Sensor integration in airborne mapping

The rapid technological developments of the 90s have completely redefined the mapping practice. In less than a decade, digital techniques have come to outnumber traditional analog data acquisition and processing methods. Supported by unprecedented demand for large-volume, accurate spatial data, these new digital techniques emerged as dominant mapping technologies by the end of the decade. Two key components of this emerging technology are the electronic sensor-based digital camera and GPS/INS-based direct platform orientation. In fact, these new platform orientation systems are rapidly becoming a core component of modern airborne mapping and remote sensing systems.