GRASS GIS manual: i.rectify

Note: This document is for an older version of GRASS GIS that is outdated. You should upgrade, and read the current manual page.

NAME

i.rectify - Rectifies an image by computing a coordinate transformation for each pixel in the image based on the control points.

KEYWORDS

imagery, rectify

SYNOPSIS

i.rectify
i.rectify help
i.rectify [-ca] group=name [input=name[,name,...]] extension=string order=integer [res=float] [memory=memory in MB] [method=string] [--verbose] [--quiet]

Flags:

-c: Use current region settings in target location (def.=calculate smallest area)
-a: Rectify all raster maps in group
--verbose: Verbose module output
--quiet: Quiet module output

Parameters:

group=name: Name of input imagery group
input=name[,name,...]: Name of input raster map(s)
extension=string: Output raster map(s) suffix
order=integer: Rectification polynom order (1-3)
res=float: Target resolution (ignored if -c flag used)
memory=memory in MB: Amount of memory to use in MB; Default: 300
method=string: Interpolation method to use; Options: nearest,bilinear,cubic,bilinear_f,cubic_f; Default: nearest

DESCRIPTION

i.rectify uses the control points identified in i.points or i.vpoints to calculate a transformation matrix based on a first, second, or third order polynomial and then converts x,y cell coordinates to standard map coordinates for each pixel in the image. The result is a planimetric image with a transformed coordinate system (i.e., a different coordinate system than before it was rectified).

i.points or i.vpoints must be run before i.rectify, and both programs are required to rectify an image. An image must be rectified before it can reside in a standard coordinate LOCATION, and therefore be analyzed with the other map layers in the standard coordinate LOCATION. Upon completion of i.rectify, the rectified image is deposited in the target standard coordinate LOCATION. This LOCATION is selected using i.target.

Program Prompts

The first prompt in the program asks for the name of the group containing the files to be rectified.

     Enter the group containing files to be rectified
     Enter 'list' for a list of existing imagery groups
     Enter 'list -f' for a verbose listing
     Hit RETURN to cancel request
     >

This is the same imagery group that was selected in i.points or i.vpoints and the group that contains the raster maps with the marked points and their associated map coordinates. You are then asked to select the raster map(s) within the group to be rectified:

Please select the file(s) to rectify by naming an output file

       spot1.1 in mapsetname      .............
       spot1.2 in mapsetname      .............
       spot1.3 in mapsetname      .............
       spotclass1 in mapsetname   spotrectify1.
    
       spotreject1 in mapsetname  .............

(enter list by any name to get a list of existing raster maps)

AFTER COMPLETING ALL ANSWERS, HIT <ESC> TO CONTINUE
           (OR<Ctrl-C> TO CANCEL)

More than one raster map may be rectified at a time. Each cell file should be given a unique output file name.

Next, you are asked to select one of two windows regions:

  Please select one of the following options
  1.  Use the current window in the target location
  2.  Determine the smallest window which covers the image
  >

The i.rectify program will only rectify that portion of the image or raster map that occurs within the chosen window region, and only that portion of the cell file will be relocated in the target database. It is important therefore, to check the current mapset window in the target LOCATION if choice number one is selected.

If you are rectifying a file with plans to patch it to another file using the GRASS program r.patch, choose option number one, the current window in the target location. This window, however, must be the default window for the target LOCATION. When a file being rectified is smaller than the default window in which it is being rectified, zeros are added to the rectified file. Patching files of the same size that contain 0/non-zero data, eliminates the possibility of a no-data line the patched result. This is because, when the images are patched, the zeros in the image are "covered" with non-zero pixel values. When rectifying files that are going to be patched, rectify all of the files using the same default window.

Select the order of transformation desired with the order option:

Select order of transformation -->   1st Order   2nd Order  3rd Order

The program will immediately recalculate the RMSE and the number of points required.

Linear affine transformation (1st order transformation)

x' = ax + by +c

y' = Ax + Bt +C

The a,b,c,A,B,C are determined by least squares regression based on the control points entered. This transformation applies scaling, translation and rotation. It is NOT a general purpose rubber-sheeting, nor is it ortho-photo rectification using a DEM, not second order polynomial, etc. It can be used if (1) you have geometrically correct images, and (2) the terrain or camera distortion effect can be ignored.

Polynomial Transformation Matrix (2nd, 3d order transformation)

The ANALYZE function has been changed to support calculating the registration coefficients using a first, second, or third order transformation matrix. The number of control points required for a selected order of transformation (represented by n) is

((n + 1) * (n + 2) / 2)

or 3, 6, and 10 respectively. It is strongly recommended that one or more additional points be identified to allow for an overly- determined transformation calculation which will generate the Root Mean Square (RMS) error values for each included point. The RMS error values for all the included control points are immediately recalculated when the user selects a different transformation order from the menu bar. The polynomial equations are performed using a modified Gaussian elimination method.

Resampling method

The rectified data is resampled with one of five different methods: nearest, bilinear, cubic, bilinear_f or cubic_f.

The method=nearest method, which performs a nearest neighbor assignment, is the fastest of the three resampling methods. It is primarily used for categorical data such as a land use classification, since it will not change the values of the data cells. The method=bilinear method determines the new value of the cell based on a weighted distance average of the 4 surrounding cells in the input map. The method=cubic method determines the new value of the cell based on a weighted distance average of the 16 surrounding cells in the input map. The method=lanczos method determines the new value of the cell based on a weighted distance average of the 25 surrounding cells in the input map.

The bilinear, cubic and lanczos interpolation methods are most appropriate for continuous data and cause some smoothing. These options should not be used with categorical data, since the cell values will be altered.

In the bilinear, cubic and lanczos methods, if any of the surrounding cells used to interpolate the new cell value are NULL, the resulting cell will be NULL, even if the nearest cell is not NULL. This will cause some thinning along NULL borders, such as the coasts of land areas in a DEM. The bilinear_f, cubic_f and lanczos_f interpolation methods can be used if thinning along NULL edges is not desired. These methods "fall back" to simpler interpolation methods along NULL borders. That is, from lanczos to cubic to bilinear to nearest.

If nearest neighbor assignment is used, the output map has the same raster format as the input map. If any of the other interpolations is used, the output map is written as floating point.

Program Execution

Note: The rectified image or rectified raster maps will be located in the target LOCATION when the program is completed. The original unrectified files are not modified or removed.

NOTES

i.rectify uses nearest neighbor resampling during the transformation choosing the actual pixel that has its centre nearest to the point location in the image. Advantage of this method is that the pixel brightness of the image is kept as i.rectify rearranges the geometry of the image pixels.

If i.rectify starts normally but after some time the following text is seen:
GIS ERROR: error while writing to temp file
the user may try the flag -c (or the module needs more free space on the hard drive).

AUTHORS

William R. Enslin, Michigan State University, Center for Remote Sensing

Modified for GRASS 5.0 by:
Luca Palmeri (palmeri@ux1.unipd.it)
Bill Hughes
Pierre de Mouveaux (pmx@audiovu.com)
CMD mode by Bob Covill

Last changed: $Date: 2011-11-08 03:23:06 -0800 (Tue, 08 Nov 2011) $

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