS for $25 U.S. The Executive 

Summary is available free of charge from 

the website. 

www.asprs.org 

U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation 

The United States Geospatial Intelligence 

Foundation is a consortium of 

government, industry, academic and 

professional organizations that share a 

mission focus around the development 

and application of geospatial intelligence 

data and geo-processing resources 

to address National Security objectives. 

Founder and Chairman of the Board is 

K. Stuart Shea, vice president and executive 

director of the Space & Intelligence 

Operating Unit, Northrop Grumman 

Information Technology, TASC. Steven 

Jacques is vice president of Operations. 

He is a legislative and business development 

consultant for Space & Intelligence 

programs, Jacques & Associates, Inc. 

The group is producing the GEOINT 2004 

Symposium in October, formerly GEO- 

INTEL 2003. 

www.usgif.org 

Space Organizations Create 

National Alliance 

Four leading space organizations 

— the National Space 

Society, Satellite Industry 

Association (SIA), The Space 

Foundation, and Washington 

Space Business Roundtable 

— created the National Space 

and Satellite Alliance (NSSA). 

NSSA members will coordinate 

their Washington operations, 

programs and activities to 

provide more cohesive and unified 

advocacy of space policy issues in 

Washington and more effectively 

serve their members’ interests. 

The stated mission of NSSA is 

“to marshal the resources of the 

space and satellite advocacy 

community to most effectively 

advance the exploration and development 

of space as well as the 

utilization of space and satellite 

systems and technologies.” 

Brian Chase, vice president of 

Washington Operations for the 

Space Foundation, is the first 

elected chairman of NSSA. 

www.spacealliance.org 

Dubai Police Using Imagery for Security Operations 

Dubai Police awarded Space Imaging Middle East a contract to deliver 

multi-scale satellite imagery of the country, after the imagery was used to 

support the police security operations during the IMF meeting held in Dubai 

in September 2003. 

SIME collected 1-meter, high-resolution imagery of Dubai derived from 

the IKONOS satellite while the rest of the UAE was collected with a resolution 

of 5-meters from the IRS satellites. 

The imagery is also used as an accurate background reference in an 

existing vehicle tracking system. The GPS system of each vehicle is linked 

to an IKONOS-derived map in the operation control room. Dubai Police also 

complemented its existing base maps with IRS 5-meter resolution imagery 

for the entire UAE. 

www.spaceimagingME.com 

Applications 

The Kista Arctica vessel breaking through the icy waters of 

the Disko Banke region of the Davis Strait. This region is 

located off the west coast of Greenland. © Royal Arctic Line. 

Greenland’s Icy Water Navigated 

With RADARSAT-1 Imagery 

The Danish Meteorological Institute 

(DMI) signed a 2-year contract with RA- 

DARSAT International for the continued 

near real-time supply of RADARSAT-1 

data (within 2 - 4 hours from acquisition). 

The satellite data is used to 

create ice charts and reports that are 

sent via satellite to the bridges of ships 

while navigating the dangerous waters 

of the Greenland Sea. RADARSAT-1 data 

is delivered within hours of acquisition 

to DMI via a network of three RADAR- 

SAT-1 ground receiving stations: KSAT 

(Norway), QinetiQ (United Kingdom), 

and Gatineau (Canada). 

This will be the 6th consecutive year 

that DMI has been using RADARSAT-1 

data. The satellite data has now fully 

replaced the use of aircraft for ice 

reconnaissance. 

www.rsi.ca 

Geospatial Intelligence Provided to U.S. Department of Defense’s Grand Challenge 

The Defense Advanced Research 

Projects Agency (DARPA) — the 

research and development arm of the 

Department of Defense — held the 

first Grand Challenge off-road race 

of robotic land vehicles on March 13. 

The top team from Carnegie Mellon 

University, called “The Red Team,” 

used 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 

square miles) of IKONOS satellite 

imagery to help guide its ‘Sandstorm’ 

robotic vehicle. The vehicle ran 

7.4 miles of the 150 mile course, 

further than any other. 

Space Imaging donated the 

imagery, worth $198,000, in 

hopes that it will become a core 

component in the development of 

this leading-edge technology. The 

color IKONOS imagery was used in a 

layered set of geographic information 

systems (GIS) data to develop 

potential race routes. Other data 

layers include USGS digital orthoquad 

(DOQ) aerial imagery, USGS 

digital elevation models (DEMs), 

DARPA-defined race corridors, differential 

GPS coordinate information 

obtained from ground reconnaissance, 

and LIDAR and sub-meter 

aerial imagery in select corridors. 

IKONOS satellite imagery was the 

only commercial satellite imagery 

used in the DARPA Grand Challenge 

race, though other companies 

supplied imagery for teams that did 

not participate. Initially, 106 teams 


NASA Uses A “Sleuth” To Predict 

Urban Land Use 

According to researchers from the 

University of Maryland and Woods 

Hole Research Center, developed land 

in the greater Washington-Baltimore 

metropolitan area is projected to 

increase 80 percent by 2030. Scientists 

used a computer-based decision 

support model loaded with NASA 

and commercial satellite images to 

simulate three policies affecting land 

use and declining water quality in the 

Chesapeake Bay estuary. 

Observations from Landsat and 

IKONOS satellites were used in a 

United States Geological Survey 

(USGS) computer model, called 

SLEUTH. The model was applied to 

23,700 square kilometers (9,151 

square miles) of the Washington-Baltimore 

metropolitan area. 

NASA funded the study, with additional 

funds from the Chesapeake 

Bay Foundation. NASA’s Earth Science 

Enterprise is dedicated to understanding 

the Earth as an integrated 

system and applying Earth System 

Science to improve prediction of 

climate, weather, and natural hazards 

using the unique vantage point of 

space. The study is published in the 

March issue of Environment and Planning 

B. It explains how models may be 

used to forecast the effects of urban 

growth and runoff on the Chesapeake 

Bay estuary system. 

www.nasa.gov 

www.envplan.com/epb/epb_ 

current.html 

Companies and Contracts 

Pictometry and Intermap Form Partnership 

Pictometry International Corporation, provider of a patented information 

system that captures digital aerial oblique and orthogonal images, as well 

as related software, has partnered with Intermap Technologies, which is 

building an unprecedented database, called NEXTMap, of highly accurate 

digital topographic maps. Pictometry will be able to offer its customer base 

of local, county, state and federal government end users the option to 

combine Pictometry’s digital images with Intermap’s terrain elevation data 

to create more accurate mapping products. 

www.pictometry.com 

www.intermaptechnologies.com 

Coastal California Data Collected by NOAA 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal 

Services Center has completed the development of landcover and change 

data for the coastal zone of California. These data provide coastal resource 

managers, land planners and other researchers with valuable information 

about the state’s coastal landcover and how it changes over time. 

Through a contract with Boeing-Autometric/Earth Satellite Corp, landcover 

data was produced for the year 2001, as well as retrospectively for 1996. 

Landcover data produced as a part of its Coastal Change Analysis Program 

(C-CAP) consist of a 22-class system in which land cover types are classified 

into different categories, with special emphasis on coastal features 

such as wetlands. Development of C-CAP forest classes was supported by 

data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Fire 

and Resource Assessment Program, which were used to enhance the final 

product. The NOAA Coastal Services Center is now working with the United 

States Geological Survey to incorporate these data into The National Map, a 

comprehensive, up-to-date, digital map of the country. 

Currently, NOAA is in the preliminary stages of developing coastal landcover 

and change data for the Gulf of Mexico and is completing data sets for 

Oregon and Washington. 

www.csc.noaa.gov/landcover 

Posters Available 

Posters of IKONOS imagery are for sale from Space Imaging’s online store. 

The store has over 100 posters of universities, cities, golf courses, race 

tracks and other landmarks available and are typically delivered within 10 

days. New categories and posters are being added to the inventory weekly. 

Each poster is created from the best IKONOS imagery available and is 

printed on photographic quality paper. These gallery quality prints are available 

in 3 sizes: 24x30 ($50), 16x20 ($35), and 8x10 ($25). 

www.spaceimaging.com/store « 

applied, with 86 submitting 

technical papers on time. Of 

these, 14 entered the race. 

