mel-ias/planet4stereo: Initial release

Version 1.0.0 – February 3, 2025

New Features:

First Release of Planet4Stereo: Planet4Stereo is an open-source tool designed to provide a complete photogrammetry pipeline for generating 3D Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from multi-temporal PlanetScope imagery. The tool is specifically developed for photogrammetric 3D reconstruction from monoscopic PlanetScope images, which typically lack built-in stereo capabilities.

Key Features:

• Stereo Pair Preselection: The toolchain includes routines for preselecting stereo pairs based on metrics like minimum convergence angles and overlap, as referenced in the literature.
• Bundle Block Adjustment: A method for improving the accuracy of 3D models due to RPC bias correction.
• Stereo Reconstruction & DEM Rasterization: These steps are powered by the open-source AMES Stereo Pipeline, known for its precision and flexibility in photogrammetric processing.

Background:

PlanetScope images are monoscopic, meaning it doesn't natively support photogrammetric stereo reconstruction. However, with over 130 active nanosatellites operating in narrow sun-synchronous orbits, numerous quasi-stereo image pairs are available. While these image pairs are not optimal in terms of geometric configuration, they still offer the potential to generate accurate 3D surface models due to the high redundancy in the data.

Additional Information:

Planet4Stereo is fully open access, and no commercial license is required. Further documentation and tutorials on using the tool can be found in the repository's documentation.