PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
October 2014
925
I N T E R V I E W
Clifford Mugnier is a consulting photogrammetrist and geodesist in
private practice. He teaches surveying, geodesy, and photogrammetry
in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Louisiana
State University. While serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
he was engaged in research for Lunar and Earth topographic mapping
by satellites. He has lectured in geodetic surveying; topographic
engineering; map projections and grid systems; International &
Louisiana Boundary Law; analytical photogrammetry and geodetic
astronomy. He has designed, supervised, and executed geodetic
surveys; he is consulted on a regular basis regarding network design,
techniques, adjustment theory, software systems, specifications, and
Grid Systems/Datums world wide.
PROFESSIONAL
INSIGHT
At a recent (non-ASPRS) conference, the organizers asked
the question, “is photogrammetry dead??” What do you
have to say about that?
No, it’s not dead. Some things appear easier to the novice
because of digital cameras and the seemingly all-powerful
computer mouse. Production-type operations have become
more automated, and as a result some job descriptions
allow individuals with modest training and education to be
productive. However, when something goes wrong it still
requires the attention of a professional-level photogramme-
trist to diagnose and correct the problem. The index finger
and a mouse are no substitute for a sound foundation in the
mathematical basis of photogrammetric principles, statistics,
and error propagation.
Rumor has it that you once shot monkeys out of ejection
seats, and as if that were not enough fun, you then ejected
U.S. Navy sailors. Is that true, and why did you do it?
In the late 1980’s I returned to New Orleans from several
months in South America doing GPS surveys in the Andes
Mountains for a State Department “AID” project. A buddy at
the University of New Orleans (where I used to teach part-
time) told me that a local laboratory had just changed X-ray
machines and the different X-ray geometry resulted in the
entire research laboratory being shut down until they found a
photogrammetrist to fix the problem. Was I interested? I went
over to the U.S. Naval BioDynamics Laboratories (NBDL) to
look & see, and became intrigued. NBDL had operated for
decades with animals and humans in the pursuit of finding
safe conditions for high-speed ejection seat operations. The
objective for ejecting from an airplane is to survive in order
to fly another day. The enlisted sailors were human research
volunteers and were never injured in the testing. In fact,
they are still checked periodically for the rest of their lives
as part of their volunteer contract with the Navy. However, it
was determined by Navy Flight Surgeons that the maximum
impact they would be subjected to was 16 G’s. Anything
greater could result in some sort of injury. With primates
having significantly greater upper body strength, they were
tested at G-levels that started lower than 16 G’s and then
went to higher levels than the humans with the intent of
having overlapping results to predict levels of potential
fatal harm for humans. Neither humans nor animals were
harmed, and the public-domain data set remains the only
scientific basis for the design of “crash dummies” world-wide.
The photogrammetric applications kept me busy for years.
Rumors aside, many of us enjoy reading your column in
PE&RS
, Grids and Datums. I gather that you have been to
many of the places that you write about. When you travel,
how do you personally like to navigate?
Simple, I prefer to rent a vehicle and use local paper maps.
I prefer to “discover” places and things rather than being
guided by minimum distance algorithms unless it’s for busi-
ness. When I’m charging a client, then maximum efficiency
is the proper way to go. My personal GPS receiver is my
preferred instrument; rented ones commonly have awful
pre-sets that I have found are unreliable. The exception is
where to return the car.
You are an expert at topographic mapping using pho-
togrammetry, but I’m also curious about your medical
experience. Could you tell us about your application of
photogrammetry in medicine?
That all relates to my work at NBDL. I developed a stereo-
scopic X-ray procedure that worked well for the monkeys
and for the humans. The coordinate system origin of the
thoracic cavity (chest) was defined by the anterior (front)
node of the T-1 vertebral element (the spine bone that the
collar bones attach to). That presented me with a major
problem … I had stereo X-rays under a mirror stereoscope
on top of a high precision backlit digitizer, a human skeleton
hanging on a stand next to me, and I still found the image
CLIFFORD J. MUGNIER
