- Global mosaics: mosaicking hundreds or thousands of images collected by space exploration missions to create seamless, cartographically accurate, global image maps for use by the planetary science community for research and mapping.
- Geologic Mapping: we create accurate base image maps for geologists to use in creating geologic maps.
- Scientific Research: Using Isis to mosaic images of a region of interest to create a scientifically accurate image product, and analyzing the imagery based on spectral, textural, or other attributes.
Project Description:
Develop an encompassing graphical user interface (GUI) for the ISIS3 image processing package in support of the Astrogeology Science Center, located
in Flagstaff AZ. ISIS3 is comprised of many small routines which are independently run via a command-line or simple independent GUI application. We
would like to have a new GUI application which encompasses all the functionality that ISIS has to offer. While the individual GUI routines may still
be run, the encompassing ISIS3 GUI will have (1) all the routines logically organized to help the user find and run the needed routines, (2) be able
to tie several individual routines into one process flow and be applied to many images (e.g. batch), (3) select the process to run on a local machine
or cluster, and (4) save the history and process flows for export to other users. Please find an attached PDF for draft GUI design. In the PDF, the
four listed goals above can be found in draft form on the "Project Command Center" and "Process Data" interface tabs.
Additional enhancements might include an embedded image viewer, image control point viewer, an ability to allow users to search for input images
using a simple search interface (and existing Astrogeology web services), and potentially a visual method to organize a process flow
(e.g. Kepler).
ISIS3 Background:
Isis is an image processing software package. The focus of the software is to manipulate imagery collected by current and past NASA planetary missions
sent to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and other solar system bodies. If you're familiar with commercial image processing packages (for example: Adobe
Photoshop, Envi, or ERDAS Imagine) you'll recognize many of the standard image processing operations Isis is capable of, such as contrast stretch,
image algebra, filters, and statistical analysis.
The real power of Isis is its unique capabilities for processing data from NASA spacecraft missions such as Voyager, Viking, Galileo, Mars Global
Surveyor, and Mars Odyssey. ISIS is able to import raw mission data into a usable geospatial image product, and has tools for digital mosaicking of
adjacent images, photometric modeling and normalization, removal of systematic noise patterns, overlaying graticules, and numerous other cartographic
and scientific analysis functions.
The following are just a few examples of how those of us at the USGS Astrogeology Research Program have used Isis in our work: