Article

Airborne Pushbroom Line Scan

An Alternative to Digital Frame Cameras
My article on Airborne Digital Frame Cameras that was published in the October 2003 (JPL) projects of the late 1970s. However
these simply remained proposals; they were
issue of GeoInformatics gave an overview of the principal technology that is being used not built. At around the same time, Dr. Otto
Hofmann of Messerschmidt-Bolkow-Blohm
currently to acquire digital images directly from an airborne platform. As the name sug- (MBB) made similar proposals for an air-
borne 3-line pushbroom scanner. The con-
gests, these frame cameras use areal (square or rectangular) arrays of CCD or CMOS cept was nurtured and developed by the
German Aerospace Center (DLR) together
detectors to record individual frame images of the ground for mapping purposes. The with the associated commercial companies
(MBB, DASA, etc.) that have built several of
main alternative airborne digital imaging technology uses linear arrays of detectors the scanners constructed during this devel-
opment period. This resulted in the construc-
allied to a pushbroom mode of operation that utilizes the forward motion of the air- tion of a series of airborne pushbroom line
scanners in Germany over a 25 year period.
borne platform to sweep out a continuous strip image of the ground. The aim of this The first of these was the Electro-Optical
System (EOS) from the late 1970s that was
new article is to present an overview of this alternative digital imaging technology. funded by the Federal Research Ministry.
After this, the Modular Opto-electronic Multi-
by Prof. Gordon Petrie spectral Scanner (MOMS) and the Monocular
Electro-Optical Stereo-Scanner (MEOSS) were
A - Introduction - strip images of the ground as the aircraft developed during the 1980s by DLR, princi-
Heritage & Development flew forward. This resulted in a pair of over- pally with a view to them being operated
lapping (forward and backward pointing) from space. Various models of the MEOSS
Film-Based Line Scanners strip images that could be used to form a scanner were operated from airborne plat-
As mentioned in a previous article published 3D stereo-model of the ground. forms to develop and prove the technology
in the July/August 2000 issue of prior to them being mounted on the Indian
GeoInformatics, the basic idea of an airborne Airborne Pushbroom Line Scanners SROSS-2 and IRS-1E satellites. Unfortunately
line scanner is not new. One can trace its Coming into the era of digital line scanners, both of these satellites were lost during
ancestry back to the shutterless airborne the use of a linear CCD array in combination launch in 1988 and 1993 respectively. During
film-based strip cameras of the 1930s, with a suitable lens to sweep out a single the early 1990s, DLR also sponsored the
known (after the inventor's name) as Sonne continuous strip image of the ground was construction of the Wide Angle Airborne
cameras. These were used mainly for high- applied first in the 1970s to airborne lines- Camera (WAAC) and the High-Resolution
speed low-level reconnaissance flights over can imagers mounted on military reconnais- Stereo Camera-Airborne (HRSC-A). These
the ground during World War-II and the sance aircraft. The more advanced concept of acted as prototypes for the similar imagers
Korean War of the early 1950s. A 3D-stereo having a 3-line pushbroom scanner with for- that were mounted on the Russian Mars-96,
version of the Sonne camera was produced ward/nadir/backward pointing of the three mission which also failed due to problems
with two lenses that were offset relative to linear arrays to allow digital 3D stereo- with its launcher. The Digital
the exposure slit over which the film was imagery to be acquired from space was pro- Photogrammetric Assembly (DPA) was anoth-
being passed continuously to produce the posed in the Mapsat (USGS) and Stereosat er airborne pushbroom scanner built by

a b c

Fig. 1 - (a) The concept of the original shutterless pushbroom scanner (the Sonne camera) providing stereo-coverage of the ground via overlapping strip images recorded on
film. (b) A simple pushbroom line scanner using a single CCD linear array to generate a continuous strip image in digital form. (c) The concept of the 3-line digital pushbroom
scanner producing overlapping stereo strip images. (Drawn by Mike Shand)

