2008 NAIP Post-Mortem Meeting November 19, 2008 8:00am - 5:00pm
Introductions and Program Review Presenter: Geoffrey Gabbott
A brief overview of APFO contract amounts, NAIP acquisition and costs, and 2009 cost estimates were presented. APFO is estimating $25.2 Million will be spent for USDA aerial imagery/photography and related programs.
NAIP Background & 2008 Contract Review Presenter: John Mootz
An overview of the current contract task order awards was provided, with proposed areas of improvement (scheduling acquisition periods, product delivery, and progress reporting functions) discussed.
2008 NAIP Issues and Enhancements Presenter: Zach Adkins
(a) JPEG2000 Compression format required for 4-band CCM under the NAIP contract. APFO is experiencing the following problems/issues with JPEG 2000 compressions:
- Difficulty with program settings
- Limited customer support from open source software libraries
- Image loss with advancing zoom
- Rendering issues due to DVD exceeding ArcGIS 9.1 file capacities
- Rendering issues on other viewers (consumer use) have been resolved.
(b) Seamline shapefile pilot For the 2008 task orders awarded each vendor was required to provide a single state from their awarded states to pilot. The seamline shapefile deliverable identifies the location and acquisition dates of imagery within CCMs. An overview of the contract requirements for the seamline shapefile, inspection process and results with examples of problems (gaps, overlap, etc.) encountered was discussed..
(c) Absolute control Project areas for this requirement are established by state partnerships. APFO teams with states and federal agencies, which share existing or help to obtain newcontrol point data with APFO for QA purposes. APFO hopes to create a national photo-identifiable database. At present we have approximately 8600 points
The list of 2008 absolute control states: IN, MN, NH, NC, TX, VT and VA. The benefits of absolute versus relative control have been identified as follows: - Duplication of errorsover time resolved
- Better more understandable specification
- Less manipulation of vector data (CLU) over time to "match" base layer (imagery)
- More valuable for partners
(d) NAIP survey
The survey for 2008 NAIP is schedule for a February 2009 release. APFO is in the process of reviewing/compiling the results from the 2007 NAIP acquisition, the results will be posted to the APFO website, when available.
Surdex Presentation Presenter: Tim Bohn, Craig Molander
Surdex acquired imagery with DMC cameras, which have a 9 square mile footprint. They acquired all imagery with 66 flight days (avg. 463 frames per day), with the majority of imagery collected in July. ArcGIS 9.1 limits the JPEG 2000 file size (see Zach's earlier briefing) that required Surdex to compress the 4-band CCMs using a "trail and error" process in order to get the file sizes within specifications. Absolute control pilot
Highlights: - Minnesota and Wisconsin were flight planned together for acquisition purposes
- TN - Appalachians flown diagonal E-W flights, all other states flown N-S.
- Process improvements: Created grouping tools to analyze and process radiometric correction on 12-bit image blocks, ie: solar flares.
- Created program for seamline shapefile production.
- Absolute accuracy project "fit" 40 control points within 3 weeks prior to project start in Minnesota.
Sanborn Presentation Presenter: George Halley
Sanborn acquired imagery with DMC cameras. They use LizardTech GeoExpress 7.0 (Kakadu) for JPEG 2000 CCM compression. Sanborn discovered the compression ratio was not always processed to the target 15:1 ratio and default to a best compression "fit". They acquired all imagery by July 4, but due to production problems re-flights were required.
- Processed data with ABS software/program, corrections applied to DOQQs & CCMs.
- Problems with seamline shapefile software, not able to adhere to the 10 acre minimum in all locations, ie: cliff edges, other.
- Problems with histogram metrics, since land cover is so diverse, unable to meet color specifications (water - flat histograms).
- Forecast for 2009 Able to produce 400,000 square miles. They have created additional capacity in personnel, aircraft and locations
Photo Science Presentation Presenter: Bob Hickey
PSI acquired imagery with DMC cameras, utilizing OrthoPro for their seamline shapefile production. Season extensions were required for all their project areas. PSI had multiple projects ongoing and was required to defer their resources to other projects, ie: Hurricane Ike. Since then, they have increased their data capacity (up to 468TB of storage). PSI has indicated, for their processes there are cost advantages to processing all 4-bands together.
Highlights: - Many users of IR do not want data radiometrically corrected.
- Absolute accuracy project PSI acquired 50, only used 44 control points (cost estimate $7400) for vendor QA. PSI utilized the control data collected from the IMU and GPS units.
North West Presentation Presenter: Mark Simard
North West acquired imagery with ADS40-II cameras and partnered with EarthData and Horizons. They had problems with flooding and weather, which delayed acquisition. NW utilized GeoExpress 7.0 for JPEG 2000 compression and had problems exceeding the ArcGIS 9.1 maximum file size limitations. NW suggested their processes are fully efficient and NAIP cost reductions will be derived only from additional product sales.They've received requests for CIR and stereo products, even for NAIP derivative products not originally flown by North West.
Highlights: - North West established an internal goal for progressive weekly shipments which was not always met.
- Problems with radiometric requirements due to the length of the acquisition period.
- TX control points provided by Texas Dept. of Transportation.
- Imagery acquired at an altitude for ¾ meter raw data capture
- CIR band not radiometrically corrected, color saturation caused problems in seamline shapefile creation
- TNRIS requested raw data, stereo coverage, and ½ meter resolution pan-sharpened imagery as derivative products, purchased directly from the vendor. To accomplish the ½ meter resolution, North West increased the flight lines by 25%. FSA approved the additional flight lines and associated risks.
ASI Presentation Presenter: Coral Schneberger
ASI acquired all imagery with film cameras. Over the summer they had several misfortunes: flooding of their office and a subcontractor's plane crash. ASI had difficulty acquiring airspace clearance from FAA over Boston and New York City and problems ortho rectifying to out-dated base imagery for their relative accuracy projects.
Highlights: - ASI was able to acquire Canadian DEMs for border (Canada) coverage.
3001 Inc. Presentation Presenter: Peter Briere
3001 was recently acquired by Northrop Grumman. 3001 acquired imagery with ADS-40 cameras. The majority of their acquisition was completed in July with no season extensions required and all CCMs delivered prior to the due date. 3001 utilized GeoExpress for JPEG 2000 compression.
Highlights: - Problems with histogram metrics (due to soil composition in Oklahoma)
2009 NAIP Contract Changes Presenter: John Mootz
An overview of the 2009 solicitation schedule, contract modifications, and potential modifications were presented.
NAIP 3-year strategy Presenter: Kent Williams
A history of NAIP and FSA's new strategy for acquisition was discussed.
Open Discussions/Wrap-up/Action Item review
Many of the contractors were concerned with the 2008 radiometric contract specifications; they felt the specification were not attainable under many conditions, such as: DOQQs with consistent terrain (water, red clay).
They were also concerned with the file size limitation imposed by ArcGIS 9.1. Due to this limitation, many vendors were required to resubmit CCM. Surdex questioned when FSA planned to upgrade the County Offices to ArcGIS 9.2? At present, that is unknown.
There were also suggestions for control point data, and correction to NED be shared and for FSA to consider changing the DOQQ media requirement to LTO (capacities: 480, 800 or 1300 GB) or external hard drives since DLT tape drives are becoming obsolete.
The contractors also suggested that their responsibilities to NED data be resolved. For example, NED may not have sufficient data over high terrain areas and the corrections required for NAIP processing do not always equate to DEM corrections.
There was discussion about FSA's intent to add ½ meter resolution or stereo products to the NAIP deliverables. For 2009 ½ meter and stereo products will not be options through the NAIP contract. There are many questions that need to answered, ie: storage costs, QA processes, etc.
Also all contractors expressed interest in more work.
FSA GIS also suggested that more communication about weather and terrain conditions between the states and APFO/vendors be established.
Tim Bohn, Surdex suggested the production sample may not always be representative of the full state, especially if the season is long or extensions are required.
George Halley, Sanborn Corporation - suggested that the contract minimum of 10 acres for the seamline shapefile may not always be achievable. Example: The edge of counties may require additional coverage less than the required minimum.
ACTION ITEMS RESPONSIBLE PARTY
- Establish best practice / guideline for radiometric balancing (including IR).
- Create specifications for stereo products through the NAIP contract, and review the process involved and its potential impact.
- Establish/review specifications for JPEG compression and deliverables.
- Review ALL contractor suggestions.
- Establish/review seamline shapefile specifications.
- Review expanding acquisition coverage into Canada and Mexico for partnership requirements.
- Expand NAIP survey to include USDA-FS.
- Review satellite imagery restrictions, to supplement NAIP for military airspace (public domain).
APFO and Contractors
APFO & USDA-FS
APFO and Contractors FSA APFO APFO FSA APFO & USDA-FS APFO
To view the 2008 NAIP Post Mortem Meeting presentations please contact Cindy Sessions at (801-844-2909)
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