In 2005, the DARPA cash award 

will increase to $2 million for the 

team that fields the first vehicle 

to complete the designated 

route of the next challenge 

within a specified time limit. 

www.spaceimaging.com/ 

grandchallenge 

www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge 


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policy watch 

A Challenge from Europe: 

Global 

Monitoring for 

Environment and 

Security (GMES) 

Over the past three decades, 

Europe has developed a series of 

Earth observations satellites. Most 

of them have been developed by the 

European Space Agency (ESA) in close 

cooperation with the space programs 

of member countries. Europe now 

has a substantial Earth observations 

infrastructure, which it has used to 

support a variety of European public 

good applications, such as agricultural 

policy, environmental policy, 

and resource management. Major 

elements include ESA’s Envisat, ERS 

1 & 2, France’s SPOT, and Eumetsat’s 

Meteosat satellite systems. Several 

new systems are in the planning 

stages. However, this impressive array 

of satellite systems, which deliver 

high quality data, has lacked a robust 

data and information infrastructure 

to support it, one capable of delivering 

useful information products routinely 

and reliably to customers. 

In an effort to bring greater coherence 

to Europe’s use of its satellite 

Earth observation systems and its in 

situ systems (air, land, and sea) and 

to provide the basis for future system 

planning, ESA and the European Union 

(EU), with the European Commission 

(EC) as the EU’s executive agent, have 

teamed in a program entitled Global 

Monitoring for Environment and 

Security (GMES). It is an ambitious 

program focused primarily on the 

pursuit of sustainable development 

and protection of the environment, 

and increasingly on security, broadly 

defined. When fully operational, it will 

serve as the cornerstone of Europe’s 

responses to global as well as regional 

environmental and security concerns. 

GMES is the next major Europe-wide 

space project after Galileo. Like Galileo, 

it is jointly managed by both the 

EU and ESA with participation from 

Eumetsat, governmental agencies, 

non-governmental organizations, and 

private firms. 

The early stages of GMES are now 

underway. The EU and ESA together 

have allocated nearly ¤200 million 

over four years to develop a series 

of useful applications and the data 

and information systems to support 

them. Individual states and the 

private sector are devoting approximately 

another ¤100 million to the EU 

effort. The EU is providing research 

funding for developing applications 

in environmental monitoring and 

management, regional development, 

environmental risk reduction, crisis 

management, and humanitarian aid. 

ESA is funding the development of the 

information systems to deliver the 

information to end users. With other 

funding, ESA is also developing new 

Earth observation satellite systems. 

Officials expect the entire system to 

be fully functional by 2008. 

GMES constitutes a central element 

in Europe’s strategy to use space 

technology to foster European innovation 

and to give Europe a greater 


global role in the environmental 

debate over global warming, pollution, 

and other global issues. It will also 

support Europe’s growing interest in 

using space systems to support European 

security, the precise meaning of 

which is under development. It is the 

second space-related “flagship” program 

after Europe’s Galileo position, 

navigation, and timing system. 

GMES is part of a rapidly changing 

political environment for space activities 

in Europe, one that includes 

a new space policy thrust led by the 

European Union. The new policy was 

detailed in a November 2003 European 

Commission White Paper, “Space: 

A New European Frontier for an 

Expanding Union: An Action Plan for 

Implementing the European Space 

Policy.” This white paper has received 

the endorsement of both ESA and the 

EU Parliament. 

The policy urges a sustained, 

long-term effort to develop scientific 

knowledge and applications through 

space technologies, and to maintain 

independent access to space. It will 

be supported by an industrial policy 

aimed at “developing a competitive 

and innovative industrial base and a 

geographic spread of activities,” for 

example to the 10 Eastern European 

countries that are entering the EU this 

spring. It gives priority to the development 

of civil and commercial space 

technologies, particularly in launch 

services and satellite capabilities. This 

changing political environment also 

includes a drive to broaden the scope 

of ESA’s portfolio of technology development 

to include technologies with 

explicitly dual-use characteristics, 

such as advanced satellite communications, 

high resolution remote sensing, 

inter-satellite laser communication, 

and electronic surveillance. 

GMES offers both a challenge and 

an opportunity to the United States. 

The challenge: The early phases of 

GMES are centered on rationalizing the 

many different environmental data 

sources within Europe and giving them 


coherence. This early effort will help 

to define needed new capabilities in 

both space and in situ systems. Thus, 

if implemented successfully, GMES will 

lead to the development of autonomous 

European capabilities to monitor 

the global environment, and of a vastly 

strengthened and highly competitive 

European geospatial private sector. It 

will also serve as an effective scientific 

counterbalance to U.S. positions in the 

international governance of the global 

environment in the decades ahead. 

The opportunity: Europe’s long 

term goal for GMES is to improve 

citizens’ quality of life and security 

by supporting environmental risk 

management and sustainable development. 

Hence, these capabilities 

will enable Europe to be a substantial 

partner with the United States and 

many other countries in establishing 

a truly global Earth observation 

program as called for at the Earth 

Observation Summit hosted by the 

White House in July 2003. The experience 

with GMES will provide useful 

organizational “lessons learned” for 

that major effort. 

Despite the optimistic picture 

that EU and ESA documents on GMES 

present, Europe faces many hurdles 

in bringing this ambitious program to 

fruition. The size and scope of GMES 

and the complex structure of space 

activities within Europe suggests 

that bringing long-term coherence to 

GMES will require continual vigilance 

and attention to detail in the program. 

Europe must rationalize several 

different data access, pricing, and 

distribution policies, not only within 

Europe, but also with potential partners 

beyond Europe. Further, the EU 

and ESA must find effective ways to 

bring the 10 new members joining the 

EU this spring into the program. Some 

countries, such as Poland and Hungary, 

may also wish to join ESA, which 

would assist the effort of merging the 

interests of the expanded EU and ESA. 

Finally, over the long term, Europe 

will have to find effective ways to 

maintain focus, momentum, and coordination 

as new scientific findings 

suggest new directions for applications. 

Nevertheless, GMES is an exciting 

development for the geospatial 

community. Not only Europe but also 

other countries will benefit from a 

successful GMES program. « 

Ray A. Williamson is research professor 

of space policy and international 

affairs in the Space Policy Institute 

of The George Washington University, 

Washington, D.C. 

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Law enforcement 

Transit-based technology solutions 

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 

(BART) is a combination aerial/subway transit system that spans four counties 

and 22 cities in California. BART transports 50 percent of the Bay Area commuter 

traffic across the San Francisco Bay and carries one-third of commuters 

into Oakland, connecting over 250,000 riders to their destinations daily. The 

District has a number of specialized departments to ensure smooth operations of 

the system; one such department is BART Police. 

The Police Department’s responsibilities include protection of BART patrons, of its 

own more than 2,000 employees, and of property throughout the district. BART Police 

is staffed with 280 employees, consisting of 215 sworn and 65 civilian employees. The 

department receives, on average, over 50,000 service calls a year, to which officers are 

required to respond. The tracking of this information and associated processes was 

dependent entirely upon manual processes and one 1960s mainframe computer, until 

the department’s recent technological journey. Although far from complete, some of 

the projects initiated in the last year include the procurement of a new Computer Aided 

Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS), the addition of a department-wide 

document imaging system, creation of an intranet, and implementation of a 

Geographic Information System (GIS). Of these technologies, GIS is the most comprehensive, 

as it involves not only the hardware, but also a number of mapping software 

packages, data customization and significant changes in workflow processes. 

The implementation of the GIS was a five-month process, during which the department 

embarked on an extensive needs analysis. A number of divisions within the Police 

Department participated in the assessment by assigning their employees as members of 

the project team. These members identified a number of department needs, including 

staffing, technology and process changes. The project team was also responsible for 

researching GIS companies and grants available for public safety. BART Police chose 

to purchase their GIS from MapInfo Corporation, which coincidentally was offering a 

software grant for public safety. Once awarded the grant, BART Police began project 


Carissa Goldner 

CAD/RMS Administrator 

BART Police Department 

Oakland, Calif. 

www.bart.gov 

implementation, with the help of local Map- 

Info resellers. The GIS was released for use 

in the department in November 2003. Since 

that time, the department has used the GIS 

to address effectively a number of critical 

areas of weakness identified during the needs 

assessment: (1) minimal functionality of the 

department’s mainframe; (2) the inability 

to effectively share data internally or crossjurisdictionally; 

(3) the inability to perform 

effective homeland security analyses; and (4) 

shrinking departmental resources. 


(1) IMPROVING DATA M ANAGEMENT 

BART Police used the data management 

strengths of the GIS to counteract the 

weaknesses of the mainframe CAD/RMS. 

Information such as date, time and location 

of calls for service was extracted from the 

mainframe and imported into the GIS in 

a text format. This information was combined, 

in the GIS, with a number of imported 

Access databases that gathered information 

about victims, arrests, property, suspects, 

and suspect methods of operation. Once this 

information was concentrated into a single 

location, it was organized a number of ways 

and analyzed for patterns and consistencies. 

Furthermore, the data was then available for 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

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The department has used the 

GIS to address effectively a 

number of critical areas of 

weakness identified during 

the needs assessment. 

presentation in both visual or data form to 

a number of departments within BART. For 

example, the supervisor of the Information 

Technology Division may want a numeric 

report showing how many computers exist 

at each station, whereas the Chief of Police 

may want a visual report of the technology 

resources. Using the same data sets, this 

information could be distributed to both 

in several minutes. Furthermore, this data 

management capability has also helped 

BART Police address the challenge they face 

in sharing information across the department 

and with other law enforcement agencies 

within the four counties through which 

the BART system crosses. 

(2) INFOR M ATION SHARING AND 

CROSS -JURISDIC TIONAL COOPER ATION 

BART Police was enabled to better share 

information internally through the GIS 

in two ways. Primarily, the grant, which 

included a software package that allowed 

the publication of maps in a Web-enabled 

environment, in combination with the Police 

Department’s new intranet, became the main 

platform for sharing analyses from the GIS. 

Secondly, because technicians were able to 

post both visual and data format reports, 

a larger number of people were able to understand 

the findings from the analyses. Although 

BART Police has not yet been given 

permission to post these reports on BART’s 

public Web site, the team has been able to 

distribute reports to surrounding jurisdictions 

via mail and meetings, which was never 

previously accomplished. 

(3) GIS FOR HOMEL AND 

SECURIT Y ANALYSIS 

To perform homeland security analyses, 

BART Police used the GIS to identify geographical 

liabilities and assets and to analyze 

how the location of those facilities will impact 

BART during an emergency. The identified 

liabilities include the Transbay Tube (a 

section of the system that crosses underneath 

the San Francisco Bay), tunnels, subway and 

aerial structures, and structures straddled by 

freeways. Assets identified through analysis 

in the GIS include hospitals, parks, schools 

and freeways within a few miles of the 

system. Analysis of the assets and liabilities 

in relation to BART is complex and is still 

under way, as the role of each can change in 

a given disaster scenario. 

(4) SHRINKING RESOURCES AND 

IMPROVED GOVERNMENT EFFICIENC Y 

The final weakness identified in the 

needs assessment that has been addressed 

through use of the GIS is the management 

of shrinking resources without the degradation 

of performance or service. One 

scenario that demonstrates the power of 

the GIS for BART Police can be found in an 

analysis of annual calls for service, staffing 

and technology resources. The number of 

calls in these three categories at each station 

within the BART system was recorded at 

the time the GIS was implemented. Analysis 

of the information demonstrated that the 

department had resource inconsistencies in 

two particular areas. A simple redistribution 

of staff and computers could increase 

the department’s efficacy without cost. 

In addition to the four primary needs 

identified by the project team, the GIS also 

gave BART Police the ability to perform 

functions of crime mapping and routing. 

Crime mapping is the primary use of GIS 

at law enforcement agencies. Typically, 

agencies map the number and location of 

incidents within their jurisdiction, often 

with focus on specific crimes by type. 

The routing tool, not commonly used at 

other law enforcement agencies, is a valuable 

application of BART Police technology. 

Routing is used to dispatch officers to and 

from calls for service locations. Since major 

freeways in the Bay Area straddle many 

BART stations, officers use the freeways to 

quickly move from one call location to the 

next. In instances where an accident has 

occurred on one such freeway, however, officers 

experience an increase in response time 



to the call. In order to avoid this problem, 

BART Police uses its GIS routing software 

in combination with the California Highway 

Patrol, which provides real-time access 

to traffic conditions, to advise officers of the 

quickest route to their call location. This 

specialized use of routing coupled with realtime 

traffic information is rarely used by 

other law enforcement agencies nationwide. 

The function of routing also gives rise to 

the possibility of more highly technical uses 

of the GIS such as the inclusion of mobile 

devices for beat officers. BART Police has 

foot beats and vehicle patrol beats; officers 

on some of these beats have laptops or handheld 

computing devices. Inclusion of the GIS 

on these devices would empower officers to 

retrieve routing information without the assistance 

of dispatch. Furthermore, the next 

logical step from routing and GIS on mobile 

devices is the creation of a Global Positioning 

System (GPS). Since officers will already 

have access to routing capabilities at their 

fingertips, the process of getting routes from 

the GIS will become much more efficient 

when the system inherently knows where 

the officer is. In this instance the officer will 

be able to bypass telling the GIS where he is 

at the moment and can focus on destination 

information. 

There are, however, a number of concerns 

on behalf of officers nationwide that 

GPS is going to be used merely as a form 

of absentee supervision. BART Police is 

currently researching the ability to provide 

officers in the field with a GPS tool while 

ensuring that the information will be used 

solely for functions related to routing and to 

identifying officer locations during emergencies, 

or when the location has not been communicated 

to dispatch. 

Other uses for GIS not typical at law enforcement 

agencies, but planned for BART, 

are the use of aerial imagery, closed circuit 

television cameras, crime forecasting, and 

victim profiling. Aerial imagery can be used 

in the GIS to perform tactical analyses where 

the positioning of resources can be planned 

for specialized operations. For example, 

BART Police performs a number of undercover 

operations to stop identified crime 

trends at specific stations. The GIS can display 

the precise locations of the incidents of 

the trends, and locations where staff, surveillance 

equipment, and vacant police vehicles 

can be positioned to minimize the incidents 

or apprehend the offenders. Furthermore, 

BART Police is tasked with performing 

crowd control functions for a number of 

sporting events and concerts. The GIS can 

be used to show the most effective placement 

of barriers and staff to help protect 

patrons and employees alike and to ensure 

that people are able to board trains before 

stations become overcrowded. 

BART Police has a number of existing 

Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) 

spread throughout the system. These are 

used to discourage criminal acts on the 

system, to act as witnesses to crimes and 

to aid officers in identifying suspects. GIS 

can be used to help plan an appropriate 

environmental design for the most efficient 

use of the cameras. 

Other advanced analyses that can be performed 

through the GIS at law enforcement 

agencies include crime forecasting and victim 

profiling. Forecasting is a function of crime 

analysis in which the analyst uses a number 

of mathematical equations relating to date, 

time and location to identify the most likely 

time and place a repeat offender will commit 

the next crime. Profiling, on the other hand, 

deals primarily with broad category details, 

such as race and method of operation. 

A number of additional uses for GIS 

in law enforcement may not yet have been 

identified. Others may not yet be documented. 

Because BART Police realized the 

potential for GIS at their agency a year ago, 

an in-depth research of both academic and 

practical sources of information on the topic 

was completed prior to implementation. 

The project team found that GIS is currently 

limited primarily to crime mapping 

and analysis functions. Although this fact 

may not accurately reflect the potential for 

uses of GIS in public safety, it may reflect 

a lack of documentation about this powerful 

technological tool. As the use of GIS at 

BART expands, findings will be shared in 

verbal and written form. Even though we 

only have begun to reap the benefits of 

implementing such a powerful tool, expectations 

for additional uses of GIS remain 

high at BART. « 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

15

Figure 1 

In this 

scenario, 

a nuclear 

“suitcase 

bomb” 

explodes in 

downtown 

Houston, 

demolishing 

a nine-block 

radius, 

shown 

in red. 

Seventeen 

mileper-hour 

winds 

blow the 

radioactive 

cloud east 

(the plume 

spreading 

toward the 

bottom of 

this page), 

with 

lethality 

diminishing 

as the 

plume 

travels. 


Modeling of disaster 

scenarios in several 

American cities 

Whether during a terrorist attack 

or a natural disaster, the ability of the public 

and private sectors to react effectively depends 

substantially on how well they have planned 

their response strategies. To plan such responses 

requires an understanding of a variety 

of attack scenarios. Spatial technologies are 

instrumental for threat assessment. 

During the past few years, state and federal 

legislators, their staffs, the media, first responders, 

and numerous other organizations have 

learned a great deal about terrorist threats. This 

education has been bolstered by such tools as 

satellite imagery and geographic information 

systems (GIS), which can be used to forecast and 

model potential hazardous events and the emergency 

response to those disasters. 

For instance, using desktop or Web-based 

GIS, analysts can model the dispersion of a 

nuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical 

plume. Specialists can overlay these models onto 

a city map to examine how attacks would affect 

given areas and populations. Further layers such 

as satellite imagery can provide additional understanding, 

including topography and other information 

for remote locations. Threat-assessment 

advisers then can run various scenarios to plan 

optimal evacuation routes and determine where 

to place decontamination facilities and chemical/ 

biological detectors. 

