Geometric Accuracy Analysis Model of the
Ziyuan-3 Satellite without GCPs
Xinming Tang, Ping Zhou, Guo Zhang, Xia Wang, and Hongbo Pan
Abstract
The ZiYuan-3 satellite (
ZY-3
) was China’s first civilian stereo
mapping satellite designed to meet the 1:50 000 scale map-
ping requirements. We analyzed main error sources influenc-
ing the geometric accuracy of the
ZY-3
images, and the error
propagation rules of these error sources in image production.
Accuracy estimation models of
ZY-3
images without ground
control points (
GCPs
) were deduced and the theoretical geo-
metric accuracy of
ZY-3
images was obtained. Without
GCPs
,
556
ZY-3
panchromatic nadir images covering 3,500,000 km
2
of the Chinese mid-west region and 12
ZY-3
stereo image pairs
covering 14,000 km
2
around Taiyuan of China were used for
planar and vertical accuracy verification, respectively. The
experimental results confirmed the correctness of the accu-
racy estimation model for
ZY-3
images. The accuracy results
obtained through the model and experiment showed that
without
GCPs
, the geometric accuracy of the
ZY-3
images satis-
fied the Chinese stereo mapping requirements for 1:50 000
scale topographic maps.
Introduction
Geometric accuracy assessment of high-resolution space
satellite images (
HRSI
s) has become increasingly important in
recent years. Many research institutions as well as experts and
scholars have conducted research on geometric analysis and
validation of satellite images. Grodecki
et al.
(2002) quantified
the geometric accuracy of the Ikonos camera using large stereo
image blocks with and without ground control, thus validating
both exterior and interior orientation calibrations. Bouillon
et
al.
(2006) reviewed various evaluations of the SPOT5 HRS and
the Reference 3D products. Tadono
et al.
(2007) described the
updated results of sensor calibration and product validation
for the
PRISM
onboard the
ALOS
. Aguilar
et al.
(2007) used four
different 3D geometric correction models to correct the Quick-
Bird satellite basic imagery, and evaluate its accuracy. Habib
et al.
(2007) dealt with comparative analysis of positioning
accuracy of approximate and rigorous sensor models for high-
resolution imaging satellites. Li
et al.
(2009) investigated the
relationship between three-dimensional (3D) geopositioning
accuracy and stereo imaging geometry using Ikonos images.
Dolloff
et al.
(2010) assessed the 3D positional extraction ac-
curacy based on 50 overlapping and contiguous stereo pairs
of WorldView-1 imagery covering approximately 50,000 km
2
.
Agugiaro
et al.
(2012) evaluated the accuracy of GeoEye-1 and
WorldView-2 using control data in the Trento testfield in Italy
and a
DSM
developed from airborne lidar acquisition. Tang
et
al.
(2012) proposed a
ZY-3
satellite image geometry model us-
ing virtual
CCD
line-array imaging, and evaluated the geomet-
ric accuracy of the first orbit imagery of the
ZY-3
satellite. Pan
et al.
(2013) introduced the details of
ZY-3
’s sensors, geometric
model and products and used three
ZY-3
triplet stereo images
to evaluate the accuracy of bundle adjustment. Wang
et al.
(2014) briefly described the principle of
ZY-3
satellite on-orbit
calibration and selected ten regional
ZY-3
data for validation of
the geometric positioning accuracy of the image.
The ZiYuan-3 (
ZY-3
) Surveying and Mapping Satellite, the
first domestic stereo mapping optical satellite in China, was
launched on 09 January 2012. The satellite carries one multi-
spectral time delay and integration charge-coupled device (
TDI
CCD
) camera and three high-resolution panchromatic
TDI
CCD
cameras that point forward, backward, and toward the nadir
(Figure 1). The forward and backward cameras are arranged at
inclinations of ±22° from the nadir camera to obtain a base-to-
height ratio (
B/H
) of 0.87. The forward and backward cameras
have a spatial resolution of 3.5 m and 52.3 km ground swath,
while the nadir camera has a spatial resolution of 2.1 m and
51.1 km ground swath. The multispectral camera has a spatial
resolution of 5.8 m and 51.0 km ground swath.
The
ZY-3
satellite is mainly used for mapping and revising
1:50 000 scale topographic maps and geographic information
products. At present,
ZY-3
satellite images have been ap-
plied widely to the production of 1:50 000 scale cartographic
products in China using a moderate number of ground control
points (
GCP
s). However, to reduce the mapping costs, enhance
its efficiency, and especially perform high-accuracy map-
ping in areas of difficult control data acquisition, the direct
use of
ZY-3
images for 1:50 000 scale topographic mapping
without
GCP
s is the best choice. The premise for achieving
this target is that the geometric accuracy of image without
GCP
s must meet the mapping requirements for 1:50 000 scale
Xinming Tang is with the School of Resource and
Environmental Science, Wuhan University. 129 Luoyu Road,
Wuhan 430079, P.R. China, the Satellite Surveying and
Mapping Application Center, National Administration of
Surveying, Mapping and Geo-information, 1 Baishengcun
Road, Beijing 100044, P. R. China, and also with the Jiangsu
Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical
Information Resource Development and Application, 1
wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, P.R. China.
Ping Zhou is with the School of Resource and Environmental
Science, Wuhan University. 129 Luoyu Road,Wuhan 430079,
P.R. China, and also with the Satellite Surveying and Mapping
Application Center, National Administration of Surveying,
Mapping and Geo-information, 1 Baishengcun Road, Beijing
100044, P.R. China (
).
Guo Zhang is with State Key Laboratory of Information Engineer-
ing in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS),
Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430079, P.R. China.
Xia Wang is with the Satellite Surveying and Mapping
Application Center, National Administration of Surveying,
Mapping and Geo-information, 1 Baishengcun Road, Beijing
100044, P.R. China.
Hongbo Pan is with School of Geoscience and Info-Physics,
Central South University, Changsha 410083, China, P.R. China.
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 81, No. 12, December 2015, pp. 927–934.
0099-1112/15/927–934
© 2015 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.81.12.927
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
December 2015
927
