AEROTRIANGULATION AND DEM ORTHOPHOTO GENERATION FROM HIGH-RESOLUTION STILL-VIDEO IMAGERY - ON THE POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL CAMERAS ONBOARD AN AIRCRAFT/

High-resolution solid-state sensor matrix cameras have found quite som e interest among photogrammetrists in the last few years. The limited resolution of such cameras has so far restricted their practical use t o applications in digital close-range photogrammetry. Nevertheless, th e advantages of the direct acquisition and processing of digital image data in combination with the accuracy potential and the increasing re solution of solid-state sensors have started to make digital cameras i nteresting for a number of applications in aerial photogrammetry. This paper presents two practical studies on the helicopter-based use of a high-resolution digital still-video camera for digital aerotriangulat ion and the automatic generation of digital elevation models and ortho photos. Test regions were an alpine village and a landslide area in Sw itzerland. The current performance and future developments of solid-st ate matrix sensors are shown, and the advantages and disadvantages of the use of digital cameras in aerial applications are discussed. Using self-calibration techniques, externally verified accuracies of 2 cm f or planimetry coordinates and 5 to 6 cm for height coordinates were ob tained in digital aerotriangulation using imagery of 1:20,000 scale, a nd a precision of 0.03 percent of the flying height above ground could be achieved for digital elevation models.