On system concepts for digital automation

This paper starts with a review of the merits of digital image photogrammetry, arriving at the conclusion that for mapping purposes its main advantage is its potential to realize efficient automation. With this in mind, standard photogrammetric tasks are evaluated to see how easy or difficult they might be to automate digitally. The result is that all tasks, except feature extraction, can be performed automatically using techniques already in place. Several digital image photogrammetric systems are then outlined to show what capabilities are needed. An evolution from film-based hybrid systems to intrinsically digital systems is anticipated. Also, the use of digital image photogrammetry in the industrial arena is expected to become a significant new application area. In this evolution, software is seen as an increasingly important system component, capable of becoming the part which is specifically photogrammetric in future processing systems.