SPOT DATA EVALUATION AND USE AT INSTITUT GÉOGRAPHIQUE NATIONAL, FRANCE

Since the launch of SPOT, Institut Géographique National, France has carried out several investigations concerned with in-flight evaluation, research operations and the setting up of production flowlines. The aims of assistance to data bank establishment, revision of existing maps and image map and thematic map production have now been achieved for the most part. Some procedures are already operational, including image product making, photogrammetry on SPOT images, classifications on image processing systems, manual information retrieval and image map production. Moreover, various research operations are virtually complete, including automatic correlation, composite processes between aerial photographs and SPOT images, quite promising mathematical morphology associated with expert systems for retrieving linear or complex textured (built up area) elements, and manual cartography on image processing system. These results confirm the great benefits of SPOT system capabilities and the characteristics of flexibility, accuracy and reliability. The Photogrammetric Society and the Remote Sensing Society held a one-day symposium at Burlington House, London on 11th November, 1987. The SPOT (Système Probatoire d'observation de la Terre) satellite had then been operational for 18 months and many organisations had been working with the data. This symposium reviewed the operation of the satellite and studies which had been carried out for mapping and for thematic applications. Six of the symposium papers are published here. It is expected that other papers from the symposium will be published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing.