Geopositioning Accuracy of Ikonos Imagery: Indications from Two Dimensional Transformations

Earth observation satellites with 1m resolution, such as Space Imaging's Ikonos system, offer the photogrammetric and remote sensing communities a significant new means for geospatial information collection. These satellites possess the potential for pixel‐level geopositioning precision and promise timely, highly automated generation of two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) spatial information products. This paper concentrates on the pursuit of optimal accuracy and considers an essential first step in the evaluation of the Ikonos imaging system, namely the metric integrity of the sensor system. In the absence of sensor calibration information (the camera model), an empirical evaluation approach has been adopted. This involves an assessment of 2D transformations between image and planar object space. It is shown that based on results obtained in the Melbourne Ikonos Testfield, 2D geopositioning to 0.5 m accuracy is possible from the base‐level “Geo”product when a modest amount of good quality ground control is available and sub‐pixel image mensuration is achieved. These findings are applicable to both near‐nadir imagery and oblique stereo images. Moreover, the results obtained suggest that there are no significant geometric perturbations in the sensor system and initial image processing, which augurs well for the successful application of non‐collinearity based 3D orientation and triangulation models for Ikonos imagery.