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ners:
between 1996 and 1998. Most recently, of a spaceborne platform equipped with suit-
during 2004, an example of the HRSC able stabilizing devices is, by comparison,
pushbroom scanner has been operated quite stable. Furthermore those changes in
from the ESA Mars Express mission pro- the attitude and altitude of such a platform
ducing the spectacular 3D images of the that do occur are quite small and change
surface of Mars that currently excite us. slowly in the near-vacuum of space by com-
Of course, line scanners that are similar parison with those experienced with an air-
to the pioneering German examples have borne platform. These small changes can be
been adopted widely elsewhere for use modelled and coped with relatively easily in
on satellites. These include the pushb- the subsequent image data processing.
room scanners used (i) in the SPOT series
since 1986; (ii) the Indian IRS-1C and -1D Military Requirements
satellites launched during the 1990s; (iii) A further point is that an aircraft has to be
the Japanese OPS (on JERS-1) and ASTER flown in a straight line and at a fixed and
(on Terra); and (iv) the American commer- level altitude to ensure continuous strip cov-
cial high-resolution IKONOS, QuickBird erage of the ground using a line scanner.
and OrbView-3 satellites. Indeed, over the This resulted in a relative lack of interest in
last 15 years, pushbroom scanners have line scanner technology by many military
become one of the two main optical organisations - since such a flight pattern
imaging technologies being used from made the aircraft a comparatively easy target
space - the rotating optical-mechanical for anti-aircraft defences. Give the highly
scanners used in the American manoeuvrable flight patterns that are often
Landsat/TM, NOAA/AVHRR and needed to carry out reconnaissance and
Terra/MODIS satellites being the other. In damage assessment missions, frame cameras
summary, one can say that airborne and offered a much better prospect of a success-
spaceborne pushbroom line scanners ful mission and of aircraft and crew survival.
Fig. 2 - (a) CCD linear arrays with 4,096 (upper) and 12,288 have developed in parallel - though the Thus many military organisations have tend-
detectors (lower) respectively manufactured by E2V. (Source: spaceborne examples reached production ed to be much more supportive of digital
Thales Optronics) (b) The arrangement of the three sets of status first. Only in the last two or three frame camera technology. However it should
Kodak Tri-linear CCD linear arrays that produce RGB colour
years have the airborne 3-line pushbroom be noted that the length of a flight over a
images in a 3-line scanner. (Drawn by Mike Shand)
scanners used for mapping reached a specific target is often quite short - typically
DASA for the German Ministry of Defence. It similar status. in the order of 20 seconds maximum. In
became operational in 1995. which case, the image can be acquired suc-
Airborne v. Spaceborne Platforms cessfully by a line scanner in a short burst
Besides these various German examples, in a The reason for the relative popularity of with the aid of a stabilized mount. Thus cer-
similar manner, NASA sponsored the con- pushbroom line scanner technology on tain air forces, e.g. the British RAF, do oper-
struction of an airborne pushbroom scanner, spaceborne platforms as compared with its ate pushbroom line scanners extensively.
called Air-MISR. This acted as the develop- relative lack of use on airborne platforms in
ment prototype for the MISR scanner operat- the past is that all line scanners need to be
ed from the Terra satellite. operated from a very stable imaging platform B - Imaging Technology
that is not changing its attitude and altitude
Spaceborne Pushbroom Line Scanners during flight. Otherwise gaps and double Detector Technology
As noted above, the development of these imaging will occur in the continuous strip Linear arrays are manufactured in very large
airborne pushbroom line scanners took place image of the ground that is being produced quantities for use as imagers in document
largely with a view to their operation from by a pushbroom line scanner. In this respect, scanners, fax machines, bar code readers,
spaceborne platforms. While DLR had bad an airborne platform will be subjected to hand-held scanners, etc. For these high-vol-
luck with the relevant satellites, it had a atmospheric turbulence to a smaller or ume applications where image quality
much better experience with pushbroom greater degree. This produces sharp and requirements are relatively undemanding and
scanners on manned space platforms. Thus unpredictable changes in the attitude and low cost is a major consideration, the linear
the MOMS-01 scanner was operated success- altitude of the platform with consequent arrays that are being employed are usually
fully from the Space Shuttle in 1983 and effects on the coverage of the imaging scan- based on CMOS technology. Where image
1984. The 3-line stereo version of this scan- ner. Even with the use of gyro-stabilized quality requirements are very high - as is the
ner was also operated successfully both on mounts, the images produced by airborne case with airborne and spaceborne scanner
the Space Shuttle in 1993 (as MOMS-02) and pushbroom line scanners exhibit substantial imagery - CCD detectors remain the most
from the Russian MIR station (as MOMS-2P) geometric displacements. Whereas the flight suitable imaging technology. Their spectral

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a b

Fig. 3 - The use of multiple CCD linear arrays to obtain a wider swath width:-
(a) Using twin lenses (A & B) to generate a single line cross-track from four lin-
c
ear arrays as in MOMS-01.
(b) Using twin lenses (A & B) to give a 3-line panchromatic configuration (each
with two linear arrays L and R in the cross-track direction) as used in the DPA
pushbroom scanner: the other four lenses (S1 to S4) record the RGB and NIR
line images needed to generate colour and false-colour strip images.
(c) The stepped arrangement of the multiple linear arrays used in the
QuickBird pushbroom scanner to produce both a wider swath and multi-spec-
tral images. Note the resulting offset positions and the discontinuities between
the lines in the focal plane of the scanner. (Drawn by Mike Shand)

with its lower the 8,000 detector array has 9m detectors;
yields. A linear and the 6,000 pixel array, 12m detectors.
array of 6,000 The smaller-sized detectors have a smaller
pixels - as surface area available for collection of the
used in the radiation coming from the ground and this
HRSC-A scan- may require the use of larger aperture lenses
sensitivity is confined to the visible and ner - was typical in the mid-1990s. However to ensure a sufficient exposure. In order to
near-IR parts of the spectrum - which satis- nowadays scanners can make use of much increase the image resolution, sometimes
fies the needs of most users. However if cov- longer linear arrays, e.g. those used in the paired linear arrays are used, with each array
erage is required in the medium-IR and/or Leica ADS40 are 12,000 pixels in length. At offset laterally by half-a-pixel relative to the
the thermal-IR parts of the spectrum - e.g. the very top end of the scale, a linear array other. The mean values of the measured
using Infra Red Line Scanners (IRLS) to of 14,400 pixels is now on offer. These intensities are then adopted as the output
detect hot objects or to operate during dark- longer CCD arrays are supplied by various values. This arrangement has been utilized
ness, then the detectors need to be made specialist manufacturers such as Kodak, both in the Leica ADS40 airborne pushbroom
from exotic materials such as indium anti- Fairchild Imaging and Perkin-Elmer in the scanner as well as by CNES on the HRG
monide (InSb) or cadmium mercury telluride U.S.A.; E2V in the U.K.; Atmel with a large (High Resolution Geometry) pushbroom scan-
(CMT). Furthermore the familiar silicon-based factory in Grenoble, France (formerly owned ner mounted on the SPOT-5 satellite - where
optical glass elements have to be replaced by Thomson CSF) besides various facilities in it is termed "Supermode". If an Infra Red
by optical elements made from germanium, the U.S.A.; Dalsa with manufacturing facili- Line Scanner (IRLS) is being considered, then
since the former type will not transmit radia- ties in Canada and in the Netherlands, the the detector sizes will be much larger - 20 to
tion at MWIR or LWIR wavelengths. Recently latter formerly owned by Philips; and Sony in 40m is typical - since there are much lower
CCD linear arrays that can operate in very Japan. levels of radiation being reflected or emitted
low level light have been developed. from the ground at MWIR and LWIR wave-
Pushbroom scanners fitted with these arrays CCD Detector Sizes lengths. So a much larger surface area is
produce good quality imagery even under The size of the individual detector elements needed for each detector to record a useful
starlight conditions. This has important impli- (pixels) used in the CCD linear arrays utilized image.
cations for military reconnaissance opera- in airborne and spaceborne scanners lies in
tions. the range 5 to 14m - similar to those used Multiple Arrays
in the areal arrays utilized in airborne digital A consequence of the practical limits to the
Array Lengths frame cameras. In the case of the Kodak Tri- length of the linear CCD array is that multi-
In most cases, there is a need for a long linear arrays, the manufacturer produces ple linear arrays have been used to enable a
length to the linear arrays used in airborne these in a standard length - with a trade-off still wider swath to be swept out by the
or spaceborne pushbroom scanners in order between detector size and the number of pushbroom scanner. However the use of this
to ensure the coverage of a wide swath over detectors in the array. Thus the linear array solution does have its consequences, since
the ground. As with areal arrays, larger sizes with 14,400 detectors has CCD detector ele- the linear arrays cannot be butted together
of linear arrays mean much higher cost - ments that are 5m in size; 7m detectors to form an unbroken line. Different solutions
resulting from the manufacturing process are used in the 10,200 detector linear array; have been adopted to get over this problem.

52 Januari/Februari 2005
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In the case of the DPA (airborne) and MOMS- some cases, e.g. with the DPA pushbroom tilt values that apply to the whole of the
01 (spaceborne) scanners, a dual-lens scanner, each of the four linear arrays record- frame image.
arrangement was used to implement the ing the RGB and near-IR components of the
wider swath resulting from their use of multi- colour and false-colour images has its own It is quite impracticable to supply GCPs for
ple linear arrays. In the case of the pushb- individual lens (all pointing in the nadir each line of a scanner image. Thus it is nec-
room scanners that have been operated from direction). The Wehrli 3-DAS-1 scanner also essary to to measure or derive very good
Indian IRS-1C/D satellites, the individual lin- utilizes a separate lens for each of the tri-lin- estimates of the position of the projection
ear arrays have been placed in a staggered ear arrays used in its 3-line configuration. centre and the corresponding set of attitude
but overlapping position to give the required However, with the HRSC-A, ADS40 and (tilt) values for every line in the pushbroom
wider coverage but still using a single optical Starimager scanners, only a single lens is scanner image. This data is provided by an
mirror. A similar arrangement has been used used with the numerous linear arrays used in integrated DGPS/IMU system, which forms an
in the pushbroom scanner operated on these scanners, but account still needs to be essential component of a pushbroom line
board the QuickBird satellite with its swath taken of their offset positions. scanner system. In fact, it would be true to
width of 27,000 pixels. Allowance then has say that airborne scanner systems could not
to be made for these stepped arrangements have been developed as alternative imaging
of the linear arrays in the subsequent image C - Geo-referencing of systems to airborne frame cameras without
processing in order to synthesize a single Pushbroom Scanner Images the recent developments in high-quality GPS
common line from the images produced by sets and IMU units. By contrast, the use of a
the component linear arrays. With airborne film or digital frame cameras, DGPS/IMU unit is not essential to the opera-
the procedures to ensure that the resulting tion of an airborne frame camera - although
Multi-Spectral Imaging frame images or their products are fitted to they may well be used in conjunction with
CCD detectors are inherently monochromatic the terrain coordinate reference system are them to provide valuable auxiliary data for
with a spectral range covering the visible comparatively straightforward and well control and geo-referencing purposes.
and near-IR parts of the spectrum. So filters understood. Using either a photogrammetric
need to be used in combination with multi- bundle procedure or an orientation proce- The obligatory use of a DGPS/IMU system
ple linear arrays to record images in specific dure, a 3D stereo-model can be formed from with a pushbroom line scanner adds consid-
spectral bands - e.g. as required to produce a pair of overlapping frame images. This erably to the cost of the overall scanner sys-
colour or false-colour images. The Kodak Tri- stereo-model can then be fitted to the ter- tem. A sum of between $30,000 and
linear arrays that are used in the Wehrli and rain reference system using a set of suitably $200,000 is needed to cover the cost of the
Starlabo airborne pushbroom scanners fea- positioned ground control points (GCPs). DGPS/IMU component of a single system.
ture three linear arrays set in parallel cross- Often, the required number of control points Currently the Canadian Applanix company
track very close together. Three sets of these can be cut down drastically using an aerial (now owned by Trimble) is the dominant
Tri-linear arrays are placed in the forward, triangulation procedure that links the stereo- supplier of the high-quality DGPS/IMU units
nadir and backward pointing positions within models together within a block. that are required to carry out high-precision
the focal plane of the scanner. This results in photogrammetric work with pushbroom scan-
a slight problem in that the individual linear With line scanner images, the situation is ner images. These lie at the top end of the
arrays in each Tri-linear set are again offset very different. A single scanner image com- price range. However some multi-spectral
from each other - since they cannot be prises many hundreds or thousands of dis- and hyperspectral pushbroom scanners have
superimposed on each other. The effect of crete lines,that abut on one another. Each used lower performance systems that lie at
this offset is that, at any specific moment of line is imaged at a different moment of time. the lower end of the price range such as the
time, each of the multiple linear arrays need- Essentially this means that a single pushb- C-MIGITS-III system from BEI Systron Donner
ed to produce the colour, false-colour or room scanner image comprises hundreds or - since the images are mainly used for the-
multi-spectral strip image is, in fact, imaging thousands of discrete lines. Each of these matic mapping where the requirements for
a slightly different line on the ground. So the lines has been exposed from a different geo-referencing will often be lower.
individual spectral lines making up a single position in the air and may have a different
line on the ground are acquired at a very set of attitude (tilt) values resulting from the
slightly different time and could even have effects of atmospheric turbulence. This situa- D - Pushbroom Scanners
slightly different attitude (tilt) values. This tion is in complete contrast to the situation
further accentuates the need for the scanner that exists with a frame image - which has a The various types of airborne pushbroom scan-
to be mounted on a very stable platform. In single projection centre and a single set of ners that are currently in operational use will
be considered under the following headings:-
a b
(i) Monochromatic scanners usually equipped
with a single linear array;
(ii) Multi-spectral scanners employing multi-
ple linear arrays designed to produce
colour or false-colour images;
(iii) Hyperspectral scanners that employ
imaging spectrometers to create a large
number of images simultaneously in con-
Fig. 4 - Two pushbroom line scanners from Thales Optronics - (a) the Type 8010 producing a strip image 4,096 pix- tiguous narrow spectral bands; and
els wide; and (b) the Type 8042 producing a 12,288 pixel wide strip image: both scanners generate monochrome (iv) 3-line scanners generating overlapping
(black-and-white) VNIR images. (Source: Thales Optronics) forward, nadir and backward pointing

