1. Fritz Ackermann’s Photogrammetric Journey Edward M. Mikhail Professor of Photogrammetry Former Head, Geomatics Engineering Purdue University mikhail@ecn.purdue.edu November 6, 2009

2. Fritz Ackermann’s Photogrammetric Journey How it began... and developed His working career What has he done that is noteworthy? Awards and recognitions But, it is not all work The last word 2

3. How it Began... and Developed When and how we met – 1964 At the ITC Pre. Congress Symposium, Netherlands At ISPRS Congress, Lisbon, Portugal – 1966 Symposium on Analytical Photogrammetry at Urbana/Champaign, IL, USA – 1971 My first sabbatical leave in Stuttgart 3

4. How it Began... and Developed – 1966 : Symposium on Analytical Photogrammetry at Urbana/Champaign, IL, USA 4

5. How it Began... and Developed – 1971 : My first sabbatical leave in Stuttgart 5

6. His Working Career Dipl.Ing – 1954 : Stuttgart (Following Physics – 1950 : Tübingen) 1954 – 58 : Zeiss, Oberkochen 6

7. His Working Career 1954 – 58 : Zeiss, Oberkochen 7

8. His Working Career (Cont’d) 1958 – 66 : ITC 1961, 64 : MS (ITC) and PhD (Stuttgart) 1966 – 1992 : Professor and Director I.F.P., Stuttgart 1981 – 2007 : Founder and early owner of INPHO; then consultant 8

9. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry – Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips – Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles (PAT-M) Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external reliability of photogrammetric blocks Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM extraction from overlapping imagery German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle 9

10. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? First to propose “composed polynomials” [later called segmented constrained polynomials] Lower order per segment better than high order for long strips 10

11. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry – Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips – Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles (PAT-M) Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external reliability of photogrammetric blocks Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM extraction from overlapping imagery German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle 11

12. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? Work on long strips extended the concept to block adjustment by independent units … either models (PAT-M) or bundles (PAT-B) 12

13. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry – Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips – Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles (PAT-M) Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external reliability of photogrammetric blocks Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM extraction from overlapping imagery German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle 13

14. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? GCP requirements rather extensive for classical methods 14

15. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? Each camera station is essentially a complete GCP 15

16. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? GCP requirements drastically reduced resulting in significant economy when DGPS camera positions are used 16

17. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry – Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips – Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles (PAT-M) Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external reliability of photogrammetric blocks Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM extraction from overlapping imagery German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle 17

18. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? Good agreement of the accuracy of contours from DTM (by SCOP) with those from ground survey and extracted photogrammetrically 18

19. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? One of the first to usher in analytical photogrammetry – Analytical Least Squares adjustment of, and error propagation in, long strips – Analytical block adjustment by independent models (PAT-M) and by bundles (PAT-M) Self-calibration, blunder detection, and L.S. interpolation of blocks Combined adjustment with airborne GPS; internal and external reliability of photogrammetric blocks Digital Elevation Models – SCOP Program Laser profilers – DEMs in forested areas Least Squares digital image matching – fully auto triangulation and DEM extraction from overlapping imagery German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle 19

20. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? At the heart of MATCH-AT is the automatic digital image matching 20

21. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? The culmination of years of research in block triangulation is the nearly fully automated MATCH-AT 21

22. So, What has he done that is Noteworthy? German MOMS Program – digital camera on space shuttle As if in anticipation of the current proliferation of commercial satellite imagery he used his extensive experience on the MOMS program 22

23. Awards and Recognitions There are so many... only selected few – von Gruber (ISPRS), 1964 – Brock Medal (ISPRS), 1976 – Honorary Professor, Wuhan Univ., China, 1989 – Honorary Member of the following Photogrammetric Societies British 1989 U.S. 1995 ISPRS 1996 German 1999 23

24. Awards and Recognitions – Brock Medal (ISPRS), 1976 24

25. Awards and Recognitions – Honorary Member International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 1996 25

26. Awards and Recognitions – ITC Fellow, 1992 – Honorary Doctorates from the following Universities Helsinki 1988 Vienna 1991 Hannover 1995 Moscow 2009 – The Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award, ASPRS, 1999 26

27. But it is not all work An excellent skier 27

28. But it is not all work Hiking and mountain climbing 28

29. But it is not all work Hiking and mountain climbing 29

30. But it is not all work An accomplished pianist 30

31. But it is not all work Fritz can have as much fun as any one: Riding an elephant in Thailand (w/o proper license?) 31

32. But it is not all work Fritz can have as much fun as any one: Lasso throwing in Finland 32

33. But it is not all work Fritz can have as much fun as any one: Showing his fitness in Rovaniemi, Finland in 1986 33

34. The Last Word Very Happy 80 th Good Health for Many Years to Come 34