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ElementsofVisualInterpretation

ElementsofVisualInterpretation
Aswenotedintheprevioussection,analysisofremotesensingimageryinvolvesthe
identificationofvarioustargetsinanimage,andthosetargetsmaybeenvironmentalorartificial
featureswhichconsistofpoints,lines,orareas.Targetsmaybedefinedintermsofthewaythey
reflectoremitradiation.Thisradiationismeasuredandrecordedbyasensor,andultimatelyis
depictedasanimageproductsuchasanairphotoorasatelliteimage.
Whatmakesinterpretationofimagerymoredifficultthantheeverydayvisualinterpretationofour
surroundings?Forone,weloseoursenseofdepthwhenviewingatwodimensionalimage,
unlesswecanviewitstereoscopicallysoastosimulatethethirddimensionofheight.Indeed,
interpretationbenefitsgreatlyinmanyapplicationswhenimagesareviewedinstereo,as
visualization(andtherefore,recognition)oftargetsisenhanceddramatically.Viewingobjects
fromdirectlyabovealsoprovidesaverydifferentperspectivethanwhatwearefamiliarwith.
Combininganunfamiliarperspectivewithaverydifferentscaleandlackofrecognizabledetail
canmakeeventhemostfamiliarobjectunrecognizableinanimage.Finally,weareusedto
seeingonlythevisiblewavelengths,andtheimagingofwavelengthsoutsideofthiswindowis
moredifficultforustocomprehend.
Recognizingtargetsisthekeytointerpretationandinformationextraction.Observingthe
differencesbetweentargetsandtheirbackgroundsinvolvescomparingdifferenttargetsbasedon
any,orall,ofthevisualelementsoftone,shape,size,pattern,texture,shadow,and
association.Visualinterpretationusingtheseelementsisoftenapartofourdailylives,whether
weareconsciousofitornot.Examiningsatelliteimagesontheweatherreport,orfollowinghigh
speedchasesbyviewsfromahelicopterareallfamiliarexamplesofvisualimageinterpretation.
Identifyingtargetsinremotelysensedimagesbasedonthesevisualelementsallowsusto
furtherinterpretandanalyze.Thenatureofeachoftheseinterpretationelementsisdescribed
below,alongwithanimageexampleofeach.

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Tonereferstotherelativebrightnessorcolourofobjectsinanimage.Generally,toneisthe
fundamentalelementfordistinguishingbetweendifferenttargetsorfeatures.Variationsintone
alsoallowstheelementsofshape,texture,andpatternofobjectstobedistinguished.

Shapereferstothegeneralform,structure,oroutlineofindividualobjects.Shapecanbeavery
distinctiveclueforinterpretation.Straightedgeshapestypicallyrepresenturbanoragricultural
(field)targets,whilenaturalfeatures,suchasforestedges,aregenerallymoreirregularinshape,
exceptwheremanhascreatedaroadorclearcuts.Farmorcroplandirrigatedbyrotating
sprinklersystemswouldappearascircularshapes.

Sizeofobjectsinanimageisafunctionofscale.Itisimportanttoassessthesizeofatarget
relativetootherobjectsinascene,aswellastheabsolutesize,toaidintheinterpretationofthat
target.Aquickapproximationoftargetsizecandirectinterpretationtoanappropriateresultmore
quickly.Forexample,ifaninterpreterhadtodistinguishzonesoflanduse,andhadidentifiedan
areawithanumberofbuildingsinit,largebuildingssuchasfactoriesorwarehouseswould
suggestcommercialproperty,whereassmallbuildingswouldindicateresidentialuse.

Patternreferstothespatialarrangementofvisiblydiscernibleobjects.Typicallyanorderly
repetitionofsimilartonesandtextureswillproduceadistinctiveandultimatelyrecognizable
pattern.Orchardswithevenlyspacedtrees,andurbanstreetswithregularlyspacedhousesare
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goodexamplesofpattern.

Texturereferstothearrangementandfrequencyoftonalvariationinparticularareasofan
image.Roughtextureswouldconsistofamottledtonewherethegreylevelschangeabruptlyin
asmallarea,whereassmoothtextureswouldhaveverylittletonalvariation.Smoothtexturesare
mostoftentheresultofuniform,evensurfaces,suchasfields,asphalt,orgrasslands.Atarget
witharoughsurfaceandirregularstructure,suchasaforestcanopy,resultsinaroughtextured
appearance.Textureisoneofthemostimportantelementsfordistinguishingfeaturesinradar
imagery.

Shadowisalsohelpfulininterpretationasitmayprovideanideaoftheprofileandrelativeheight
ofatargetortargetswhichmaymakeidentificationeasier.However,shadowscanalsoreduceor
eliminateinterpretationintheirareaofinfluence,sincetargetswithinshadowsaremuchless(or
notatall)discerniblefromtheirsurroundings.Shadowisalsousefulforenhancingoridentifying
topographyandlandforms,particularlyinradarimagery.

Associationtakesintoaccounttherelationshipbetweenotherrecognizableobjectsorfeatures
inproximitytothetargetofinterest.Theidentificationoffeaturesthatonewouldexpectto
associatewithotherfeaturesmayprovideinformationtofacilitateidentification.Intheexample
givenabove,commercialpropertiesmaybeassociatedwithproximitytomajortransportation
routes,whereasresidentialareaswouldbeassociatedwithschools,playgrounds,andsports
fields.Inourexample,alakeisassociatedwithboats,amarina,andadjacentrecreationalland.

Didyouknow?

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"...Whatwilltheythinkofnext?!..."
Remotesensing(imageinterpretation)hasbeenusedforarcheologicalinvestigations.
Sometimesthe'impression'thataburiedartifact,suchasanancientfortfoundation,leaveson
thesurface,canbedetectedandidentified.Thatsurfaceimpressionistypicallyverysubtle,soit
helpstoknowthegeneralareatobesearchedandthenatureofthefeaturebeingsought.Itis
alsousefulifthesurfacehasnotbeendisturbedmuchbyhumanactivities.

Whizquiz

Takealookattheaerialphotographabove.Identifythefollowingfeaturesintheimageand
explainhowyouwereabletodosobasedontheelementsofvisualinterpretationdescribedin
thissection.
racetrack
river
roads
bridges
residentialarea
dam
Theansweris...

Whizquizanswer
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Theracetrackinthelowerleftoftheimageisquiteeasytoidentifybecauseofits
characteristicshape.
Theriverisalsoeasytoidentifyduetoitscontrastingtonewiththesurroundinglandand
alsoduetoitsshape.
Theroadsintheimagearevisibleduetotheirshape(straightinmanycases)andtheir
generallybrighttonecontrastingagainsttheotherdarkerfeatures.
Bridgesareidentifiablebasedontheirshape,tone,andassociationwiththeriverthey
crossit!
Residentialareasonthelefthandsideoftheimageandtheupperrightcanbeidentifiedby
thepatternthattheymakeinconjunctionwiththeroads.Individualhousesandother
buildingscanalsobeidentifiedasdarkandlighttones.
Thedamintheriveratthetopcenteroftheimagecanbeidentifiedbasedonits
contrastingtonewiththedarkriver,itsshape,anditsassociationwiththeriverwhereelse
wouldadambe!
DateModified:
20151119

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