Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.

1
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

8. SCANNERS
8.1 General
Scanners are scanning radiometers which, when operated from an airborne or spaceborne
platform, image the terrain in one or more spectral bands. Mechanical scanners are electro-optical-
mechanical sensors that use a mirror or prism to focus radiation of ultraviolet, visible or infrared
wavelengths, or combinations of these wavelengths, from the ground to one or more detectors.
(Microwave scanners will be described in a later section.) The mirror or prism rotates or oscillates,
scanning a line of incoming radiation that is usually perpendicular to the flight direction (Figure
8.1). New, adjacent lines are scanned as the platform moves ahead. Each line is typically recorded
digitally and sometimes displayed directly on a monitor.

Figure 8.1:Data collection pattern for a mechanical (whiskbroom) scanner.

Recall that the aircraft or spacecraft is moving ahead during the time that each line is
imaged. For mechanically scanning systems this means that the pixel the end of the scan line will
be imaged later than the pixel at the beginning of the scan line and therefore be will displaced along
the flight path. The displacement is usually rather small but not always entirely negligible. More
troublesome is the geometric distortion introduced as a result of the variation in viewing angle.
This geometric distortion is especially severe near the edges of the image where the sizes of the
ground resolution elements are comparatively larger than those at nadir (Figure 8.2). For a square
pixel at nadir, the width of a single scan line on the ground is Hω1/2. At a viewing angle, θ, the
along-scan-line width of a pixel is Hω1/2 sec2 θ while the length along the flight line is ω1/2 sec θ.
The distortion is called the panoramic effect. Panoramic distortion can be reduced to negligible
amounts by restricting the total FOV in relation to the flight height.
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.2
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

Figure 8.2: Panoramic effect − the increase in the GIFOV with viewing angle.

8.2 Scanning a Ground Resolution Element

The spatial parameters of scanning which are of primary concern for remote sensing are the
scanner's total field-of-view (FOV), its instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV or ω), and the ratio of the
platform's velocity to its height above ground (V/H).
The total FOV of a scanner is the scanner's lateral coverage (Figure 8.1). It is analogous to the
angular coverage of an aerial camera in the direction perpendicular to the aircraft's flight direction.
Unlike a camera, however, a scanner does not collect radiation over its total FOV at one instant of
time. As noted, the scanner mirror covers the total FOV by "looking" sequentially at numerous
ground spots, or resolution elements, along a scan line (Figure 8.1). These resolution elements are
the smallest ground areas that the scanner can "see"; radiance emanating from all features within
each ground resolution element are integrated and measured as a single level of radiation for each
wavelength interval sensed by the scanner's detector or detectors. The ground resolution element
viewed instantaneously by the scanner will be measured and recorded in the resultant image as a
single picture element or "pixel". Ideally, each pixel corresponds to the ground resolution element
defined by the IFOV. When expressed in terms of the ground distance covered by a single pixel,
the instantaneous field of view is typically expressed in units of length and referred to as the Ground
Instantaneous Field of View (GIFOV). Note that the GIFOV is dependent on look angle, while the
angular IFOV is not.
As shown in Figure 8.1, the size of the ground resolution element is determined by the
scanner's IFOV, ω, its height above ground, H, and the scan angle b, the angle between the ground
element and the nadir. To illustrate, a typical aircraft scanner might have a square IFOV of 2.5
milliradians on a side, and a total FOV of 120°, or 60° to either side of the aircraft. If the length or
width of the ground resolution element is approximated by the arc of a circle whose center is at the
scanner, an angle of 2.5 milliradians would intercept an arch whose length is 0.0025 times the
radius. For every 1,000 meters of aircraft height above ground, the dimensions of the ground spot
viewed directly below the aircraft would increase by 2.5 meters on a side (R = H = 1,000). The
corresponding increase for ground resolution elements away from the aircraft nadir would be larger
because the distance between the scanner and element (i. e., the radius of the circle) is longer. For
every increase of 1,000 meters above ground, other resolution elements would increase by 2.5/cos2θ
along a scan line and by 2.5/cos θ perpendicular to the scan line.
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.3
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

8.3 Detector-Scanner-Platform Velocity Relationships

The usual goal of creating a digital image is to collect pixels in a square array in which
adjacent pixels are contiguous, but not overlapping. Since with a scanner this is done on the fly, the
specific geometry of the image depends on the rate of scanning. That rate is constrained, in turn by
the detector response. While data are collected for a single pixel, there is both motion of the
scanner and motion of the platform. As a consequence, single pixels do not correspond exactly to a
ground resolution element defined by the IFOV. Moreover, although single pixels correspond to
single ground resolution elements, there may be gaps or overlaps between adjacent pixels if the rate
of detector sampling and the rate of scanner rotation are not well matched.
It is instructive to examine these relationships further. Consider an aircraft scanner that scans
the terrain with a rotating mirror through an IFOV of ω. Assuming that the mirror rotates through
360 degrees or 2p radians, the number of elements scanned per mirror rotation is 2p divided by ω1/2,
the IFOV in the direction of scanning (Figure 8.1).
The number of resolution elements (N) scanned per second is thus equal to the number of
elements scanned per mirror rotation multiplied by the rate of mirror rotation (M), or N =
M(2p/ω1/2). Since the time required to scan a single resolution element is 1/N,
ω1 2
scan time per element =
2pM (8.1)

The time devoted to scanning a resolution element must be at least as long as it takes the
detector to respond. The detector's dwell time refers to the time the detector must "look at," or
dwell on, a resolution element before it "sees" it. In general,
Detector dwell time per element = ktd (8.2)

where k is a constant of 1.0 or more, and td is the time constant for the detector (i.e., time required
for the detector to respond). For each ground resolution element to be "seen,"
ω1/2
≤ kt d
2πM (8.3)

The remaining variables to be considered are the velocity, V, and height, H, of the aircraft. It
should be clear that, if the aircraft is moving too rapidly, there will be gaps in the ground coverage.
The velocity of the aircraft must therefore be linked with the rate of scanning.
In the flight direction at the nadir, the width of a single scan line is H multiplied by ω1/2, the
IFOV in the flight direction (Figure 8.1); the width of the ground strip covered each second is
M(Hω1/2). To avoid gaps or underlap between scan lines,
M(Hω1/2) > V (8.4)

V
or M> (8.5)
Hω1/ 2

The rate of mirror rotation is thus governed, in part, by the velocity to height ratio, and vice versa.
(Note that overlap between adjacent scan lines produces redundant information.) The constraints
can be combined by substituting for M in Equation 10.3, which results in the following:
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.4
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

ω V
≥
2πkt d H (8.6)

As indicated by Equation 8.6, the spatial resolution can be increased by decreasing td, with no
change in V or H, if the speed of the detector can be increased. Similarly, flying faster or lower
requires a faster detector for the same ω.
The relation between velocity and height, the V/H ratio, describes the angular rate
(radians/second) that a point on the ground appears to pass beneath the aircraft. For a given scanner
configuration, ω and td are fixed, but the V/H ratio can be adjusted to some defined maximum
value.

8.4 Power Considerations

The level of signal received from a resolution element has obvious effects on the resultant scanner
image. Irradiance at the scanner can be described by
E = Ltot ω (8.7)

where Ltot = (Lemit + Lref) ta + La

ω = instantaneous FOV
Lemit = total emitted radiance
Lref = total reflected radiance
ta = atmospheric transmissivity
La = path radiance

As A d
For simple scanners, =
ω = (8.8)
R2 f2

where As = area of ground resolution element of scene

R = distance between scanner and ground element
Ad = area of detector = (Do2)/4
Do = effective diameter of aperture
f = focal length of scanner.
The power received at the detector is: P = E Ao to (8.9)

where E = irradiance at the detector

Ao = area of scanner aperture
to = transmission of the optical system
The detector responds to the power received by producing a signal, Vs = PR (8.10)
where R = responsivity = VnD*/(AdB)1/2
Vn = voltage generated by detector noise
D* = D-star, a figure of merit of the detector
B = electrical bandwidth
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.5
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

The signal to noise ratio is one means of assessing the information transferred by the power
received. Rearranging Equation 8.10,
Vs PD∗
= (8.11)
Vn A d B1/ 2

Substituting for P = Ltot ω Ao to and Ad = ω/f2, assuming a square instantaneous FOV whereby
ω = (ω1/2) (ω1/2), and letting F = the f-number of the scanner optics = f/Do, results in

Vs ω1/ 2 Do t o D∗ L
= (8.12)
Vn 4f (B1/ 2 )

In order for the scanner to achieve an angular resolution of ω all parts of the system must be able to
accommodate an electrical bandwidth of B. A nominal value for B is 1/[2(detector dwell time)] or,
from equation 8.2, B = 1/[2(ktd)]. Substituting from Equation 8.6,

Vs ωDo τo D∗ L
= (8.13)
Vn 4fπ1/ 2 (V / H)1/ 2

While equation 8.13 has many variables, for a given scanner configuration, one can define a system
constant,
ωDo τo D∗ L
C= (8.14)
4fπ1/ 2

Vs CL
then = (8.15)
Vn (V / H)1/ 2

With C defined for the scanner optical system, the only variables involved in assessing a signal to
noise ratio are L, the level of radiance from the ground, and the V/H ratio.

8.5

8.6 Designs to increase detector dwell time

It should be clear from the above discussion that improving the spatial resolution of the
scanning system will decrease the dwell time for a given design. Two possible designs are shown
schematically in Figure 8.3. The simplest change is to simply add more detectors for adjacent scan
lines (Figure 8.3a). Since a single detector is no longer required to collect every scan line, the
collection time may be increase proportional to the number of lines scanned in a single pass. A
difficulty with this design is that each detector will have a slightly different gain and offset and will
have to be corrected separately.
A second alternative is illustrated in (Figure 8.3b). In this case the detector is replaced by a
linear CCD array. This removes the requirement for scanning entirely, since each detector can view
a separate pixel on the scan line. It also increases the dwell time by several orders of magnitude.
The disadvantage of this design is again related to the variable calibration of the individual detectors
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.6
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

in the array. However, this seems a small price to pay for eliminating the scanning mechanism and
greatly increasing the dwell time.

a. b.
Figure 8.3: Detector designs to increase individual detector dwell time: a) Design using multiple
detectors, one for each scan line; b) CCD array detector.

8.7 Color scanners

Collection color information raises further issues of timing and registration. Consider again,
the simple situation of a scanner that has a single detector for each spectral band. A diagram of
such a scanner is shown in Figure 8.4. In this configuration, each detector looks at a separate area
on the ground at one time. The areas viewed are a function of the placement of the detectors in the
focal plane of the detector. Here they are in a line along the scan direction. It is clear from the
figure that, for a single ground location, each band is collected sequentially and registration is a
function of accurate timing.

Figure 8.4: Diagram of color scanner with one detector per band.

As with the single band case, multiple detectors and CCD arrays can be employed to expand
the spectral range of the scanner. Two arrangements are illustrated in Figure 8.5. Both are
variations on the single-band design and both have the same advantages and limitations as the
single-band counterparts. Registration of spectral band is still an issue in both cases. With the CCD
design, registration along the scan line is typically near perfect; any misregistration will occur in the
flight direction.
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.7
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

a. b.
Figure 8.5: Schematic drawings of two detector designs for sensing multiple spectral bands:
a) design using separate detectors for each scan line and multiple detectors on each scan line
to image in multiple spectral bands; b) design using a separate linear CCD array for each
spectral band.

Figure 8.6: Hyperspectral imaging using a 2-D CCD array.

If the design is extended to collect full spectra (e.g., hyperspectral data) another possibility is
to replace the linear CCD arrays with a 2-dimensional CCD array. This configuration is illustrated
in Figure 8.6. One dimension of the array is spectral, collecting an entire spectrum for one sample
in the scan; the other is spatial, collecting data for the full scan line. An advantage of this design is
that spectral data truly come from a single ground resolution element. Light from a single pixel
entering the optical system is dispersed across the along-track dimension of the array, usually with a
diffraction grating. Lines are then collected sequentially as with the linear detector in Figure 8.3b.

8.8 Pointable Satellites

The Landsat series of satellites, and most other mapping satellite systems, were designed with the
intent of imaging the entire earth repeatedly with a fixed, nadir viewing optical system. The choice
was typically between polar orbiting systems that would either provide repeat coverage on a 16-18
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.8
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

day cycle at a moderate resolution (30-150 m), or with a 2-3 day repeat visit at low resolution (~1
km) or geostationary systems that would provide hourly coverage or better at 8-10 km. All of the
early systems were nadir-viewing and higher resolution was incompatible with global coverage
since it was not feasible to collect high resolution data over a FOV sufficiently wide to insure
regular contiguous coverage.
In order to insure the possibility of imaging all parts of the globe at high resolution, it was
necessary that the system be pointable. Initially the pointing capability was limited to cross-track
pointing with the SPOT satellite. More recent systems (IKONOS, GeoEye, QuickBird, Worldview,
Pleiades) allow pointing in both the along-track and cross-track directions. The systems are quite
agile, being capable of pointing rapidly enough to take multiple images of the same site in one orbit,
or to collect multiple sites cross-track within relatively short distances.

Figure 8.7: Illustration of the pointing capability of the IKONOS satellite. From Grodecki and Dial,
Space Imaging. http://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-
sensors/IKONOSGeometricAccuracy-ISPRS202001.pdf

Such dynamic pointing capability means that it is possible to collect stereo imagery or to collect
data of the same location on earth every 1-2 days, as needed. This is an enormous advantage for
monitoring disaster sites or any rapidly developing situation. The system must be tasked to collect
the imagery, however, and past data for may be quite sparse.
Another issue that arises as a result of the pointing capability is the distortion introduced by
the pointing. Although the high resolution systems are typically pushbroom scanners, when the
system is pointed the pixels suffer the same panoramic distortion that is characteristic of
whiskbroom scanners. The difference is that the entire array suffers the same distortion. An
important consequence of this is that the native resolution of the image is dependent on the system
viewing angle. Standard practice is to report system resolution as the nadir pixel size – the
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.9
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

minimum possible resolution. For example, the nadir ground sampling distance (GSD) – the pixel
size – for the IKONOS sensor is 0.82 m for panchromatic images. At 30 degrees, the GSD is 1 m
for panchromatic images. Image products are typically resampled to a standard value (for
IKONOS, this is 1 m). The resampling insures consistency among images, standardizes geometric
registration and makes it possible to create mosaics and more easily compare images collected at
different times, but there is some loss in fidelity that occurs as a result of the resampling.

8.9 Orbital Mechanics

The flight path of a satellite is predetermined by its orbit, and one can classify satellites
systems broadly based entirely on the choices made for their orbits. The orbital speed of a body, in
our case, a satellite, is the speed at which it orbits around the earth. For simplicity, we consider:
• circular orbits
• Newton's laws (nothing about energy or momentum)
• only two objects (the earth and the satellite) need to be considered
• the mass of the satellite is negligible relative to the mass of the earth
In order for a satellite to maintain a stable orbit, the centripetal force, Fc, acting to drive the satellite
away from the earth, and the gravitational force, Fg, attracting the satellite toward the earth, must
balance exactly. Given the above simplifying assumptions, the gravitational force is described by
the equation:
Gms me
Fg = (8.16)
r2
where:
ms is the mass of the satellite,
me, is the mass of the earth [5.97219 x 1024 kg],
G is the universal gravitational constant [6.67300 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2], and
r is the distance from the center of the earth to the satellite
= Re + h (radius of the earth plus the altitude of the satellite)
Re = 6378 km (average value)

Under the same assumptions, the centripetal force, is described by the equation:
ms v 2
Fc = (8.17)
r
Setting Fc equal to Fg one may then solve for a relationship between the velocity of the satellite in a
circular orbit, vc, and its distance from the earth:
Gme
vc = (8.18)
r
The ground-track velocity is related very simply to the orbital circular velocity by the ratio
Re
vg = vc (8.19)
Re + h
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.10
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

This ground-track velocity, combined with a desired ground-sampling distance (GSD), provides an
upper limit for the amount of time available to collect a single scan line worth of data. This
maximum dwell time is simply:
tmaxdwell = GSD / vg (8.20)

As an example, the Landsat satellites which fly at an altitude of h ~ 800 km (r = Re + h = 7178 km)
have an on-orbit velocity of ~7,450 km/s. This corresponds to a ground speed of ~6,620 km/s and a
maximum dwell time of ~1 ms for a scan line worth of data.
The next issue is to choose a convenient orbital period. For example, it is often useful to
require that satellites in a polar orbit pass over the same latitude at the same local time every day.
This helps to minimize changes in the sun illumination angle. Another option would be to adjust
the orbital period to match the earth's rotation so that a satellite at the equator could be stationary
relative to the earth. The orbital period of a satellite can be determined using Kepler's 3rd Law.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was concerned with the basic question of describing the motion of the
earth about the sun, but his laws apply generally to all satellites. The 3rd law states that the square
of the period, T, of satellite about the earth is proportional to the cube of the satellite’s mean
distance from the earth, or:
T2 4π 2
= (8.21)
r3 Gme
Rearranging to solve for the period, T, we have:

r3
T = 2π (8.22)
Gme
As an example, the international space station has an orbital period of 92 minutes (5,520 s).
Knowing the period we may then solve for the distance of the satellite from the center of the earth:
1/3 1/3
  T  
2   5520s  
2
r=
Gme 


 2ππ
 
 =


6.67 (
× 10 −11 3 −1 −2
m kg s 5.97 × 10 24
)(
kg  )
 2  
  =
6, 750km

making the altitude, h, of the space station:

h = r - Re = 6770km – 6378km
h = 372km
There are only a few orbits that are consistently used for the bulk of the earth-viewing
satellites. The most important of these for remote sensing are the geosynchronous and sun
synchronous orbits. A description of these and closely related orbits is provided below. (Adapted
from http://www.braeunig.us/space/orbmech.htm#types):
Geosynchronous orbits (GEO) are circular orbits around the Earth having a period of 24 hours. A
geosynchronous orbit with an inclination of zero degrees is called a geostationary orbit since a
spacecraft in a geostationary orbit appears to hang motionless above one position on the Earth's
equator. They are ideal for some types of communication and meteorological satellites, having a
field of view that encompasses a full half of the planet. To attain geosynchronous orbit, a spacecraft
is first launched into an elliptical orbit with an apogee of 35,786 km (22,236 miles) called a
Philpot & Philipson: Remote Sensing Fundamentals Scanners 8.11
W.D. Philpot, Cornell University, Fall 2015

geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The orbit is then circularized by firing the spacecraft's engine
at apogee.
Polar orbits (PO) are orbits with an inclination of 90 degrees. Polar orbits are useful for satellites
that carry out mapping and/or surveillance operations because as the planet rotates the spacecraft
has access to virtually every point on the planet's surface. There are two problems with the polar
orbit. The first is that since the earth moves in its orbit around the Sun, the solar irradiance angle
along the satellite varies continuously throughout the year (Figure 8.8). The second flaw is that, if
all the satellites in north-south oriented orbits were polar orbiting satellites, they would tend to
converge at the poles making collisions more likely.
Walking orbits: An orbiting satellite is subjected to a great many gravitational influences. First,
planets are not perfectly spherical and they have slightly uneven mass distribution. These
fluctuations have an effect on a spacecraft's trajectory. Also, the sun, moon, and planets contribute a
gravitational influence on an orbiting satellite. By carefully adjusting the orbit’s inclination it is
possible to design an orbit which takes advantage of these influences to induce a precession in the
satellite's orbital plane. The resulting orbit is called a walking orbit, or precessing orbit.
Sun synchronous orbits (SSO) are walking orbits whose orbital plane precesses with the same
period as the planet's solar orbit period such that the satellite will cross the equator at about the
same local time every orbit making it possible to maintain a more uniform solar irradiance angle
throughout the mission’s duration. (For the Earth, this is accomplished by selecting an inclination
about 8° off the polar orbit.) This uniformity in the equator crossing time makes adjacent swaths as
similar as possible since it reduces effects due to varying atmospheric path and BRDF. In order to
maintain an exact synchronous timing, it may be necessary to conduct occasional propulsive
maneuvers to adjust the orbit

(a) (b)
Figure 8.8: Polar (a) and sun-synchronous (b) orbit orientations. (From
http://fp.optics.arizona.edu/detlab/Classes/Opti566/OPTI566_Spring12/Miscellaneous/orbita
l-mechanics.pdf