An empirical study of scanner system parameters

The selection of the correct combination of parametric values (instantaneous field of view, number and location of spectral bands, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) of a multispectral scanner is a complex problem due to the strong interrelationship these parameters have with one another. In this paper the results of an empirical study of this problem are presented. The study was done with the proposed scanner, known as the thematic mapper, in mind. Since an adequate theoretical procedure for this problem has apparently not yet been devised, an empirical simulation approach was used with candidate parameter values selected by heuristic means. The results obtained using a conventional maximum likelihood pixel classifier suggest that although the classification accuracy declines slightly as the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) is decreased this is more than made up by an improved mensuration accuracy. Further, the use of a classifier involving both spatial and spectral features shows a very substantial tendency to resist degradation as the signal-to-noise ratio is decreased. Finally, further evidence is provided of the importance of having at least one spectral band in each of the major available portions of the optical spectrum.