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Macdonald Dettwiler
Associates (MDA) in the
mid-1980s. The MEIS
scanner featured eight
nadir-pointing CCD linear
arrays, each with 1,728
detectors placed in par-
allel with one another in
the cross-track direction.
Each linear array was
fronted by an inter-
changeable optical filter.
These allowed different
optical channels to be
selected over the visible
Fig. 5 - (a) The concept of a pushbroom scanner employing a dispersive grating or prism to generate hyperspectral images. N.B. The hyperspec-
and near-IR parts of the
tral images will form a stacked 3D cube in the focal plane of the scanner. (Drawn by Mike Shand)
spectrum. The MEIS scan
(b) The ITRES Research SASI-640 pushbroom scanner producing hyperspectral images in the short-wave-IR (SWIR) region. N.B. The new model
of SASI will be much smaller in size. (Source: ITRES Research) (c) The Specim AISA+ pushbroom scanner producing hyperspectral images in the rate could be varied
VNIR wavelength region. (Source: Specim) according to the speed
of the airborne platform.
images to produce 3D stereo-models: range is the Type 8042 scanner which is MEIS also featured interchangeable lenses to
most scanners of this type also produce optimised for high-altitude or long-range allow a choice of coverage (i.e. swath width)
multi-spectral images simultaneously. reconnaissance imaging. It features a linear and ground resolution. The MEIS scanner
array with 12,288 detectors, each 8m in was operated commercially by the Moniteq
D.1 Monochrome Pushbroom Scanners size, again supplied by E2V. Like its smaller company in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
brother (the Type 8010), it records its image A MEIS-II was constructed for and operated
Into this category fall several of the pushb- data over the same spectral range (500 to by the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing
room line scanners fitted to military recon- 950m) and at the same rate (1,800 lines (CCRS).
naissance aircraft. In general, colour or false- per second) with a 12-bit image depth. Given
colour is not regarded as an essential its intended high-altitude operation, the Type Since then, much of the attention of the air-
feature in the imagery needed for military 8042 scanner is equipped with a long-focus borne remote sensing community has been
interpretative purposes. Instead the rapid f = 18 inch (450mm) lens. When installed in focused on the development of hyperspec-
data acquisition, processing and interpreta- a pod fitted below the reconnaissance air- tral imagers that produce images over a
tion of the imagery in digital form is regard- craft and having a rotation mechanism fitted much greater number of spectral bands.
ed as the primary requirement by military to the pod, the instrument can be pointed However a few multi-spectral pushbroom
users. So most of the pushbroom scanners well to the side of the aircraft to acquire its scanners continue to be built and operated.
operated by military organisations generate imagery obliquely in a "stand-off" mode as Examples are those that have been produced
monochrome (black-and-white) images. well as in the nadir position. in Germany during the 1990s for the Alfred
Usually the main scanner image will be nadir Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar & Marine
pointing. However sometimes this will be (b) COSE Research based in Bremerhaven. In fact, a
supplemented by side-pointing (i.e. tilted or Another example of a European pushbroom family of three scanners have been built and
oblique) scanner images. line scanner falling into this category is the operated by the Institute:- (i) a Vertical Line
GlobalScan imager manufactured by COSE in Scanner (VLS); an Infra-Red Line Scanner
(a) Thales Optronics France. This features a 6,000 pixel linear (IRLS); and (iii) a Colour Line Scanner (CLS).
Taking the pushbroom line scanners offered array and can be equipped with a range of The IRLS has a single thermal-IR detector
by Thales Optronics (formerly Vinten) in the lenses for operation at low- and medium alti- and a rotating scan head. However the other
U.K. as an example, these have been pro- tudes. The scanner can be fitted in a pod two instruments are pushbroom line scan-
duced since 1992. Currently two substantially which transmits its image data in real time ners. The VLS uses a single linear array with
different models are offered by the company. to a ground station, which records and dis- 1,024 detectors producing a 8-bit
The Type 8010 scanner is intended for low- plays the acquired data also in real time. monochrome images. So it really belongs to
altitude reconnaissance operations. It fea- group D.1 in this present classification.
tures a 4,096 detector linear array supplied D.2 Multi-Spectral Pushbroom Scanners However the CLS is a multi-spectral pushb-
by E2V with each detector being 12m in room scanner equipped with three CCD lin-
size. This sensor records digital monochro- It must be said that most airborne multi- ear arrays, each having 2,048 detectors.
matic image data over the wavelength range spectral line scanners, such as the well- These generate 8-bit images in the wave-
500 to 950m, i.e. from green to near-IR, at known Daedalus (later SenSyTech, now length ranges 0.40 to 0.48m (blue); 0.48 to
a scan rate of 1,800 lines per second. Argon) series, continue to use rotating opti- 0.58m (blue/green); and 0.58 to 1.00m
Interchangeable lenses with focal length (f) cal-mechanical scan heads to scan the ter- (red/near-IR). The AWI aircraft that operate
values of 6 inches (152mm); 3 inches rain. Only a few are pushbroom line scan- these scanners are equipped with a
(76mm) and 1.5 inches (38mmm) are avail- ners. An important early airborne pushbroom Honeywell INS and a GPS unit. These give
able to satisfy different operational require- scanner was the Multi-spectral Electro-optical the attitude and positional data required for
ments. At the other end of the operational Imaging Spectrometer (MEIS) constructed by the georeferencing and rectification of the

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The ITRES range of scanners all utilize the

Canadian Applanix POS/AV system to pro-
duce the IMU and DGPS data needed to
carry out the later rectification and georefer-
encing of the images.

