ISM
digital workstation
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Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
Equipment
Since
the early days of the anaglyph (red and green glasses) instruments, the manufacturers
of photogrammetric equipment have continued to develop new systems, the latest
resulting in the introduction of the 'soft copy' plotter.
The instrument most commonly used throughout the developed world is
the analytical plotter. This is a computer driven, optical instrument using
hard copy photography from which the operator extracts 3D measurements. There
are a number of manufactures of this type of instrument, first introduced
in the early 70's.
Over the last few years, a number of 'soft copy' workstations have
been introduced. These systems use digital photography through a powerful
PC and glasses for the operator. These systems are far more portable than
the analytical plotters and are considerably cheaper. The ability to use these
from home or a small office offers greater working flexibility.
A
number of software and camera manufactures have recently introduced "low
cost" digital packages, designed for the non-photogrammetrist, to work
on a PC. These systems developed by renowned companies such as Rollei and
Kodak work on the principle of multi image, not stereoscopy, and may provide
satisfactory answers in certain situations. They should not however be confused
with the product produced by a professional photogrammetric company.