What is the News?

Here we present the differences, improvements and new tools that were implemented in the 5.5.3 SPRING Version.

What's New in Spring 5.5.3

New classifiers have been added to in the version 5.5.3, unsupervised based on Maximization and Expectations and the Classifier by Decision tree. Decision trees are statistical models that use supervised training for classification. In other words, in its construction is used a training set formed by inputs and outputs of the classes themselves.

What's New in Spring 5.5.2

  • REGISTRATION OF PUNCTUAL IMAGES, BY LINES, AUTO AND SEMI AUTOMATIC WITH VALIDATIONS
In version 5.5.2 of SPRING, the new tool for Automatic and Semiautomatic Image Registration has been added. With the use of the Terralib5.2 library, it is possible to use points of interest localization by Moravec or by SURF, also using new Geometric Transformations that the new library has. Such as "Afinne", "Projective", "RST - (Resampling, Scaling and translation)" among others. The new registry also makes use of Multi-Thread to optimize the location of control points.

Another utility added in the tool was the validation of image registration information with a positional accuracy measurel of points and features, whose function is to evaluate positioning accuracies through specific sampling points or features. Precision evaluation is done using known trigonometric functions or statistics (eg RMS (Mean Mean Square deviation), mean and standard deviation among others, with absolute or relative values.


What's New in Spring 5.5.1

  • Image Fusion 

In SPRING version 5.5.1, the new Image Fusion toolhas been added. The Image Fusion tecnique combines the colors of the low-resolution multispectral images with the details of a panchromatic band that has better spatial resolution. The methods added were "IHS Fusion", based on the IHS transform, , " PCA Fusion", based on the Principal Component Analysis transform and the "Wisper Fusion" based on the Wavelet transform.

What's New in Spring 5.5.0

  • AUPDATING, UNIFYING AND COMPATIBILITY OF THE TERRALIB LIBRARY 5.2 

In version 5.5.0 do SPRING, improvements were added for users, with emphasis on updating, unification and compatibility with the Terralib 5.2 library.


In this way is possible to use functions from Terralib 5.2 library already update in the SPRING environment with the guarantee of greater integration of the data stored between the two platforms.


The new database converter is a tool intended to make it easier for the user to convert data structures from the SPRING format to Terralib 5.2 default.


One of the most important features is that SPRING 5.5.0 is the integration capability with object-relational database management systems (RDBMS-OR) in the spatial data store. This integration will allow, for example, the sharing of large databases in corporate environments by custom applications for different types of users.

  • New Segmenters
In SPRING 5.5.0 new tools were added in the process of segmentation and extraction of information from remote sensing images regardless of their characteristics (high or low spatial resolution, for example).

The improvement of the spatial and spectral resolution of the sensors in the last years evidenced the difficulty of applying the classical segmenters, which extracted information at the pixel level, mainly in remote sensing data of low spatial resolution. In these images a single pixel can store the spectral response of more than one object, or a heterogeneous area of the same object. In high resolution images, a pixel has similar spectral characteristics to its neighbors, being purer in terms of spectral mixing.

Due to the difficulty of extracting "homogeneous" regions mainly from high resolution images, the version 5.5.0 of SPRING incorporates the Baatz Segmenter which is oriented to multiscale and multiresolution. The procedure for multiple-scale image segmentation can be described as a region fusion technique. It starts with each pixel forming an image object (region). At each iteration, each object merges with a neighboring object. This neighbor is the one for which the object resulting from the fusion represents the smallest increase in heterogeneity in relation to the sum of the internal heterogeneity measures of the two fusion candidate objects. The merger decision is based on criteria of local homogeneity. The difference between the heterogeneities calculated for the two moments is that it defines the short of the fusion of the two objects.

For more informations about this method access: http://www.ecognition.cc/download/baatz_schaepe.pdf

This new approach intends to approximate the techniques of processing and extracting information with human reasoning, that is, with the way of thinking and recognizing patterns that we intuitively adopt when interpreting an image or appreciating a landscape (BAATZ e SCHÃPE, 2000).