(b) Specim
The AISA range of hyperspectral pushbroom
scanners is produced by Spectral Imaging
Fig. 6 - (a) DLR's HRSC 3-line pushbroom scanner as deployed on the Mars Express mission. (Specim) Ltd., based in Oulu, Finland. The
(b) The HRSC-AX airborne version of the HRSC 3-line pushbroom scanner. (Source: DLR)
company's range of AISA scanners is not too
imagery. The IRLS and CLS scanners have rotating optical-mechanical elements to scan dissimilar to the CASI and SASI range from
also been operated by the Airborne Research the ground in the cross-track direction. ITRES. The AISA+ model covers the VNIR
Australia (ARA) based in South Australia. However several airborne hyperspectral scan- wavelength range in 244 spectral bands with
Most recently, imagery produced by the IRLS ners are configured as pushbroom line scan- an image depth of 12-bits and a swath width
and CLS is being offered as a commercial ners. Three will be discussed here as exam- of 500 pixels. The AISA Eagle also operates
service by Hansa Luftbild based in Munster, ples. in the VNIR region with 244 spectral chan-
Germany. nels and a 12-bit output, but with an
(a) ITRES Research increased swath width of 1,000 pixels. Finally
D.3 Hyperspectral Pushbroom Scanners ITRES Research is based in Calgary, Canada. Specim has also produced its AISA Hawk
The company produced its first Compact pushbroom scanner that operates in the
Instead of the relatively small number of Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) in SWIR (1 to 2.5m) wavelength region pro-
spectral bands (<10) used in multi-spectral 1989. The CASI generates 288 individual ducing images with a 320 pixel swath, 244
scanners, hyperspectral scanners allow the spectral images simultaneously over the spectral channels and an image depth of 14-
acquisition of images on hundreds of narrow wavelength range 400nm to 1m with a bits. The AISA scanners have used a
spectral bands simultaneously. These scan- swath width of 550 pixels. Over 20 of these Boeing/Rockwell C-MIGITS-II integrated
ners use dispersive gratings or prisms to systems have been produced and they DGPS/IMU unit to provide the positional and
separate the incoming radiation from the remain in widespread use in North America, attitude data required for the geo-referencing
ground into distinctive angles according to Western Europe, Japan and Australia. In the of their image data.
their wavelengths. Thus the spatially separat- late 1990s, a second-generation CASI-2 was
ed rays from each ground pixel within the produced with improved electronics. The lat- (c) APEX
scanned line will be imaged at a different est model in the series - the CASI-3 from As a final example of a hyperspectral pushb-
position on the detector array. As the dia- 2002 (now renamed the CASI-1500) - has a room scanner, it may be worthwhile to men-
gram shows, an areal array of CCD detectors much longer swath width of 1,500 pixels, tion the APEX (Airborne Prism EXperiment).
is used to record the ground position of while still retaining the 288 spectral chan- This instrument is being developed on behalf
each pixel in the scanned line in one direc- nels. Moreover the CASI-3 images have a 14- of ESA by a large Swiss-Belgian consortium,
tion on the array. In essence, this acts as a bit depth instead of the 12-bits used in the headed by VITO (Belgium) and RSL
linear array in the cross-track direction. In earlier models. The CCD areal arrays (used as (Switzerland). The instrument will be used as
the other direction of the 2D areal array, the linear arrays in the spatial dimension) are a prototype and validation device for future
detectors measure and record the intensity supplied by E2V in the U.K. During 2002, spaceborne hyperspectral scanners. The
of the radiation in each narrow spectral band ITRES also introduced two new pushbroom APEX scanner will produce its 1,000 pixel
produced by the grating. In fact, many well scanners. The first was the SASI (Short-wave wide imagery in 300 spectral bands covering
known airborne hyperspectral scanners - e.g. infrared Airborne Spectrographic Imager). both the VNIR and SWIR wavelength range
the models from GER and Daedalus in the This produces images with 160 separate using dispersive prisms to create the spec-
U.S.A.; NASA's AVIRIS; and the HyMap from spectral channels in the near-IR and SWIR trally separated imagery. It is scheduled to
Integrated Spectronics in Australia - all use regions covering the wavelength range become operational later this year (2005).
between 900nm and
2.5m, again with a 14-bit D.4 Three-Line Pushbroom Scanners
depth. The swath width of
the SASI is 640 pixels. Also As discussed in the Introduction to this arti-
during 2002, ITRES intro- cle, these devices produce overlapping strip
duced its TABI (Thermal images that allow 3D stereo-models to be
Airborne Broadband formed. Often however they will produce
Imager). This pushbroom multi-spectral, colour or false-colour images
line scanner - which with its as a secondary product - or even as the pri-
monochrome images really mary product.
falls into Group D.1 above -
operates over the thermal- (a) DLR HRSC-A, -AX & -AXW Scanners
IR (LWIR) region, i.e. over As noted above in the Introduction, the High
the wavelength range 8 to Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) was
Fig. 7 - The Leica Geosystems ADS40 airborne 3-line pushbroom scanner as 14 m - producing a 320 devised by DLR's Institute of Planetary
deployed operationally in an aircraft. (Source: Leica Geosystems) pixel wide image swath. Exploration based in Berlin with a view to its

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com Januari/Februari 2005 55

