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Bappy’s Remote Sensing and Aerial Photography
5. VISUAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION
5.1: VISUAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION CONCEPT
Photo or image interpretation is the examination of images for the purpose of identifying objects
and judging their significance (Phillipson, 1997). The imagery that are interpreted may be acquired
using by various sensors, including analogue cameras, digital cameras, multispectral scanner and
linear sensor system.
Visual image processing does not only including the interpretation of the features of a satellite
image that can be seen, but also those features that cannot be seen and goes beyond machinery
understanding. It may include two basic objects-
1. The recognition of the object (that can be seen)
2. The true interpretation (that can be seen or cannot be)
5.2: REASONS TO INTERPRET THE IMAGE
1. Scale: aerial/regional perspective
2. 3 dimensional depth perception
3. Ability to obtain knowledge beyond our human visual interpretation
4. Ability to obtain a historical image record to document change
5.3: ELEMENTS OF IMAGE INTERPRETATION AND KEYS
1. x, y location: Longitude and latitude, meters easting and northing in a UTM grid map.
2. Size: Size of an object with the following parameters- length, width, perimeter, area and
occasionally volume.
3. Shape: geometric characteristics of an object, e.g. linear, circular, elliptical, rectangular,
parallel, centripetal, braided, striated etc.
4. Shadow: A silhouette caused by solar illumination from the side.
5. Tone/color: Gray tone: light (bright), intermediate (gray), dark (black). Color: RGB (red,
green, blue), HIS (intensity, hue, saturation)
6. Texture: Characteristics placements and arrangements of repetition tone or color. E.g.
smooth, intermediate, rough, stippled, mottled etc.
7. Pattern: Spatial arrangements of object of a ground. Example: systemic, random, circular,
elliptical, rectangular, parallel, centripetal, braided, striated etc.
8. Height/depth: Elevation (height), bathymetry (depth), volume, slope, aspect.
9. Site (elevation, slope, aspect): Elevation, slope, aspect, exposure, adjacency to water,
transportation, utilities.
10. Situation: Objects are placed in a particular order or orientation relative to one another.
11. Association: Relative phenomena are usually present.
5.4: ADVANTAGE OF VISUAL INTERPRETATION
Simple method
Inexpensive equipment
Uses brightness and spatial content of the image
Subjective and Qualitative