MODULE 4.

GIS DATA CAPTURE

 4.1 Introduction

• When working on a GIS project, the first issue or

decision that a GIS analyst has to face is how to
incorporate data into the system.
• This is the process called “data capture”. This is the
most expensive and critical phase in a GIS setup.
• The true value of GIS can be appreciated only if the
proper tools are applied to collect spatial data and
integrate them with the respective attribute data.
 4.2 Sources of GIS Data

There are two sources of GIS data: primary and secondary.

• Primary data sources: - Data captured from the
environment by direct observation of objects for both
raster and vector data. Examples - field measurements
using survey equipment and remotely sensed or satellite
images.
• Secondary data sources: - This includes data derived
from the existing sources (such as printed maps). These
data may have been collected for other purposes, often
not connected with the investigation at hand.
• The next subsections examine how raster and vector data are captured in GIS:
 4.3 Methods of Capturing Raster Data

• Secondary sources of raster data include analogue

images on paper such as air photos and satellite
images. Primary usually captured using the following
primary methods.

 Satellite Remote Sensing

 Aerial Photography
 Scanners
 4.3.1. Satellite Remote Sensing

• The most popular source of primary raster data capture

is remote sensing using satellite image sensors.
• Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information
about objects or areas from a distance, without being in
physical contact with the object or area, typically from
aircraft, satellites or drones.
• Plays a vital role in collecting information over large
surface areas, characterizing natural features on the
earth, observing and monitoring the earth and objects
changes over time, and avail this information for
processing and analysis.
• Satellites have imaging sensors used to monitor the
earth through imagery collection.
• There are two types of Remote sensing
instruments Active sensors and Passive
sensors
 Active Sensors Passive Sensors
• Provide their own source of • Detect natural energy
energy to illuminate the (radiation) that is emitted or
objects they observe. reflected by the object or
• Emits radiation in the scene being observed.
direction of the target to be • Reflected sunlight is the
investigated. most common source of
• The sensor then detects and radiation measured by
measures the radiation that passive sensors.
is reflected or backscattered
from the target
 DIFFERENCES

ACTIVE PASSIVE
Source of uses its energy • Use naturally occurring
Energy source to energy that illuminates
illuminate the target and reflects
electromagnetic the electromagnetic
radiation to the radiation to the remote
target and record senor to record the
the reflected electromagnetic
radiation radiation. The primary
measurement. source of energy in
passive remote sensing
is sunlight.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Time of Only function • Can measure radiation
Recording when the natural anytime despite what
energy source is time of day, night, or
available, i.e., in season since they have
most cases, the their energy source,
sun is only which emits their
present during electromagnetic
the daytime, radiation to obtain a
limiting the measurement, hence
working strong capabilities of
timeframe. collecting imagery day
and night.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Weather Not affected by • Affected by adverse
Conditions poor weather weather conditions like
conditions since heavy clouds, which
it emits its energy may block enough
directly to the sunlight illuminating the
target with no target; hence, remote
interference by sensors cannot capture
adverse weather. the correct reading of
the electromagnetic
radiation reflected.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Radiation Have a • Affected by adverse
difference in weather conditions like
electromagnetic heavy clouds, which
radiation and are may block enough
distinguished by sunlight illuminating the
bands and target; hence, remote
wavelength sensors cannot capture
measurements. the correct reading of
the electromagnetic
radiation reflected.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Imagery Preferred for • Quality of images
satellite imagery delivered by Active
since it delivers remote sensing is not
excellent imaging good hence used for
quality through aerial photography.
technologies • Passive sensors are
such as great in technical
hyperspectral observation of the
and earth’s surface.
multispectral.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Noise Has more control of • Unlike passive remote
noise originating sensing, which offers
from the source of less noise control.
the electromagnetic • The source of energy,
radiation and primarily the sun, is out
reflection of the of control of the
target through surveyor.
control of the
injected signal
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Amount Requires a large • only requires sunlight to
of amount of energy to obtain reflection of
Energy generate adequate electromagnetic
electromagnetic radiation, to record
radiation for measurements from the
illumination illuminated object.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Penetrati Allows for radiation • Affected by adverse
on penetration through weather conditions..
Capacity vegetation, water
bodies, soil, and
snow and is
excellent in
collecting earth
surface information
and is not hindered
by any weather
condition;
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Areas of Allows for radiation • Affected by adverse
Survey penetration through weather conditions..
vegetation, water
bodies, soil, and
snow and is
excellent in
collecting earth
surface information
and is not hindered
by any weather
condition;
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Quantity Generate large • Has small data sets
of Data quantities of data collected and does not
from various sources allow for detailed
used for generating interpretation of
a detailed information acquired.
interpretation of the
earth’s surface
Orbits Evolves around • Follows geostationary
Followed near-polar orbits and orbits positioned over
has high accuracy in exact location and time.
both lateral and
longitudinal
directions.
 ACTIVE PASSIVE
Electrom Transmits and • Only measures the
agnetic measures the reflected radiation from
Radiatio electromagnetic the target..
n Energy radiation emitted
and reflected,
Tempera Can measure • Is sensitive to weather
ture temperature conditions which may
independent of the affect accurate
light source or measurements of
changes in the temperature.
weather conditions,
 Types of satellites

• There are three types

of satellite orbits:

1. Geosynchronous,
2. Geostationary, and
3. Polar
 1. Geosynchronous
• A satellite that remains in geosynchronous/inclined orbit
around the earth. Its orbital period is the same as that of
Earth.
• It revolves around the planet at the same speed at which
the planet rotates on its axis.
• Unlike geostationary satellites, geosynchronous satellites
are not located above the equator/equatorial orbit, but
operate under inclined orbits
• The positions of the inclined orbits can differ to include
many orbits.
• Are not located at fixed-point. Use several inclined orbits
Their inclined location keeps changing, hence synchronous
• The orbital period of a geosynchronous satellite is a
sidereal day, i.e., 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds
• The orbits where geosynchronous satellites revolve are
known as geosynchronous orbits
• A satellite that’s in a geosynchronous orbit appears at
exactly the same spot in the sky after a period of one
sidereal day when viewed from a specific position on
Earth
• Geosynchronous orbits that are circular in shape have a
radius of 26,199 miles (42,164 km).
• Located at an altitude of 37,000 km
• Used for various purposes, such as communicating, voice
communication, Internet, broadcasting cable TV and radio signals, as
well as weather forecasting.
 2. Geostationary
• Geostationary satellites are stationed above the equator
(equatorial orbit), with no zero inclination, hence word
geostationary.
• Rotate with the earth at same speed.
• An orbital period of one sidereal day (23 hours, 56
minutes and 4 seconds), which means that it completes
one revolution around Earth in exactly the same time as
Earth completes one rotation on its axis
• Located at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers above the
surface of Earth.
• Can give detailed terrestrial and weather-related
information about a particular geographical region,
making them an ideal choice to predict climate trends
Geostationary VS geosynchronous

• The difference between the two is inclination.

• A geostationary satellite has an inclination of zero degrees. The
satellite is always over the equator and has a period equal to the
rotation rate of the Earth, so the satellite appears to float over one
spot.
• Geosynchronous
• But, now imagine that the satellite orbit is incline about 30
degrees. After 6 hours, the satellite will not be over a spot on the
equator, it will be one a spot 30 degrees north of the equator. It will
return to that spot on the equator, once per day, but it won't stay
there.
• That means it is synchronous - which means occurring at the
same time, and not stationary - which means staying in the same
place
 2. Polar orbit/satellite

• A satellite that passes above or nearly above both

poles of the Earth,
• It has an inclination of about 60 - 90 degrees to the
body's equator.
• Pass over the equator at a different longitude on each
of its orbits.
• Closer to earth at a range of 800 km., hence orbits the
earth 15-20 times a day therefore passing through and
areas several times a day.
• Since they are near the earth, they can be used for
numerous applications such as forest mapping,
weather forecasting and military application.
• The orbital period is about 98-102 minutes.
• The scan swath is about 3000 km wide.
• Since the orbit is lower than for the Geostationary
satellites, the data resolution is higher.
• They provide global coverage, necessary for
climatic studies.
• However, they cannot not provide continuous
viewing of one location.
• Here is a schematic of all orbits on one day by a
polar orbiting satellite. Note the global coverage
 4.3.2. Aerial Photography

• An aerial photograph is any photograph taken from an

airborne vehicle (aircraft, drones, balloons, satellites,
and so forth). There are two types of aerial photographs:
vertical and oblique.
A vertical
• Taken with the camera pointed as straight down as
possible.
• Has the following characteristics –

 The lens axis is perpendicular to the surface of the

earth, covers a relatively small area,
 The shape of the ground area covered on a single
vertical photo closely approximates a square or
rectangle
 An oblique photograph

Aerial photographs are the prime data source for

topographic mapping and many cadastral surveys, as
well as urban planning.
• Taken with the camera axis directed at an inclination to
the ground.
• Oblique stereo pairs of aerial photographs allow 3D
modeling to define (x, y, z) coordinates of any object
within overlapping areas.
• Oblique has the following characteristics –

 Covers a very large area,

 Ground area covered is a trapezoid, but the
photograph is square or rectangular,
 Relief may be quite discernible but distorted as in
any oblique view, the horizon is always visible
 4.3.3 Scanners

• A scanner is a device that reads the hardcopy analog

paper maps and converts them into very high-resolution
digital images.
• Illuminates a document and measures the intensity of the
reflected light with a charge-coupled device (CCD) array.
• The result is an image represented as a matrix of pixel
values.
• The files may then be used directly in the GIS as a raster
backdrop, or a scanned image to be vectorized.
• Scanning is the process of converting an entire hardcopy
image to a digital image (i.e., a raster representation)
 4.3.4 Drones/unmanned aerial Vehicles (UAV)

