ABSTRACT
Raster imagery is typically analyzed with digital image processing software packages. There are a number of software packages currently available. However, some will be more advanced than others, while others are still evolving. Hexagon Geospatial’s ERDAS Imagine is a powerful PC-based software package that has been recognized as an industry standard in digital image processing and analysis of remotely sensed data and provides considerable functionality in the core areas of image processing, such as radiometric, spatial, or spectral processing applications, as well as object-based modeling. For this reason, the main focus of this book is on using ERDAS Imagine to process a variety of remotely sensed data. A host of other digital image processing packages are also available commercially, and even for free, including Harris Geospatial's ENVI, Purdue University's MultisSpec, and open source packages such as Quantum GIS (QGIS) and SAGA. The techniques demonstrated in this textbook, while largely demonstrated utilizing the Hexagon Geospatial’s ERDAS Image software, are geared towards being applicable in any software package. For comparative purposes, certain applications in this textbook are additionally demonstrated with Esri’s ArcMap ArcGIS for Desktop, and open source QGIS.
