SRTM DEM-Aided Mapping Satellite-1 Image Geopositioning Without Ground Control Points

A Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM)-aided geopositioning method is proposed to solve the problem of geopositioning without ground control points for Mapping Satellite-1 imagery. The method comprises coarse and accurate correction stages, and it compensates errors gradually. DEM extraction and DEM matching are important steps in both the stages, the objectives of which are to compensate the relative and absolute errors in an image, respectively. The SRTM DEM is integrated into all the processes to take full advantage of its consistent and high accuracy. Experimental results showed that this method could greatly improve geometry accuracy and obtain stable and highly accurate geopositioning for Mapping Satellite-1 images, regardless of the land area proportion (LAP) or the production mode. The planimetric and vertical accuracies were better than 8.1 and 5.2 m, respectively, which could satisfy the accuracy requirements of mapping at 1:50 000 scale. The computational efficiency depends on the LAP and target DEM resolution.