Among some of the well-tested programs 

for visualizing these scenarios both at home 

and abroad are Consequence Assessment Tool 

Sets — Joint Assessment of Catastrophic Event 

(CATS-JACE or C-J) and Hazard Prediction 

and Assessment Capability (HPAC). Used primarily 

for domestic threat assessment because 

of its in-depth U.S. city-level data, C-J is a 

set of models that simulates both natural and 


Dexter Ingram 

Professional Staff Member 

House Select Committee on Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 

http://homelandsecurity.house.gov 

Joe Ingram 

Senior GIS Consultant 

Ingram Engineering Inc. 

Brookeville, Md. 

www.IngramEngInc.com 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

17

manmade catastrophes, from earthquakes 

to chemical weapons attacks to hazardous 

material spills. 

With a few extensions, C-J enables users 

to generate predictive models and conduct 

casualty and damage assessment. HPAC, 

similar to C-J but with more international 

data and a larger variety of unconventional 

threat scenarios, is more often used to 

model threats abroad. The two GIS computer 

models have proven invaluable for 

policy briefings, public education and event 

preparation during the past few years. 

In a graphic front-page 

story, he described the 

results of a nuclear 

bomb small enough to 

be hidden in a briefcase. 

MODELING WITH WEATHER AND FACILITIES 

Developed by Science Applications International 

Corporation (SAIC) just after 

the first Gulf War, the Defense Threat 

Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

distributed C-J to support emergency 

managers’ training exercises, contingency 

planning, and logistical planning, as well as 

to calculate requirements for humanitarian 

aid and force protection. The GIS interface 

allows users to combine and manipulate 

multiple layers of information on a variety 

of visual information backgrounds and 

maps to assess affected persons, property 

and infrastructure. C-J can be used regardless 

of the user’s level of expertise or access 

to information. The technologies allow 

the modeling of scenarios based on current 

weapons technology and past results 

from biological, chemical and radiological 

experiments. 

The models are based on data pulled 

from the DTRA database and combined 

with more than 150 other databases, including 

census, nuclear plants, military bases, 

ports and chemical processing plants. In 

addition, the new JACE program allows for 

an actual satellite image to overlay a traditional 

GIS street map theme. Commercial 

space remote sensing companies now can 

provide in-depth satellite imagery of buildings, 

which opens a new world of analysis. 

Currently, such firms can develop scenarios 

that assess structural damage to buildings 

and casualty estimates for those within. 

The analysis becomes even more accurate 

when it links directly to the National 

Weather Service (NWS) and pulls regional 

weather for the time the simulated event 

takes place. This can involve either forecasted 

weather or, if the event is too far away 

for an accurate forecast, historical averages 

of weather over the past 20 years. The program 

then produces a map that shows the 

areas and populations affected and the level 

of lethality of the attack. 

HOMEL AND SECURIT Y SCENARIOS 

At the request of U.S. House and Senate 

staff — as well as media outlets such as 

The Houston Chronicle, Washington Times, 

York Daily Record, and The Times (London) 

— C-J was used to model a variety of 

scenarios involving several American cities. 

Specifically, simulations done included 

dirty bombs detonating in downtown areas; 

a crop duster spreading anthrax, sarin, 

botulinum toxin, or nerve gas over large 

populations; a nuclear reactor leak; a missile 

intercept; and a nuclear explosion. In 

Houston, the media used the latter model to 

challenge local government officials regarding 

their disaster-preparedness plans. 

Following the first anniversary of Sept. 

11, Mike Hedges of The Houston Chronicle 

interviewed local authorities and first responders 

to see if his city was prepared for 

the terrorist attacks modeled. He also asked 

local, state and federal officials to describe 

how they would respond to these scenarios. 

In a graphic front-page story, he described a 

nuclear bomb small enough to be hidden in a 

briefcase. It would level downtown Houston, 

flattening many of the 58 skyscrapers and 

killing up to 130,000 workers. 

This simulation included data from ESRI 

StreetMap, the National Weather Service 

(NWS) and the National Imagery Mapping 

Agency (NIMA), now called the National 

Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Street- 

Map contained the necessary detailed road 

information and map layers of downtown 

Houston. The C-J software ties to NWS’s 

database to get the latest forecast information 

to determine the plume dispersion. Additional 

map layers (buildings, parks, water bodies, 

and so forth) came from NGA sources. All 

the data were plotted in a geodetic coordinate 

system (degrees latitude and longitude). 

The simulation demonstrated the bomb 

exploding outside City Hall, destroying it, 

the Houston Police Department’s headquarters, 

and the Harris County administrative 

offices. It would have killed most local leaders 

and law enforcement officials, crippling 

the city’s ability to respond to the disaster. 

Based on the simulated weather data, the 

wind dragged the radioactive cloud through 

the East End and beyond the I-610 Loop, 

killing 10 percent of those in its stream and 

leaving thousands more ill (Figure 1). 

Houston authorities had considered 

disaster scenarios in planning emergency 

responses, but the simulation and Hedges’ 

article fostered debate about how prepared 

the city was for an attack. The discussion 

pointed out deficiencies for the city to address. 

Following Houston’s lead, many other 

localities performed simulations to test their 

preparedness. 

AT TACK S FROM OVER THE BORDER 

Soon after Sept. 11, the Heritage Foundation 

Homeland Security Task Force used 

C-J to help assess port and border security 

threats. The analysis showed the U.S. is still 

vulnerable even if the attack doesn’t start on 

U.S. soil. The group ran four nuclear and biological 

scenarios, looking at the border cities 

of Detroit, Michigan; San Diego, California; 

Buffalo, New York; and El Paso, Texas. 

One of many mock border scenarios 

modeled a nuclear explosion in Mexico 

across the border from El Paso. After 

purchasing an old Soviet suitcase nuclear 

weapon in Central Asia, a terrorist smuggles 

it into Mexico to detonate it near the U.S. 

border. Traveling by car, the suicide bomber 

makes his way toward El Paso. South of the 

border, he pulls into a vehicle inspection 

station and detonates a 3-kiloton nuclear 

bomb, equivalent to 3,000 tons of dynamite. 

In this scenario, much of El Paso is devastated, 

even though the bomb exploded on 

the other side of the border. Prevailing winds 

blow radiation to San Antonio. Authorities 

do not know if this is a single attack or a 


precursor to other attacks. Fortunately it’s 

just a simulation. But it does help to better 

prepare the local and federal authorities and 

first responders who would be involved in 

such a catastrophic attack. 

MILITARY COMM AND AND CONTROL 

As useful as the previously discussed models 

are, GIS software that enables battle management 

modeling is even more advanced. 

In addition to C-J and HPAC, the U.S. Air 

Force, for instance, uses its own command 

and control mapping software for its Theatre 

Battle Management Core Systems Unit Level 

(TBMCS-UL). This GIS software, deployed 

at Air Combat Command, Europe Command 

and Pacific Air Force Command bases 

around the world, monitors conventional attacks 

as well as nuclear, biological, or chemical 

attacks on a particular installation. Base 

commanders and decision makers then can 

determine how best to use their war-fighting 

assets and more importantly, how to protect 

military and civilian personnel via bunkers 

and protective clothing. 

Exercise scenarios similar to those 

done with C-J and HPAC are done with 

great regularity in Operational Readiness 

Exercises using the TBMCS-UL mapping 

tool. Likewise, the GIS data supplied for 

TBMCS-UL may come from a variety of 

sources to include both government (NGA, 

FAA, Air Force Civil Engineers) as well as 

commercial vendors. Additionally, this collected 

data will be placed in a GIS repository 

and used for other Air Force visualization 

needs, such as Base Realignment and Closure 

2005 (BRAC 2205) initiative. 

The idea is that facility managers and 

sweep teams can use the map application as 

a reporting tool before, during and after an 

attack or incident occurs on an installation. 

Automated chemical and biological detectors 

also feed into the application. The tools can 

run from minimum data sources such as facility 

and runway map layers that have been 

vectorized/digitized from satellite imagery 

for remote locations, to a fully surveyed 

Garrison base, which can include additional 

layers from streets to golf courses. These exercises 

help commanders streamline recovery 

efforts and give them realistic expectations of 

a base’s recovery time after an attack. 