 Article

2000. The first deliveries of the ADS40 took

place in late 2001. Since then, its North
American user community has expanded to
include EarthData (now with 2 units),
Horizons Inc.; 3001 Inc.; DeLorme; and
Digital Aerial Solutions Inc. in the U.S.A. and
North West Geomatics Ltd. (2 units) in
Canada. In Europe, two ADS40s have been
supplied to the Russian LARIS cadastral
mapping project; while two others are oper-
ated by CGR in Italy and Terra Digital in
Fig. 8 - (a) The Starimager system mounted on a helicopter, showing the positions of the various system compo- Germany. The largest single operator with
nents on the aircraft. (b) A close-up view of the Starimager 3-line pushbroom scanner on its stabilized gimbal three units is PASCO in Japan, which was
mount attached to the side of its helicopter platform. (Source: Inst. of Geodesy & Photogrammetry, ETH, Zürich)
indeed the first customer for the ADS40.
operation over Mars on the Mars96 mission. U.S.A. This provided DLR and ISTAR with
The instrument was developed and proven extensive operational experience of the dif- With regard to the layout of the focal plane,
via an airborne prototype - the HRSC-A (= ferent airborne versions of the HRSC scanner the forward-pointing CCD linear array is set
Airborne) model. It was then developed fur- and of the complex processing of the result- at an angle of 28.4° to the nadir, while the
ther and its performance enhanced through ing image data. backward pointing array is set at 14.2° to
the construction of a new model - the HRSC- the nadir - giving an angle of 42.6° between
AX. This utilized much longer linear arrays (b) DLR WAAC Scanner the forward and backward rays. As men-
(with 12,172 v 5,272 detectors) producing The Wide Angle Airborne Camera (WAAC) is tioned above, all three arrays comprise pairs
images greater radiometric depth (12 v 8 the airborne derivative of the Wide Angle of CCD linear array detectors, each shifted
bits). Yet another model - the HRSC-AXW - Opto-electronic Stereo Scanner (WAOSS) that laterally from the other by half-a-pixel
was built. This also featured these higher was also developed for the Mars96 mission. (3.25m). These paired arrays produce the
performance linear arrays which were used in While the HRSC instrument was designed to three overlapping panchromatic strip images.
combination with a much wider-angle lens. produce high-resolution imagery, the WAOSS Also mounted in the focal plane are the four
The first two of these instruments, the HRSC- was designed to provide wide-angle (80°) additional single (not paired) 12,000 pixel
A and -AX, are both fitted with nine linear coverage of large areas at a reduced ground CCD linear arrays that record the ground
arrays. Five of these - two pointing forward; resolution. Thus, while both scanners had images in the RGB and near-IR spectral
two backward and the fifth pointing in the similar CCD linear arrays of 5,000 detectors, bands. A beam splitter (trichoid) ensures that
nadir direction - produce overlapping the WAOSS scanner featured an f = 21.7mm the radiation from the ground passing
panchromatic strip images. The remaining lens and the HRSC, an f = 75mm lens. Both through the main lens of the ADS40 reaches
four arrays have RGB and near-IR filters the WAOSS and the HRSC are 3-line scan- the appropriate linear array, which are of
placed over them to acquire the data needed ners, which allowed them to generate DEMs. course physically separated on the focal
to generate colour and false-colour strip However the WAOSS did not possess the plane. It is interesting to note that, in order
images. The third instrument - the HRSC- multi-spectral capability of the HRSC. The air- to satisfy different user requirements, four
AXW - has five linear arrays. Three of these borne WAAC scanner became operational in quite different positions of the linear arrays
are mounted in the forward, nadir and back- 1995 and has been used for the acquisition within the focal plane have been supplied to
ward pointing positions needed to generate of imagery for various scientific research pro- different users. Two of these arrangements
overlapping 3D panchromatic stereo-cover- jects, e.g. of volcanos in Italy. The spare have been adopted as standard offerings;
age, the remaining two being colour lines. All flight model of the WAOSS was finally orbit- the other two are regarded as bespoke
three airborne models of the HRSC scanner ed in 2001 as part of the payload of DLR's items. The ADS40 also features a specially
are mounted on Zeiss T-AS gyro-controlled small BIRD satellite. This remained opera- designed telecentric lens which ensures that
mounts. Each is interfaced to an Applanix tional until the satellite lost its attitude con- all the radiation from the ground reaches the
POS-AV system that generates the positional trol in February 2004. focal plane at right angles, irrespective of the
and attitude data required for the geo-refer- angles at which the object rays from the
encing of each image line using its (c) Leica ADS40 Scanner ground entered the lens. The inertial mea-
DGPS/IMU combination. Early in 1997, Leica Geosystems and DLR surement unit (IMU) of the Applanix POS/AV
signed an agreement to cooperate in the system is mounted rigidly to the focal plane.
Initially, from 1997 onwards, a number of sci- design and production of a new airborne Thus it is fully integrated into the ADS40
entific projects were undertaken using the pushbroom line scanner designed specifically scanner, rather than simply being attached to
HRSC-A scanner. These included environmen- for commercial imaging and mapping pur- it. The ADS40 is mounted on the same
tal monitoring projects covering volcanos, poses. Obviously the new design took into PAV30 gyro-stabilised mount that is used
open-cast mines, forests and coastal areas. account the considerable experience gained with the Leica RC30 film frame camera.
Later all three models of the HRSC-A scanner with the various HRSC-A and WAAC scanners.
were used extensively for commercial imag- The engineering model of the new instru- (d) Starlabo Starimager
ing and mapping work, carried out in collab- ment was first flown in late 1998; the proto- The Japanese Starimager-100 (SI-100) - which
oration with the French ISTAR company. This type was then flown in January 2000; and was originally called the TLS (= Three Line
resulted in the coverage and ortho-image finally the production version of the ADS40 Scanner) - is a 3-line pushbroom scanner
mapping of many cities in France and was formally launched and displayed at the with the forward pointing linear array set at
Germany and later numerous cities in the ISPRS Congress held in Amsterdam in July 17° to the nadir and the backward array at

56 Januari/Februari 2005
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lenses, one for each of the Tri-linear arrays.