Another segmenter was built into this release. This is the Multi Region Segmenter. It follows the same principles as SPRING´s native Region Segmenter, but exploits multiprogramming, multithread, and multicore features. For further explanations of these characteristics access:

Multicore: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multin%C3%BAcleo

Multiprogramação:https://www.ime.usp.br/~gold/cursos/2002/mac2301/ep2/ep2/node3.html

Multithread https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(ci%C3%AAncia_da_computa%C3%A7%C3%A3o)

Segmenters from previous versions have been retained and can be used mainly in low and medium spatial resolution remote sensing data.


What's New in Spring 5.4.x

  • Image Restoration

In the version 5.4 of SPRING, the tool has been modified to allow the processing of image restoration of the satellite sensors CBERS-4 and LANDSAT-8 apart of the sensors already included in the previous versions.

  • BIGTIFF Format
In the SPRING 5.4 was included the options to import and export images from the BigTIff , format, which allows it to store images in larger physical files and with more color definition, since the conventional TIFF is limited to 4GB.

In the
BigTiff format, it’s possible to store images larger than 4GB in 64 bits. Actually a Landsat-8 image, for example, with all bands added can exceed 1,65 GB knowing that it is a medium spatial resolution. A high resolution image easily exceed 4 GB.

For more informations about BigTiff access: http://bigtiff.org/

  • Update of external libraries
In the SPRING 5.4 the external libraries were upgraded to general improveme of performance and stability with many available geoprocessing and sensoring platforms.

The updated libraries were:

  • Libtiff;
  • Libqwt;
  • Libgeotiff;
  • Libshape;
  • LibDXF;
  • Libgeosc;
  • Libfreetypes;
  • Libjpeg;
  • Libjpeg2000.

The Terralib libraries were also updated for the most recent version of the OGC (Open Geoespatial Consortium) specifications.

The existing librariers for the version 5.4 of SPRING in Linux, were updated to run the Ubuntu 16.04, version, all the specifications of the OGC (Open Geoespatial Consortium) and its technologies were update as well.

From version 5.5.0, there was also a replacement of the Toolkit Qt for the version 5.8.

  • Cut Inforlayer
This tool has been native to SPRING since the early versions. With the tool it is possible to delimit or create a mask in any infolayer of a project and to clip it.

One of the news of the SPRING 5.4 is the possibility to choose many areas of a polygon as mask, and with that you can simultaneous clip a information plane, since previously the tool allowed the clip of a single polygon at once.

It is the optimization of the operation of infolayer clipping, since it becomes possible to execute multiple cuts in a single infolayer.

  • CSV Format Reading
In order to make SPRING more compatible with the availables data formats, it was added the Import and Export operations in CSV (Comma Separed Values).


The CSV format allows to store statistics, social and environmental data in lines and columns, separated by a delimiter. The CSV files made are connected to a map via SPRING and from this connection, the polygons, lines or points are associated to a label, that associates the presented attributes in this table.


The CSV format is supported by various available spreadsheets and SGDBs.


  • SQLSERVER database

In the version SPRING 5.4 was incorporated the SQLSERVER, relational database manager system, among its main features are:

  • It is available for 32 and 64 bit environments;
  • It is available for Windows or Linux operational systems;
  • It does not require the installation of a database manager driver for its use;
  • It provides a viewer to external access to the data tables.

 

What's New in Spring 5.2


  • Orthorectification

    In order to improve the geometric correction of the images used in the SPRING 5.2, it was added a tool for image orthorectification.

    The orthorectification, also called 3D geometric correction, aims to reduce distortions, introduced by the attitude of the sensor during the image acquisition, as well as errors due to relief displacement.