Whether preparing for or responding to 

domestic and global threats, the use of geospatial 

technology on homeland defense and 

emergency planning has been monumental 

since the events of Sept. 11. Regardless of 

whether GIS tools are supporting active 

military operations or incidents closer to 

home, having access to current data and the 

ability to analyze the data saves lives and 

property. Awareness of these tools/data, 

in addition to following data standards, 

can aid in increased interoperability while 

decreasing duplication of efforts. « 

MM Imaging notes Ad 2/19/04 10:42 AM Page 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

19

Bolstering 

the use of 

ISR with 

battlespace 

situational 

awareness 

figure 1 

Warfighter use of 

commercial imagery 

Providing commercial remote sensing 

data directly to our nation’s warfighters could 

prove beneficial. This premise is consistent 

with the commercial space guidelines of the 

National Space Policy: “to the extent feasible, 

pursue innovative methods for procurement 

of space products and services.” In an April 

25, 2003, National Security Order, President 

George W. Bush reiterated plans to use commercially 

available satellite images to the 

greatest extent possible to meet U.S. military, 

intelligence, foreign policy, homeland security, 

and first-responder needs. With sub-meter 

image resolution, the commercial remote 

sensing industry has become an important 

information source to the warfighter. 

Over the last few years, Air Force Chief of 

Staff Gen. John P. Jumper has been emphasizing 

the need for “horizontal integration of 

our manned, unmanned, and space assets in 

order to provide real-time actionable, exploitable 

intelligence to commanders.” 

He also contends that our military’s 

success depends upon reducing the find, fix, 

track, target, engage, and assess (F2T2EA) 

cycle and upon achieving persistent Intelligence, 

Surveillance and Reconnaissance 

(ISR) capabilities. These needs are driven 

by the military’s transformation or shift 

from the threat-based approach of the Cold 

War era to a capabilities-based approach 

focusing on information superiority, precision 

engagement, and rapid global mobility. 

The new approach trades armor (or inches 

of steel) for better information and intelligence, 

characterized by battlespace situational 

awareness unveiling the battlefield 

environment to combatant commanders 

and decision makers. 

The United States has a variety of ISR 

assets providing warfighters the information 

they need to conduct their missions, 

which range from turning back aggression 

and helping to secure peace to providing assistance 

to Humanitarian Relief Operations. 

Battlespace situational awareness requires 

persistent surveillance and real-time direct 

tasking of ISR assets. The ISR systems in 

Figure 1 are the “organic” assets that are 

tasked directly from the theater controlled 

by the Combatant Commander. Commercial 

remote sensing satellites operational 

today have the potential to augment the 

military’s suite of ISR assets supporting battlespace 

awareness, especially if they can be 

tasked like an organic asset. 

An example of a commercial remote 

sensing system that can be tasked directly 

is Space Imaging’s IKONOS. Raytheon 

(Waltham, Mass.), as a co-owner of Space 

Imaging (Thornton, Colo.), performs the 

development and support for the end-to-end 

ground architecture that receives, tasks, processes 

and disseminates imagery. The system 

receives orders from customers, generates 

collection tasking, uplinks commands to the 

satellites, receives and archives collected 

imagery and telemetry data, and generates 

products for distribution. 

Raytheon has delivered over 12 regional 

operational centers (ROC) or 

ground stations to customers throughout 

the world, including Space Imaging affiliates: 

Space Imaging Middle East (Dubai), 

Japan Space Imaging (Tokyo), Space 

Imaging Asia (Seoul), Space Imaging 

Eurasia (Ankara), and European Space 

Imaging (Munich), as well as Space Imaging 

Southeast Asia (Bangkok). The customers 

of these remote systems have the 

ability to uplink collection requirements 

“on the pass” and receive data back while 


figure 2 

Derr Bergenthal 

Sr. Principal Engineer 

Raytheon 

Aurora, Colo. 

www.raytheon.com/businesses/ 

riis/index.html 

The military is shifting from the 

threat-based approach of the 

Cold War era to a capabilities-based 

approach focusing on information 

superiority, precision engagement, 

and rapid global mobility. 

figure 3 

the satellite is over the station. The ROC 

architecture provides the capability both 

to directly task the payload from remote 

ground terminals and to downlink imagery, 

facilitating direct tasking of the satellite 

by battlefield commanders. 

The ISR assets in Figure 1 are independent 

systems that require centralized control 

to effectively exploit their capabilities. This 

control is provided, in conjunction with the 

Joint Task Force, by the Distributed Common 

Ground System (DCGS), which Raytheon 

is developing for the Air Force. For 

commercial imagery systems to be included 

in the military’s suite of ISR assets they must 

be effectively integrated into an ISR management 

system to reach their full potential. As 

part of DCGS, Raytheon’s ISR Warrior supports 

the management ISR sensor platforms 

such as the U-2 high altitude reconnaissance 

aircraft and the Global Hawk and Predator 

unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs). Raytheon’s 

ISR Warrior architecture can extend to 

new sensors such as those provided by commercial 

remote sensing systems. 

Figure 2 shows a pictorial representation 

of a theater battlespace managed by 

ISR Warrior, which centralizes control and 

visualization of assets, thus improving intelligence 

information. It provides real-time 

mission monitoring, which reduces timecritical 

targeting and F2T2EA timelines. 

The ISR Warrior also provides the operator 

with the tools to affect and expedite deci- 


sions once ISR decisions have been made. 

ISR Warrior is a Web-based decision 

system that provides the warfighter a consolidated 

picture of the theater battlespace. 

It accomplishes this through the visualization 

of ISR assets overlaid with order of battle, 

collections plans and planned targets along 

with tip-off information from Signals Intelligence 

(SIGINT), Measurement and Signature 

Intelligence (MASINT), and Moving 

Target Indicator (MTI) sources. ISR Warrior 

provides the ability to re-task ISR assets in 

support of time-critical/time-sensitive targeting. 

The 3-D capabilities shown in Figure 3 

give the operator the ability to view weather 

information, terrain delimitation data, and 

threat domes. The operator can monitor each 

platform’s collection and navigation plan, 

track the asset’s position and the sensor’s 

field of regard or field of view. 

The commercial imagery challenge to 

support warfighters will be integrating its 

capability and other ISR sensors to enhance 

tactical surveillance and time-critical targeting. 

To be of significant military value, the 

contribution will be measured against the 

tactical F2T2EA and the ability to support 

accurate and real-time battlefield situational 

awareness. Can commercial imagery systems 

work effectively with other ISR platforms? 

Horizontal integration is the key to 

improving persistent surveillance. For commercial 

imagery direct to the warfighter, the 

path to horizontal integration is through the 

DCGS and the cross-platform coordination 

of its ISR Warrior component. 

A military exercise, such as those conducted 

by U.S. Joint Forces Command, 

using a directly tasked commercial remote 

sensing system and ISR Warrior would 

be an ideal way to evaluate the benefits of 

providing commercial imagery directly to 

the warfighter. Through wargames, we can 

determine circumstances where commercial 

imagery is particularly valuable or where 

it can compensate for the unavailability of 

other ISR assets. We can show the power of 

fusing commercial imagery with data from 

other assets in near real-time. We can also 

show to an ISR Warrior operator the utility 

of using commercial imagery to dynamically 

re-task other assets and vice-versa. Re-tasking 

is instrumental to reducing the F2T2EA 

cycle by changing ISR collection activities on 

the fly in response to the dynamic battlefield 

environment. « 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

21

Adding shape-based search technology 

New technology with implications for 

Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) in satellite imagery is being investigated 

in the Research department at Space Imaging (Thornton, 

Colo.). Look Dynamics (Longmont, Colo.) has developed a technology 

that allows the encoding of image clips as shape information through 

optical processing. 

The resultant shape information from a number of images may be 

stored in a database for subsequent search. To search a shape database, 

a model image clip is passed through the encoding system to obtain its 

shape information, which is then used to find matches. The technology 

requires no knowledge of specific image objects (such as definitions for 

airplane or truck) prior to the creation of the databases. Thus, an image 

needs to be passed through the optical engine only once to enable 

searching of its contents and does not require reprocessing when new 

search models are defined. 

The availability of satellite data has increased tremendously in 

recent years. The advent of commercial satellites carrying high-resolution 

sensors has also increased the amount of data available for study 

and processing. Far more pixels exist than can be inspected by human 

eyes. Automated processing methods for analyzing these pixels are 

becoming more and more crucial as the manpower required to review 

those pixels further and further surpasses that which is available. 

The technology developed by Look Dynamics could be part of a potential 

solution to this now-intractable problem. Encoding an image by its 

content, as shapes, could require significantly less storage than pixel data. 

