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Digital Mapping Laboratory
Carnegie Mellon University


Construction of Synthetic Environments for Advanced Distributed Simulation
Contract Number DACA76-95-C-0009

Over the period of this contract we have conducted a program of basic research in image understanding and automated cartography to support the efficient representation and rapid construction of virtual world databases. A system, satisfying all of the desired features, would take available panchromatic and multispectral/hyperspectral imagery, existing map and digital elevation models, as well as knowledge about particular environmental and geographic conditions and automatically produce a virtual world database tailored to a particular simulation requirement. While currently far beyond the state-of-the-art, the research that we have conducted addresses several key issues, that bring us closer to the goal of low cost construction of such virtual world databases in a timely manner, produced according to standards that allow for sharing and interoperability.

In particular, this work has involved improvements in image processing and photogrammetry, cooperative methods for cartographic feature extraction, multi-spectral scene interpretation, data fusion, and the access and update to intelligence spatial databases. This research has specific application in the cartographic community, the intelligence community, and is of general interest to various groups within DoD, especially those involved in mission planning and rehearsal, autonomous navigation, and advanced distributed simulation technology.


This directory contains the research overview of a DARPA-sponsored contractor. The views and conclusions contained within this directory and in the contained papers are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Defense Advanced Projects Agency or the United States Government.

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