A digital photogrammetric workstation on the WEB

The main features of a WEB-based tool for digital architectural photogramme try called Architectural Photogrammetry Network Tool for Education and Rese arch (ARPENTEUR) are presented. The aim of this project is to propose a pho togrammetric software package made freely available on the Internet as an a pplet through a simple browser (http://www.arpenteur.net). All the photogra mmetric adjustment and image processing classes are written in Java(TM). Th e use of large applets in photogrammetry has not been very advanced until n ow but rate transfers and compatibility levels of Internet browsers will in crease in the near future. Users can set up their own projects by transferr ing their images, camera, and control information on the ARPENTEUR servers from any place in the world connected on the Internet. Various examples of small format architectural photogrammetry projects are also accessible via WWW and can be used for teaching. This software is an extension of the Trai tement d'Images et Photogrammetrie Numerique (TIPHON) software developed at ENSAIS-LERGEC. The photogrammetric model is currently computed by the trad itional steps of inner, relative and absolute orientations. The measurement s in the images can be performed manually or by image correlation. The meas ured points, lines, and geometrical primitives are recorded in text files a nd visualised inside a standard WEB browser. The plotting module is especia lly dedicated to architectural surveys and based on a formalisation of arch itectural and geometrical knowledge. The latest developments of the Java pr ogramming language and object-oriented systems are used in ARPENTEUR, both in the photogrammetric and in the architectural part, and ensure a high lev el of compatibility with any hardware platform supporting a WEB browser. (C ) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.