    The orthorectification tool available in the SPRING 5.2 is based on the Model of Rational Functions and uses information contained in RPC (Rational Polynomial Coefficients) files and a Digital Elevation Model, to remove systematic errors caused by the platform, terrain and sensor.

    The orthorectification procedure allows to obtain an image in orthogonal perspective that has better accuracy and provides better results when it is used as a data source to derive cartographic documents.

  • Vectorization

    It was developed, for SPRING 5.2 a vectorization tool that enables a semi-automatic, or automatic, extraction of a vector data from an input image.

    This tool can assist the user in the process of vector editing, optimizing working time. The user can, for example, automatically obtain the vector information from a raster topographic map from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

    Two options are available for vectorization: automatic and semi-automatic. In automatic mode the vectorization process occurs without user intervention. In the semi-automatic, available only inside the Vector Edit tool, you can perform a partial image vectorization.

  • OGC

    With SPRING version5.2 internet online maps can be displayed in its main visualization window.

    For this, it was deployed two modules in the system that allows to access, or to provide, remote data available from WMS (OpenGIS Web Map Service) and WFS (Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Service Interface Standard),making the SPRING 5.2 client toWMS and WFS servers.

  • SCARTA

    The SCARTA,module was restructured for this SPRING new version. Now the user can access charts, or its frames, directly from the system interface in order to display or to edit them.

    The new SCARTA allows access to its all functions in a practical way. It allows also using the various tools built into SPRING in its updating processes as, for example, the new control panel and automatic display of information layers.

  • TerraLib


    In order to provide greater integration of data fromTerraLib database with the SPRING 5.2 a visualization module forTerraLib databases (themes and views) was implemented in this SPRING 5.2.This tool also provides an option for saving the Terralib information in aSPRING 5.2 database.
  • Plugins
  • The plug-in echnology allows external software developers to create new tools for a software system providing to it new specific functionalities.

    In the SPRING 5.2 was developed a function that allows the user to add plugins. Therefore the user now will be able to add new functionalities to the SPRING according to his needs. Any user also will be able to turn available in the system new functionalities that he seems it is important to share with other SPRING users.

    As an example for this new version, we have a plug-in hat makes it possible to access or provide remote data available from WMS and WFS services.

  • SQLITE

    The database manager SQLITE was incorporated into SPRING with the aim of replacing the database manager Dbase, because it had such limited support for 64 bit and it is not freeware.

    The SQLITE operation is similar to the Dbase. Among its main features are:

  • It is available for 32 and 64 bit environments;
  • It is available for Windows or Linux operational systems;
  • It does not require the installation of a database manager driver for its use;
  • It has its source code available for free;
  • It provides a viewer to external access to the data tables.
  • Others

    Thinning - Implementation of thinning tool for raster data.

    Raster maps resulting from a scanner process, over a map sheet, frequently present lines with widths larger than one pixel. This, of course, depends on the resolution of the scanner being used. In automatic vectorization process from raster data, this thick, (“fat”), lines are transformed in misleading polygons. This leads to a further forced vector edition task to have better line representations. To avoid this type of errors, the thinning process thin the thick lines trying to maintain their widths equal 1 pixel. The thinning process can be used as a preprocessing to create more reliable vector representations of scanned raster maps.

    Assistant Database - Wizard for database creation add in the plug-in technology.

    This tool was developed to assist the user in creating a database on SPRING 5.2, making this task easier and more intuitive.

    Restoration of CBERS 2B

    The image restoration is a radiometric correction technique used to correct distortions inserted by the optical sensor during the process of digital images acquisition. In order to keep the SPRING 5.2 updated, the Restore tool was modified to process images of the available sensors on the satellite CBERS 2B.


    Resampling

    A tool for resampling image was added in order to generate, in a simple way, an output image with a different pixel size value, defined by the user, of the input image.

    Line Simplification

    A line simplification tool was added to the models of SPRING vector 5.2. The process of line simplification, previously available only through mosaic tool, is now available in the menu of vector data models.


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