These are commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)
lenses sourced from Rodenstock with a focal
length (f) of 100mm and an aperture of f/4.
As an alternative, the use of wider aperture
f/2.8 lenses is being considered. This would
allow more radiation to pass through each
lens and allow the use of the higher density
Tri-linear arrays. Integral to the design and
practical operation of the 3-DAS-1 scanner is
Fig. 9 - (a) An overall view of the Wehrli 3-DAS-1 3-line pushbroom scanner sitting on its ASP-1 stabilized mount. its new ASP-1 stabilized mount which is used
(b) A close-up view of the underside of the Wehrli 3-DAS-1 pushbroom line scanner with its three lenses as seen from rather than one of the well-established Leica
below. (Source: Wehrli Associates) or Zeiss mounts. The ASP-1 is a simple kine-
matic design with the pitch and roll motors
23° to the nadir - providing an angle of 40° ortho-image generation. Processing of tilting the scanner's adapter plate under
between the forward and backward rays. Starimager scanner imagery has also been direct command from the IMU module which
Each of the three imaging positions is occu- carried out by ISTAR in France. Recently the utilizes fibre-optic gyros. The prototype
pied by a Kodak Tri-linear array. Each of the Intergraph subsidiary, Z/I Imaging, announced shown at Istanbul was designed to be
three lines in the array is 10,200 pixels in its support for the exploitation of Starimager attached to an Applanix DGPS/IMU unit, but
length with each detector being 7m in size. scanner imagery on its ImageStation DPW. once again, other suppliers are being consid-
A later version of the scanner - called the This includes feature extraction and ortho- ered. It will be interesting to see how this
Starimager-200 (or SI-200) - also features Tri- image generation. It will be most interesting new pushbroom scanner design develops.
linear arrays but with 14,400 detectors, each to follow the development of the Starimager, Currently the prototype 3-DAS-1 pushbroom
5m in size. Also a Nikon lens with a very especially if the scanner starts to be sold to scanner is being operated by the Belgian
different focal length (f = 200mm) is fitted to and operated by commercial air survey com- Eurosense company.
the SI-200, instead of the Hasselblad f = panies and government mapping agencies
60mm lens used in the earlier SI-100 model. world-wide, and not just the Starlabo organi-
The SI-200 also has an additional linear sation in Japan. Conclusion
array that generates a near-IR strip image.
Yet another model, the SI-250, has the origi- (e) Wehrli Associates 3-DAS-1 Scanner In summary, airborne pushbroom line scan-
nal Hasselblad f = 60mm lens, but is fitted This new 3-line airborne pushbroom scanner ners do offer an alternative to the dominant
with the 14,400 pixel Tri-linear arrays. The was introduced at the recent ISPRS Congress digital frame camera technology. However, in
Starimager is mounted on a gyro-stabilized held in Istanbul in July 2004. The Wehrli the small- and medium-format sectors of the
mount that is attached by an arm and brack- company has been well known for many airborne imaging market, pushbroom scan-
ets to the side of the main body of a heli- years as a supplier of photogrammetric film ners cannot compete strongly with the digital
copter. An IMU and a Trimble GPS provide scanners. In recent years, these have been frame cameras that are supported by the very
the attitude and positional data required for produced in association with the GeoSystem large consumer and commercial markets for
the later photogrammetric processing of the company from the Ukraine which manufac- such cameras. Instead pushbroom line scan-
scanner image data. tures the optical and mechanical components ners have found a number of specialist mar-
of the instruments and assembles and tests kets. These include (i) the monochrome push-
The basic concept of the original TLS was set them. The same combination of companies broom scanners used for military
out by Prof. Murai of the University of Tokyo has now produced this new airborne scanner reconnaissance purposes; and (ii) hyperspec-
in 1993. The patents were acquired by the with Dr. James Bethel of Purdue University tral scanners that produce multiple images in
Starlabo Corporation in 2000. This allowed acting as a design consultant. numerous narrow spectral bands for use by
the design and construction of the TLS to field and environmental scientists. Of most
begin with cooperation from the University's Like the Starimager, the 3-DAS-1 scanner is interest to the mapping community are the
Institute of Industrial Science. It would equipped with three of Kodak's Tri-linear wide-swath 3-line pushbroom scanners that
appear that, so far, the Starimager scanners arrays which acquire their RGB strip images can generate overlapping stereo-imagery from
have been used mainly to acquire imagery in the forward, nadir and backward directions which elevation and ortho-image data can be
for a number of application projects con- respectively. The prototype instrument shown derived. So far, only the Leica ADS40 has
cerned with environmental monitoring; the in Istanbul was fitted with the 8,000 pixel established itself in the market as a competi-
generation of 3D city models; and surveys of version of the Tri-linear array with detectors tor to the large-format digital frame cameras.
linear features such as roads, railways, power 9m in size. However the use of the 10,200 However other similar 3-line pushbroom scan-
lines, rivers, shore lines, etc. at large scales. pixel version of the Tri-linear array (as used in ners have now been developed. It will be
the Starimager SI-100) is under consideration. most interesting to see how they progress.
A great deal of the application software for The forward pointing array is set at an angle
use with the Starimager scanner imagery has of 26° to the nadir; the backward array Professor G. Petrie ([email protected]),
been developed by Prof. Gruen's group at points at 16° to the nadir. This gives an angle Department of Geography & Geomatics,
the Institute of Geodesy & Photogrammetry of 42° between the forward and backward University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland,
at the ETH in Zürich. This development pointing rays. Unlike all the other 3-line scan- U.K.
includes software for triangulation, point ner instruments in this group that use a sin- Internet: www.geog.gla.ac.uk/~gpetrie ■
positioning, DTM generation, rectification and gle lens, the 3-DAS-1 employs three separate

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com Januari/Februari 2005 57