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General Disclaimer One or more of the Following Statements may affect this Document This document has been reproduced from the best copy furnished by the organizational source. It is being released in the interest of making available as much information as possible. This document may contain data, which exceeds the sheet parameters. It was furnished in this condition by the organizational source and is the best copy available. This document may contain tone-on-tone or color graphs, charts and/or pictures, which have been reproduced in black and white. This document is paginated as submitted by the original source. Portions of this document are not fully legible due to the historical nature of some of the material. However, it is the best reproduction available from the original submission. Produced by the NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI) 0 AD' f.. , - DESIGN OF A LOW-COST AUTOMATED :r LANDSAT DATA ANALYSIS SYSTEM ,_r (F7')-10268) 11F.SIGN OF A LOW-COST AUTOMATED Y7'^- 11 7" I LANDSAT DATA ANALYSIS SYSTEM Final Poport (Metrics, Inc.., Atlanta, Ga.) 47 !) EIC A 03/MF A01 CSCL 058 Unclas c,3/433 00268 kh PREPARED FOR NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, ALABAMA FINAL REPORT ON NASA CONTRACT NO. NAS8-33136 JULY, 1979 4 f PREPARED BY METRICS, INC. ' 821;,1979 290 INTERSTATE NORTH ^Ar ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30339 RECEIVED NASA STI FACIUTV ACCESS DEPT. I rinal Report on or NASA Contract No. NAS8-33136 DESIGN OF ' LOW-COST AUTOMATED LANDSAT DATA ANALYSIS SYSTZM Prepared for National Aeronautics and Space Administration George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Fligh, Center, Alabama By G. William Spann Nancy J. Hooper Nickolas L. Faust tETRICS, INC. 290 Interstate North Atlanta, Georgia 30339 a July, 1979 t.j ACKNOWLEDGMENTS r METRICS would like to thank the following individuals and agencies for their cooperation throughout the project: Mr. Walter Stevenson, Alabama Development Office Mr. Paul O'Farrell, Tennessee State Planning Office Dr. Bruce herring, Auburn University Dr. Firouz Shahrolthi, University of Tennessee Space Institute .^ i R f ABSTRACT 3 Several commercial Landsat data processing systems are currently i available. However, most state agencies cannot affovd the price of these systems nor the price of "low - cost" digital systems assembled by some universities. The state agencies are therefore effectively precluded from obtaining the in-house capability to process Landsat data. A system is needed that can be purchased by state agencies for approximately $ 20,000 and which can provide a measure of automation to the processing of Landsat data. Alabama and Tennessee both have natural resource information retrieval systems to which Landsat digital data input capability could be added. !ui automated low-cost Landsat processing system was designed for the two states to permit this capability. As a first step, a list was compiled of available commercial equipment components that could be included in the final system design. Alternative equip- ment as well as alternative technologies were investigated to determine cost-reduction options that would lower the cost of an automated system. For example, inexpensive disk drives can be substituted for- tape drives in the designed system. Although the prototype system exceeds the original cost- goal of $20,000, the system was designed such that a state with some existing equipment or a state which can use less than optimum products can have some Landsat processing capability for $20,000. Elimination of the color display selected for the base system would achieve the original cost objective but would significantly degrade performance. The sys- tem may also be upgraded to the point that faster and, therefore, G larger - scale processing of Landsat data could be achieved. Alternative systems are defined based on a single minicomputer; the peripherals can vary depending on the capability emphasized in a particular system. In this mann3r, it is possible to take into account the existing computer equipment / facilities that each state + F" has or has access to. In addition, the annual operating costs for the specified system ( s) are estimated, taking into account the differ- ences in facilities and personnel which may be available to each state. I* ii 7_^LA Tfhi le numerous software packages have been developed to process Landsat data, not all of these perform satisfactorily on a minicomputer installation. Therefore, it was necessary to select a software package which is not only capable of performing; standard Landsat data process- e= ing functions but which is also compatible with the hardware system(s) specified. The software routines selected also meet the objectives expressed by Alabama and Tennessee officials for effectively interfacing with their natural resource information systems. In summary, this paper details a minicomputer-based system capable of automated processing of Landsat data. The system is well within the budget of many state, regional and local agencies that previously could not afford digital processing capability. Furthermore, as needs for Landsat-derived information grow, the system can be expanded to meet these increased demands. Conclusions and Recommendations Results of this project indicate that it is possible to construct a low-cost digital Landsat processing system which utilizes existing, available software. Furthermore, the system can be adapted to meet the needs for more extensive processing tasks with additional hardware. This project has taken the design of a low-cost system as far as it can go on paper. All of the tradeoffs necessary to select the specific items of equipment have been performed. Miat remains is the actual demonstration of such a system. Therefore, it is recommended that the low-cost Landsat processing system described here be assembled and demonstrated to NASA and to the cooperating states. The demonstration effort would have at least two very significant benefits. First, the system as described would be proven workable. In addition to the practical utility of having a proven, working system to recommend, however, the demonstration system itself could be put to good use. It could, for example, be used for training purposes in a remote sensing laboratory or it could be mounted in a mobile van to serve as an on-site demonstration and analysis tool for Landsat technology transfer. k'. i.ii ^ f1 I' TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMLNTS ............................................ i ABSTRACT ................................................... ii 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................... 1 Purpose, Scope, Objectives Coordination with State Agencies Report Organization 2 SYSTEM DESIGN .............................................. 3 Investigation of Available Commercial Equipment Investigation of Cost Reduction Options Design of Prototype System Requirements for Input to State Information Systems System Modifications for Alabama and Tennessee Annual Operating Costs 3 SOFTWARE AND SYSTEM CAPABILITIES ........................... 14 Selection of Software Landsat Processing Programs Geographic Data Base Programs System Capabilities System Limitations 4 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................ 19 APPENDIX A. COMPONENT SPECIFICATIONS ...................... 20 APPENDIX B. DESCRIPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCE SYSTEMS AND AVAILABLE EQUIPMENT IN ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE.. 38 E? 1 INTRODUCTION Several commercial Landsat data processing systems are currently available. The price of these systems typically is in the $400,000 - $1,000 , 000 range. Even the "low -cost" systems assembled by some universities cost $75 , 000-$100,000 or more. Most state agencies can- not afford these prices for automated Landsat data analysis systems. Therefore, they are effectively precluded from obtaining the in-house capability to process Landsat data. A previous study for NASA / MSFC , however, raised the possibility that an automated Landsat data analysis system could be assembled for a cost of $22 , 000 - $45,000. Even these figures often prove to be too high for many state agencies. What is needed is a very low - cost system (i.e., approximately $ 20,000) that can be purchased by state agencies and which will provide a measure of automation to the processing of Landsat data. It is the intent of this project to define such a system. Purpose, Scope, Objectives / The purpose of this project is to design a system based upon the requirements of the states of Alabama and Tennessee. The scope of the project includes the design of an automated low-cost Landsat processing system which could be purchased by these states. Other agencies might need design changes to fit their individual needs. Specific objectives of the project include: - investigation of commercial equipment available to IIII_ N complete a stand -alone digital Landsat data analysis system; - investigation of cost - reduction options which would lower the total cost of a Landsat data analysis system; A Cl. Low-Cost Earth Resources Data Analysis System, by N. L. Faust and G. W. Spann, Prepared under NASA/MSFC Contract #NAS8-32397, August, 1978, CR. 9150838. I I„ 1 L^ .._ _^__ _ - investigation of the technical requirements necessary to have the Landsat processing system outputs feed directly into the information systems of the two states; - production of a block diagram defining a low-cost Landsat digital analysis system and discussion of the various alternatives available; - production of