Fritz Ackermann’sPhotogrammetric Journey

Edward M. MikhailProfessor of Photogrammetry

Former Head, Geomatics EngineeringPurdue University

mikhail@ecn.purdue.eduNovember 6, 2009

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Fritz Ackermann’s Photogrammetric Journey

• How it began . . . and developed• His working career• What has he done that is noteworthy?• Awards and recognitions• But, it is not all work• The last word

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How it Began . . . and Developed

• When and how we met– 1964• At the ITC Pre. Congress Symposium, Netherlands• At ISPRS Congress, Lisbon, Portugal

– 1966 • Symposium on Analytical Photogrammetry at

Urbana/Champaign, IL, USA– 1971• My first sabbatical leave in Stuttgart

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How it Began . . . and Developed– 1966 : Symposium on Analytical Photogrammetry at

Urbana/Champaign, IL, USA

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How it Began . . . and Developed

– 1971 : My first sabbatical leave in Stuttgart

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His Working Career• Dipl.Ing – 1954 : Stuttgart (Following Physics – 1950 :

Tübingen)• 1954 – 58 : Zeiss, Oberkochen

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His Working Career• 1954 – 58 : Zeiss, Oberkochen

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His Working Career (Cont’d)• 1958 – 66 : ITC• 1961, 64 : MS (ITC) and PhD (Stuttgart)• 1966 – 1992 : Professor and Director I.F.P., Stuttgart

• 1981 – 2007 : Founder and early owner of INPHO; then consultant

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry– Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips– Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles

(PAT-M)• Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks• Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external

reliability of photogrammetric blocks• Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program• Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas• Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM

extraction from overlapping imagery• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• First to propose “composed polynomials” [later called segmented constrained polynomials]

• Lower order per segment better than high order for long strips

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry– Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips– Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by

bundles (PAT-M)• Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks• Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external

reliability of photogrammetric blocks• Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program• Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas• Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and

DEM extraction from overlapping imagery• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• Work on long strips extended the concept to block adjustment by independent units … either models (PAT-M) or bundles (PAT-B)

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry– Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips– Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles

(PAT-M)• Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks• Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external

reliability of photogrammetric blocks• Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program• Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas• Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and

DEM extraction from overlapping imagery• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• GCP requirements rather extensive for classical methods

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• Each camera station is essentially a complete GCP

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• GCP requirements drastically reduced resulting in significant economy when DGPS camera positions are used

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry– Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips– Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles

(PAT-M)• Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks• Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external

reliability of photogrammetric blocks• Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program• Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas• Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and

DEM extraction from overlapping imagery• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• Good agreement of the accuracy of contours from DTM (by SCOP) with those from ground survey and extracted photogrammetrically

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry– Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips– Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles

(PAT-M)• Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks• Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external

reliability of photogrammetric blocks• Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program• Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas• Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and

DEM extraction from overlapping imagery• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• At the heart of MATCH-AT is the automatic digital image matching

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• The culmination of years of research in block triangulation is the nearly fully automated MATCH-AT

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So, What has he done that is Noteworthy?

• German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle

As if in anticipation of the current proliferation of commercial satellite imagery he used his extensive experience on the MOMS program

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Awards and Recognitions

• There are so many ... only selected few– von Gruber (ISPRS), 1964– Brock Medal (ISPRS), 1976– Honorary Professor, Wuhan Univ., China, 1989– Honorary Member of the following Photogrammetric

Societies• British 1989• U.S. 1995• ISPRS 1996• German 1999

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Awards and Recognitions

– Brock Medal (ISPRS), 1976

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Awards and Recognitions– Honorary Member International Society of

Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 1996

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Awards and Recognitions– ITC Fellow, 1992– Honorary Doctorates from the following Universities

• Helsinki 1988• Vienna 1991• Hannover 1995• Moscow 2009

– The Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award, ASPRS, 1999

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But it is not all work

• An excellent skier

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But it is not all work

• Hiking and mountain climbing

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But it is not all work

• Hiking and mountain climbing

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But it is not all work

• An accomplished pianist

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But it is not all work

• Fritz can have as much fun as any one:

Riding an elephant in Thailand (w/o proper license?)

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But it is not all work

• Fritz can have as much fun as any one:

Lasso throwing in Finland

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But it is not all work

• Fritz can have as much fun as any one:

Showing his fitness in Rovaniemi, Finland in 1986

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The Last Word

Very Happy 80th

Good Health for Many Years to Come