Because the processing is optical, the generation of databases of such shapes 

is far faster than could be achieved by a comparable system based on conventional 

digital processing technology. Another key factor is that the nature 

of the search objects does not need to be known when the image encoding 

is done and the databases are generated. Entire archives of imagery could be 

encoded as shape representations for later object search and retrieval. 

The technology was originally created for imagebased 

searches of the internet. The new exploration of 

this technology applies it to satellite imagery. It may be 

applicable not only to wide-area search, but to feature 

extraction and change detection as well. 

The majority of approaches to image storage and 

retrieval rely on some combination of color, texture and 

shape information extracted from the imagery. One texture-based 

approach (Puzicha et al. 1997) uses Gabor 

filtering to achieve image segmentation and subsequent 

image retrieval. Manjunath and Ma (1996) use Gabor 

filters to characterize texture as well, in conjunction with 

a user interface that allows the analyst to delineate a portion 

of an image (containing some uniform texture) to 

use as a query. There are also approaches which use color 

or shape information only. Stricker and Orengo (1995) 

attempt to improve the utility of color histogram measures 

for image indexing and retrieval by characterizing 

objects with the dominant features of the color distribution 

instead of the entire color histogram. Folkers and 

Samet (2002) use Fourier descriptors to approximate basic 

geometric shapes that, in some spatial arrangement, 

can characterize objects in a logo database. 

The Look Dynamics system is unique in that it is 

an analog-based approach to a problem which has 

traditionally been approached from a purely software 


SECTION N+2 

FULL IMAGE 

SECTION N+1 

Figure 1: Generation and storage of shape information 

(Charles deGaulle International Airport, Paris) 

SECTION N 

Donna Haverkamp 

Sr. Research Scientist 

Laurie Gibson 

Director of Research and 

Product Development 

1Klps 

Space Imaging 

Thornton, Colo. 

www.spaceimaging.com 

OPTICAL ENGINE 

GENERIC SHAPES 

SHAPE DATABASE 


S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

23

standpoint. The optical portion of the system can process 260 

square kilometers in one second, a far greater speed than any software 

implementation. 

To enable the searching of image databases by shape, Look 

Dynamics has developed technology combining analog and 

digital processing. This proprietary imagery has the potential to 

rapidly extract, store and search for patterns from all types of 

imagery. Look Dynamics’ new application has two components: 

an optical engine that extracts patterns from images and a database 

in which the pattern information is stored. 

Various approaches to indexing images by shape have been 

proposed, but none have been sufficiently robust or fast to use in 

real-world applications. While a system may be able to handle a 

few thousand images, it will not scale to larger databases due to 

the processing required. This limitation is inherent to the complexity 

of extracting shapes and patterns from 

The optical portion 

of the system 

can process 

260 square 

kilometers 

in one second, 

a far greater speed 

than any software 

implementation. 

imagery. Algorithms implemented on digital 

processors are simply not fast enough. The 

Look Dynamics system uses an optical 

engine to carry out the shape extraction and 

encoding at optical speeds. This system does not 

perform optical correlation, and it does not use the 

optical engine for searching. Instead, the optical engine 

provides an encoding process that extracts 

a characterization of the shape information 

within an image. These characterizations, 

or “fingerprints,” are then stored in a database 

that can be searched in software. 

With the Look Dynamics system, an image 

is brought in only one time. Preprocessing 

is performed on the image using a pair of Intel 

computers, and it is loaded into a custom electronic 

board that drives the input spatial light modulator (SLM) and 

controls system timing. The image is displayed on the SLM, and 

the shapes are extracted optically as a whole (not pixel-by-pixel) 

and detected on a photo-diode array. Another Intel computer takes 

the output of the photo-diode array and converts it to the shape 

fingerprint, which is stored in the database. 

To “load” a satellite image into a Shape Feature Database, a full 

image is divided into subsections (image clips) that can be fed to the 

optical engine. These 512 x 512 pixel subsections are down-sampled 

to the SLM’s 8-bit resolution, then contrast-stretched and edge-enhanced 

before formation on the SLM. Laser light reflected off the 

SLM projects the image as collimated beams of light, which pass 

through a lens and onto Look Dynamics’ proprietary silicon chip, 

the Antilles. The Antilles chip breaks the image into Fourier components 

and reprojects them to an image sensor. Line segments “seen” 

at the sensor are stored as shapes in the database. See also Figure 1. 

For each image clip, the shape characterization, or fingerprint, is 

extracted and stored in the database together with information about 

the source image and section number. In the future, the database 

should be able to contain shape-based characterizations of millions 

of images, prebuilt and waiting to be searched. When a client formulates 

a query, he can use an image or a (scanned) map or drawing. 

The query can ask for images and locations within them that match, 

contain, or are similar to the example. The system encodes the query 

example by shape using the optical processor and then searches the 

database for similar shapes. The query returns what it finds with a 

score or confidence measure. 

Encoding of the imagery as shapes that can be searched upon 

and matched implies a number of applications for this technology. 

Wide-area search, feature extraction (roads, buildings or any of a 

number of natural or man-made objects), and change detection are 

all current problems that this technology may help solve. 

Efficient shape database search implies that this technology could 

be used as a focus of attention for any of the aforementioned applications. 

Quickly narrowing in to areas likely to contain objects or 

changes which need to be identified or found would be an extremely 

effective prefilter. The kind of pixel-intensive 

processing necessary for accurate object 

identification or change detection is not 

feasible over large amounts of image data. 

The Look Dynamics technology could point 

the more compute-intensive algorithms to areas 

likely to contain content of interest. Using the optical 

processing technology in tandem with a suite of 

software-based solutions tailored to individual applications 

could create a powerful hardwaresoftware 

hybrid technology for a number of 

image-processing applications. 

Space Imaging and Look Dynamics 

have worked together to adapt this technology 

for satellite imagery. A performance 

baseline has been established using a number 

of IKONOS image clips. After an initial round 

of investigation, areas for improvement were identified. Modifications 

of the system to incorporate these improvements and plans to 

re-evaluate system performance are in progress. The full potential 

of this technology and the opportunity to utilize it in conjunction 

with IKONOS data for image processing applications will be realized 

in the future. « 

R EFER ENC E S 

Folkers, A., and H. Samet, “Content-Based Image Retrieval Using Fourier 

Descriptors on a Logo Database,” 16th International Conference on Pattern 

Recognition, vol. 3, August 2002, pp. 30,521-30,524. 

Manjunath, B. S., and W. Y. Ma, “Texture Features for Browsing and Retrieval 

of Image Data,” IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine 

Intelligence, 18(8), August 1996, pp. 837-842. 

Puzicha, J., T. Hofmann, and J. M. Buhmann, “Non-Parametric Similarity 

Measures for Unsupervised Texture Segmentation and Image Retrieval,” 

Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision and 

Pattern Recognition, San Juan, June 1997, pp. 267-272. 

Stricker, M., and M. Orengo, “Similarity of Color Images,” SPIE Conference 

on Storage and Retrieval for Image and Video Databases III, vol. 2420, 

February 1995, pp. 381-392. 


The transition 

of digital earth 

imagery, once 

considered 

simply data, 

to a critical 

element in 

homeland security 

Saddam Airport, Bagdhad 

More than 

imagery — 

intelligence 


Donn Walklet 

CEO 

Terra-Vista, Inc. 

Lafayette, Calif. 

www.terra-vista.com 

The proverbial “eye in the sky” 

has come a long way in 60 years, from the 

earliest operational use of aerial photography 

during World War II to the current use of satellites 

by the military, civil authorities, and 

industry—for a wide range of applications. 

Along the way, the world has become a 

much more dangerous place, as tragically revealed 

in the 9/11 acts of terrorism and their 

aftermath. The United States no longer faces 

a predictable and definable threat from an 

adversary like the Soviet Union. Its enemies 

have disappeared into the shadows of “asymmetrical” 

warfare, reverting to seemingly unpredictable 

strikes at the country’s infrastructure 

and unprotected population centers. 

Fortunately, over the last decade, new 

technology has given us tools to combat terrorism 

by gathering intelligence in near realtime. 

The U.S. military has changed its mode 

of procurement from a procedure known as 

MILSPEC (military specifications) contracting—driven 

by a meticulous, time-consuming 

and costly process of custom crafting 

hardware and software—to a method 

known as COTS (commercial-off-theshelf), 

thereby exploiting the efficiencies of 

hardware developed for the private sector. 