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – UAV popularly known

as drone, is an airborne system or an aircraft
operated remotely by a human operator or
autonomously by an onboard computer.
• There are two broad classes of UAVs

1. Fixed wing and

2. Rotary based.
Multi-rotor UAVs
• These are the most commonly used UAVs by
professionals and hobbyists.
• They are widely used for aerial photography,
aerial mapping, and recreational sports.
• These types of UAVs are currently the cheapest
option available on the market
• The average flight time for multi-rotor UAVs
ranges from approximately 20–40 minutes.
Fixed-wing UAVs
• These types of UAVs are built similarly to
regular airplanes. In contrast to the multi-rotor
UAVs, they do not require a lot of energy to
stay in the air because they make use of the
aerodynamic lift provided by their structure.
• Due to this, they can fly for a longer time
compared to the multi-rotor UAVs. The average
flight time for fixed-wing UAVs can range from
1–2 hours.
• A disadvantage of these types of UAVs is that
they usually need a lot of space for takeoff and
landing.
• They also lack the ability to hover and are
considered to be more complex and difficult to fly;
they usually require a lot of training..
 4.4 Methods of capturing of
Vector Data
• While the primary vector data capture methods
include ground surveying, LiDAR and GPS,
secondary vector data capture on the other hand
involves digitizing of vector objects from images,
scanned maps, and other sources.
 3.4.1 Ground Surveying

• Ground survey is the best way to obtain the accurate

point locations despite the setbacks; time-consuming
requires highly expert professionals as well as it is very
expensive to carry out.
• The principle behind surveying is that an unknown point
can be determined by measuring the distance and
angles from a reference known point.
• The traditionally used equipment; Transit and
Theodolites are currently replaced by the Total
stations that measure distance and angle at an
accuracy of 1mm.
• Ground survey is typically used for capturing
buildings, property boundaries and other features
that require accurate positioning.
• It is very useful and provides a foundation for other
types of data capture
 3.4.2 LiDAR

• Standing for Light Detection and Ranging is a

relatively newer technology for remote sensing
method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser
to measure ranges for accurate topographic
surveys.
• LiDAR is mostly placed on a low-altitude aircraft
having an inertial navigation system but also a
differential GPS to provide a location
• [Link]
• Light energy emitted by LiDAR system is known as
pulse and that reflected back by objects from
ground is known as return.
• Are of three types –

 topographic that maps land using near infrared,

 bathymetric that use water penetrating green
lights to measure sea floor and river bed
elevations, and
 terrestrial that maps buildings, natural features
and buildings and trees at ground level.
• LiDAR sensor scans the ground from side to side
with the pulse laser beams as the plane flies.
• LiDAR sensor scans the ground from side to side
with the pulse laser beams as the plane flies. The
sensor has detectors for sensing return from
objects.
• It also has GPS receivers for tracking altitudes
and location of the aero plane.
• Inertial measurement units tracks the orientation
and speed of the airplane as it flies.
• Elevation use orientation to accurately determine
the actual position of the pulse on the ground.
• Computers records all the height information as the
LiDAR scans the source. These four parts works to
produce an accurate and usable result.
• LiDAR can for example be used to detecting air
pollution and determine depth of rivers/flood plans .
 3.4.3 Global Position System (GPS )

• Positioning systems using signals from satellites which

can be picked up by special receivers; and from these
signals, distances can be determined and thus the
position of the receiver are calculated.
• With GPS coordinates, heights can be determined in
seconds to an accuracy of a few centimeters.
• GPS data can then be exported directly to the GIS
software to provide location information and travel paths
of field-data collections.
 3.4.4 Digitizing of Vector Data from Scanned Images

• Digitizing is the process of entering data from a paper

map using digitizer machines to convert an analogue
representation of a physical quantity to a digital
representation.
• A traditional method of obtaining spatial data is through
digitizing existing printed maps.
• This can be done using manual and semi-automatic or
automatic digitizing.
a) Manual digitizing
• There are two forms of manual digitizing: on-tablet and
on-screen manual digitizing.
 The on-tablet manual digitizing requires a special surface
called a digitizing tablet on which the original map is fitted.
 The operator uses a computer mouse-like device called
pucks to follow the lines on the map and enter into the GIS.
 With on-screen manual digitizing method, a scanned
image map is shown on the computer screen and digitized
using a mouse or a pen.
Manual digitizing techniques - on-tablet digitizing, on-
screen or heads-up digitizing
b) Semi-automatic or automatic
digitizing
• Another set of techniques also works from a
scanned image of the original map, but uses a
GIS to find features in the image.
• Semiautomatic vectorization requires an
operator to place a pointer at the start of a line
to vectorize it.
• Whenever there is a junction or intersection of
lines on the image, it does not know how to
continue. Hence, the operator has to interrupt and
indicate the direction of lines to be digitized.
• The process of digitizing and an analogue data to
digital is called vectorization.