VALUATION SYSTEM FOR THE VISIBILITY OF OVERHEAD LINES

Due to the increasing importance of landscape protection one basic pro blem in the planning of overhead lines is the following: How can we ob tain an impression of the planned line in order to minimize it's optic al impact on the landscape? A method to determine the visual impact of objects on the environment is proposed in this paper. The principles are easy to understand and therefore the results can be used even by t he planner as well as by the authorization agencies and the population . The method combines two ways of visual assessment both founded on co mputer graphic techniques. Realistic images of the landscape with the planned overhead line can be rendered from any observer position. Furt hermore it is possible to calculate measurements for the visibility wi th respect to the physical aspects of the environment and the physiolo gy of the human eye. The capabilities of the valuation system are demo nstrated by an application.