This capability is being used today in 

Iraq in the form of a command and control 

system known as the Theatre Battle Management 

Core System or TB-MCS. TB- 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

25

MCS is a Web-based system for planning, 

managing and executing the air war. Fifty 

computer programs keep track of the latest 

information on targets, weapons, fuelloads, 

weather and navigation. Combined 

with manned surveillance aircraft like 

JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack 

Radar System) and unmanned UAV/RPV’s 

like the Air Force’s Global Hawk, in addition 

to precision munitions like the GPSguided 

J-DAM, the military has completed 

the transition towards “network-centric” 

warfare, a faster way of sharing tactical 

information and deploying offensive and 

defensive forces. 

The end result of this successful transition 

by the military is the availability of 

functional and affordable tools to process 

the high volumes of geographic raw data 

produced by airborne or satellite-based 

sensors. Equally important is the parallel 

development of broadband communication 

technology to move data anywhere 

in the world in real-time, paired with 

database capabilities permitting the 

cataloging and organization of complex 

geographic information. The customization 

of these technologies to serve a specific 

task, like homeland security, is the 

final step in creating a capability which 

Unlike other catastrophic events, these seemingly 

uncontrollable disasters are completely preventable. 

will provide an edge in defending the U.S. 

from outside threats. 

Domestically, the potential applications 

of this technology are numerous and 

diverse. Practically every component of the 

economy, from transportation to energy 

production, is vulnerable. Thus surveillance 

of some kind is being applied as a 

defensive layer in the security process. For 

example, the Coast Guard is tasked with 

protecting the inland waterways and ports 

that are the lifeblood of international 

commerce. The overhead perspective is the 

ideal vantage point to monitor ship and 

barge traffic in real time, using existing 

aerial and satellite imagery as a reference. 

In the near future, ships and barges will 

be required to have GPS equipment onboard 

capable of instantly communicating 

via satellite their location and status. Combined 

with other sources of information, 

such as proximity of pipelines and nuclear 

power plants, along with the graphic display 

of Coast Guard resources, such as 

patrol boats, the Coast Guard will have the 

equivalent of the military TB-MCS command 

and control system. Ultimately, or- 

1 

ganizations like the Coast Guard, FBI, and 

local law enforcement will have access to 

real-time sources of imagery from airborne 

platforms, with all data processed from its 

rawest form and geographically oriented 

into a useable form of intelligence that will 

give decision makers exactly the information 

they need when they need it. 

Figure 1 shows a computer display of a 

possible Coast Guard surveillance scenario 

along the Mississippi River in which barge 

traffic containing dangerous cargo is being 

tracked in real time. 

In this context, digital earth imagery 

from satellite and aircraft platforms is transitioning 

from an isolated source of information 

to one that is an integral part of a decision-making 

system in which the imagery 

is an important, but not the only source of 

intelligence. Imagery will frequently be the 

reference layer, often replacing or supplementing 

the digital street map as a way 

of determining the location of important 

resources. Imagery becomes much more of a 

critical layer in itself when it is created in real 

time, processed and integrated with other 

types of data, as a surveillance source of 

intelligence—again, similar to the military’s 

JSTARS and Global Hawk systems. It is 

this visual intelligence showing the status 

of a dynamically evolving situation that 

demonstrates the use of imagery rising to its 

greatest potential. 

However, at this point, strategists 

among the homeland defense constituencies 

need to think outside the box. As the 

recent terrorist acts on the commuter rail 

system in Spain have demonstrated, asymmetrical 

attacks may come where and 

when you least expect them. 

For example, imagery and associated 

command and control systems may be configured 

to deal with one of modern society’s 

most devastating disasters, wildland fires. 

These disasters traditionally have been 

ignited by natural forces such as lightning, 

but now are frequently attributed to malicious 

arsonists or, not an unlikely threat, 

to potential terrorists. Wildland fires are 

among the most dynamic and destructive 


of natural or manmade calamities. To date, 

the process of dealing with wildfires has 

been more reactive than proactive. In other 

words, fires ignite, are often influenced by atmospheric 

conditions and winds, and spread 

rapidly as time progresses, until countermeasures 

are applied. 

Wildland fires parallel other types of 

natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, 

floods, and earthquakes, with one 

important exception—unlike other catastrophic 

events, these seemingly uncontrollable 

disasters are completely preventable. 

Many of these conflagrations, like the 

2003 Southern California fires, could have 

been contained if they had been identified 

early and isolated using rapid response 

tanker aircraft and helicopters—a scenario 

that closely parallels the military aerial 

command control capability embodied in 

TB-MCS. Any fire fighter will readily acknowledge 

that time to respond to fires is 

the key variable in their suppression. 

Figure 2 shows an example of such a system 

in which fire bosses get the “big picture” 

and rapidly respond to new threats in the field 

with instantaneous access to intelligence. 

Airborne sensors can detect early ignition 

of a fire. In a tactical mode, the raw imagery 

generated by these sensors is converted into 

a digital photomap in near real time. That 

information can then be combined with a 

variety of other data, such as road networks, 

location of known hazards, aerial tanker 

attack plans, and real-time meteorology 

overlays, to generate a complete intelligence 

database. Fire bosses can direct operations in 

the field in a manner that allows field crews 

to receive only the information they require 

when they need it. 

There are many variations on this theme, 

in which imagery generated, analyzed 

and delivered in near real time can have a 

dramatic impact in limiting or containing 

the threat of terrorism. The availability 

of technology at an affordable price is no 

longer an issue. Institutional inertia may be 

the greatest inhibitor to the adoption of this 

technology, and this roadblock will disappear 

as government and the private sector 

successfully demonstrate the benefits that 

imagery, integrated into a command and 

control system, can generate. « 

2 

Communications 

satellite 

Central data analysis/ 

command and control 

center 

Tanker aircraft 

with heads-up display 

depicting target data 

GPS-enabled data reference subsystem 

IP link 

to ground 

tranceiver 

Portable ground transceiver 

On-site command, control 

and targeting 

Aircract/UAV 

thermal IR sensor 

fire zone 

IP link 

to PDA 

GPS-enabled PDA 


S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

27

An overwhelming increase 

in the volume of commercial air traffic in 

the last half of the twentieth century has 

increased the demand on aircraft ground 

taxiing (known as surface movements) at 

the world’s airports. This change resulted 

in a corresponding increase in the potential 

for runway incursions, both by unauthorized 

aircraft and by ground vehicles outside of 

their operating locations. The problem created 

by the increase in volume culminated 

in the most serious ground accident in the 

history of aviation at Tenerife, in the Canary 

Islands of Spain on March 27, 1977, when 

two 747 airliners collided in the fog with 

catastrophic loss of life. 

Many international organizations such 

as NASA, the Flight Safety Foundation, 

and universities such as Stanford University 

and Ohio University have made significant 

strides toward the implementation 

of enabling technology to reduce runway 

incursions and to enhance the efficiency of 

airport surface operations. 

Early solutions included the implementation 

of Surface Movement Guidance and 

Control Systems (SMGCS) at a number of 

airports. An SMGCS has a number of lights 

and sensors that control taxiing operations. 

Subsequent follow-on work with multilateration 

radar technologies is in progress to enhance 

tools for air traffic control authorities 

(known as Air Traffic Management or ATM) 

to control airport surface movements. 

However, display technology was also 

needed to provide flight and, potentially, 

ground vehicle crews with enhanced situational 

awareness, which required a moving 

map of the airport. The primary goal is to 

give pilots “synthetic” views of their positions 

on the airport, as if they could actually 

see outside in clear daylight weather conditions. 

With the publication of a global GIS 

standard known as DO-272, airports could 

be consistently mapped in order to provide 

that needed situational awareness. 

Figure 1 is an example of such an airport 

mapping database (AMDB), constructed 

by Space Imaging’s Solutions organization. 

One of the significant enabling technologies necessary to adopt the widespread use of 

airport mapping is the ability to define and exchange position information. The recent 

implementation of the GPS Wide-Area-Augmentation-System (WAAS) constellation 

by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) greatly enabled geopositioning. Instead 

of a location solution that was no better than 25-50 meters, the WAAS improved the 

quality of raw GPS to 1-2 meters laterally, and 2-3 meters vertically. 

These AMDBs would have multiple uses, including surface movement awareness 

information for air traffic controllers, flight crews and ground vehicles. Other uses 

include graphical depictions of future changes to support future trips and Homeland 

Security surveillance and response needs. New GIS, satellite imagery and GPS technology 

have allowed airports to more effectively manage these needs. 

