Obstacles facing the venus radar mapper - The implications of gestalt formation in stereo-radargrammetry

The question of adapting to radar images the existing hardware that form topographic maps through stereo-photogrammetric models, is examined in principle. Such hardware utilizes a human/ computer hybrid. Although the problem of brightness differentials between corresponding landmarks can be dealt with pseudo-photoclinometrically, the main problem is whether the perspective in a radar image can be conceived to mimic that of a photographic image obtained by a suitably positioned camera. This conception is found to be possible, providing the characteristic relief subtends to a very small angle at the radar and at the fictitious camera. The photogrammetric model parameters must be determined a priori.