Map generation utilizing IFSARE imagery and digital elevation models from the Intermap STAR-3i system

In November of 1996, a new commercial venture, Intermap Technologies Inc. (Intermap), commenced operating the InterFerometric Synthetic Aperture Radar for terrain Elevation (IFSARE) system, developed by ERIM and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had originally funded the IFSARE under an innovative program for developing new remote sensing technology for government and commercial applications. The IFSARE (now referred to as "STAR-3i") system is now being operated by Intermap for a wide variety of international commercial mapping applications including terrain mapping, resource exploration, resource management, and telecommunications and transportation planning. This paper presents an overview of the commercial applications of this X-band IFSAR and Intermap's methodology in uniting this new technology with traditional remote sensing and mapping techniques. Technical improvements to the STAR-3i system that are currently in progress are also presented.