The CHIPS System for Satellite Image Processing

Abstract

Kjeld Rasmussen, Henrik Steen Andersen, Jens Grundtmann, Bjarne Fog and Lasse Møller-Jensen: The CHIPS System for Satellite Image Processing. Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 94:xx-xx. Copenhagen, Dec. 1994.

CHIPS, a software system for satellite image processing and analysis has been developed at The Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen. The background, philosophy and objectives of this development effort will be briefly presented. In recent years emphasis has been put on the development of methodologies for remote sensing of environment and agriculture in Third World countries. This includes both land cover/use mapping using high resolution satellite images and applications of low resolution satellite data. This paper will give examples of research applications of CHIPS within different fields, and illustrate how the requirements, defined by this research, influence its contents and development. The presented examples include the use of SPOT, Landsat and ERS-1 SAR data for land Cover mapping in Denmark and Third World countries, and monitoring of agroclimatic parameters, vegetation, crops and bush fires based on NOAA AVHRR data. Finally, the current plans for the development of CHIPS will be presented.

Summary

CHIPS, a software system for satellite image processing and analysis has been developed at The Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, in the period 1985 to date. Background, philosophy and objectives of this development effort have been briefly presented. In recent years emphasis has been put upon the development of methodologies for remote sensing of environment and agriculture in Third World countries. This includes both land cover/use mapping using high resolution satellite images and application of NOAA AVHRR data. This paper has given examples of research applications of CHIPS within different fields. CHIPS differs from most other systems for satellite image analysis, as it is developed in a scientific environment, where research in various fields defines demands for the image processing system. It is important to emphasize how requirements, defined by ongoing and future research, affect the contents and development of CHIPS. This will be illustrated by several examples of ongoing research at IGUC and elsewhere. The presented examples included use of SPOT, Landsat and ERS-1 SAR data for land cover mapping in Denmark and Third World countries, and monitoring of agroclimatic parameters, vegetation, crops and bush fires based on NOAA AVHRR data. Technological development in the field of computer hardware and software has made it realistic to make facilities for satellite image processing readily available to researchers and ‘end-users’ of remote sensing data as ‘desk-top systems’. This will allow these data sources to become more widely applied in many fields and contribute to overcome the apparent underutilization of remote sensing techniques. In general, direction of the development of CHIPS has been and will continue to be determined by requirements of users, at the IGUS or the CSE. Since major users will tend to diversify with respect to the type of computer hardware and operating systems used, the development of a ‘platform-independent’ CHIPS version is of critical importance, and considerable efforts will be invested in this task.

Keywords:

• Satellite image processing
• remote sensing
• land cover mapping
• environmental monitoring