Following the tragic events of 9/11, a stronger emphasis was placed upon the security 

of air traffic, not just the safety of air traffic. Once steps were taken to better secure air 

traffic in-flight (with reinforced cockpit doors, air marshals and improved screening), the 

security of surface movements became more of a focus for improvement. 

The airport “environment” is comprised of fixed and movable assets. The AMDB 

will take care of mapping the fixed or permanent installations on the airport, both airside 

(where the aircraft can actually taxi) and groundside (all areas of the airport not used for 

aircraft taxiing). However, AMDB cannot track movable assets, which are principally 

ground vehicles. 


GIS mapping and automatic vehicle location (AVL) technology 

FIGURE 1 

Example of a GIS map 

of San Francisco 

International Airport 

FIGURE 2 

Example of 

AVL with 

authorized 

areas for 

baggage 

carts and 

fuel trucks 

in yellow 

By Dejan Damjanovic 

Domain Manager, 

Air & Marine 

Transportation 

Space Imaging 

Thornton, Colo. 

www.spaceimaging.com 


Tracking ground vehicles for flight operations coordination is 

the primary concern. Other requirements include tracking ground 

vehicles for: (a) asset management purposes; (b) operational efficiency; 

(c) security surveillance; (d) flight operations emergency 

response; (e) terrorist or security emergency operations. 

At any given airport, it is likely that 10 to 20 times the number 

of ground vehicles exist as do aircraft. Since any truck can 

potentially carry explosive or hazardous cargo, airport authorities 

need to find better ways of monitoring their locations. 

AVL (automatic vehicle location) example: Baggage carts and 

fuel trucks ought to stay on the “thatched aprons,” or yellow 

taxiways. They should never be on the red runways (Figure 2). 

Fortunately, the trucking industry worldwide has been using 

a technology known as automatic vehicle location or AVL 

for much of the past several decades. The 

principal components of an AVL system 

include: 

(a) GPS receiver and a wireless data 

link in each remote vehicle; 

(b) Master station, capable of receiving 

all data link transmissions from the 

remote vehicles; 

(c) Capture software and data 

logging, capable of replaying 

portions or complete routes being 

driven by the remote vehicles; 

(d) Mapping and/or monitoring software 

to track the vehicles’ positions. 

Initially, AVL required explicit polling 

of the vehicles, as radio transmission speed 

was limited. With the implementation of cellular 

analog and then digital transmissions, 

those speeds increased by many orders of 

magnitude. 

With this increased bandwidth, it 

has become feasible to monitor the exact 

routes being used as well as the speed and 

directions of the vehicles. This close monitoring 

allows the detection of unlawful 

movements and triggers alarm conditions 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

29

when the vehicle strays significantly from a planned routing or location. Driver identification 

using a smart card or similar digital signature to attach a person to a vehicle 

is a simple matter. 

Much like air navigation, AVL supports progressive monitoring of a route from location 

to location, including complete velocity and direction that can be refreshed to the second. 

With the low driving speeds found in surface movements, it is fully feasible to use this type 

of technology to report on the movement of ground vehicles on an airport, at any size 

airport in the world. 

Figure 3: AVL Behavior Example: Perimeter Security Vehicle should pass along the 

black roadway along the shoreline at least once every two hours. 

One of the significant advantages of AVL technology is the ability to observe or monitor 

the behavior of the ground vehicles, not just the position. If we re-examine the table from the 

previous paragraphs, we can assign some kind of behavior to each of those categories. This 

would allow us to define when the actions of the vehicle are not consistent with the expected 

behavior and thus need to trigger an alarm. 

Following is a list of ground vehicle monitoring purposes and the relevant questions: 

A SSE T M ANAGEMENT PURPOSES 

Can we identify the location? 

Can we identify the driver? 

OPER ATIONAL EFFICIENC Y 

Has the driver of this vehicle surpassed his/her hours on the job? 

Is the vehicle being operated during its known hours of operation? 

Has a vehicle exceeded the speed for its chosen task? 

Has the vehicle gone from a state of transmission to silence? 

FIGURE 3 

AVL behavior 

example 

of route 

for security 

perimeter 

vehicle 

SECURIT Y SURVEILL ANCE 

Has a security vehicle driven along the entire fence/perimeter in the past period of time? 

Has a vehicle gone outside the known area of operation for this type of vehicle? 

Has a vehicle exceeded the speed for its chosen task? 

Has a vehicle gone from a state of transmission 

to silence? 

Is the driver of this vehicle qualified 

to operate the vehicle in restricted areas 

(such as fuel farms, customs areas or hazardous 

material storage)? 

FLIGHT OPERATIONS EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

Can we identify the vehicles that are 

trained to respond to this type of emergency? 

Can we identify that those vehicles 

are equipped with drivers trained in that 

purpose? 

Can we identify that all other vehicles 

have left the area of the emergency? 

Can we identify if any vehicles are impeding 

the response to the emergency? 

T ERRORIST OR SECURIT Y 

EMERGENC Y OPER ATIONS 

Can we identify other vehicles from 

external agencies needed to respond to 

the threat (National Guard, Police, Fire 

or TSA)? 

Can we ensure that those vehicles not 

responding to the threat are kept away 

from the area of the threat? 

In the increased level of security that 

has become commonplace in the airports 

of the world, several new geospatial 

technologies have combined to assist 

enhanced monitoring of ground vehicles. 

Those technologies include: 

(a) GIS databases of the airports, 

AMDB. These support vector 

mapping of the airport at 

positional accuracies down to 1 

meter RMSE, when derived from 

high-resolution satellite imagery. 

(b) The Wide-Area-Augmentation-System 

implemented by the FAA, which 

allows positioning vehicle and 

aircraft on the above maps to within 

1 – 2 meters. 

(c) Widespread and economical 

availability of wireless and cellular 

bandwidth. 

(d) Automatic Vehicle Location 

(AVL) technology that can 

combine all of the above to enable 

strict monitoring of airport 

ground vehicles. « 


2004 events calendar 

Ottowa 

may 


2 – 5 

Airport GIS Conference & Exhibition 

Hilton Back Bay 

Boston, Mass. 

www.airportnet.org/ 

3 – 5 

IMAGIN Annual Conference 

Holiday Inn South 

Lansing, Mich. 

www.imagin.org/ 

10 – 14 

GEOMATICA 2004 

Sede Palacio de las Convenciones 

Havana, Cuba 

www.informaticahabana.com/ 

12 – 14 

GeoSpatial World 2004 

Fontainebleau Hilton 

Miami Beach, Fla. 

www.geospatialworld.com/ 

23 – 28 

ASPRS 2004 Annual Conference 

Adam’s Mark Hotel 

Denver, Colo. 

www.asprs.org/denver2004/ 

index.html 

23 – 27 

Bentley International 

User Conference 

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin 

Orlando, Fla. 

www.bentley.com/biuc/ 

24 – 27 

Canadian Hydrographic Conference 

(CHC 2004) 

Ottawa Westin Hotel 

Ottawa, Canada 

www.chc2004.com/ 

25 – 27 

24th EARSeL Symposium 

New Strategies for 

European Remote Sensing 

Inter University Centre 

Dubrovnik, Croatia 

www.earsel.geosat.hr/ 

28 – 29 

Workshop: Remote Sensing of Land 

Use and Land Cover 

Inter University Centre 

Dubrovnik, Croatia 

www.earsel.geosat.hr/ 

june 

7 – 9 

GISMAP 2004 

Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort 

Honolulu, Hawaii 

www.higicc.org/gismap.asp 

14 – 18 

50th OpenGIS Technical 

Committee Meetings 

Southampton, U.K. 

www.opengis.org/ 

16 – 18 

46th International Symposium 

Electronics in Marine 

Zadar, Croatia 

www.vcl.fer.hr/elmar/2004/ 

20 – 23 

97th Annual Canadian Institute of 

Geomatics Conference 

Westin Hotel 

Ottawa, Canada 

www.cig-acsg.ca/page.asp 

july 

Honolulu 

12 – 23 

ISPRS 20th Congress 

Convention and Exhibition Centre 

Istanbul, Turkey 

www.isprs2004-istanbul.com/ 

18 – 20 

Public Participation GIS Conference 

University of Wisconsin-Madison 

Madison, Wis. 

www.urisa.org/ppgis.htm 

S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 

31

12076 Grant Street 

Thornton, CO 80241 USA 

2 S P R I N G 2 0 0 4 © 2 0 0 4 S P A C E I M A G I N G w w w . i m a g i n g n o t e s . c o m

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