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Scientists from the University of Malaga have devised a procedure for uncovering what is hidden by the shadows in high-resolution images captured by satellites, making it possible to obtain more precise information on streets, buildings, vehicles, crops and other features.
Professor Vicente Arévalo from the university’s IT Engineering School said that high-resolution images provided by satellites and planes have opened a new era in the field of teledetection. The technique of resolution enhancement means that shadows, something inherent in any image, take on special significance. “It is very important to detect what is or is not a shadow, to correctly identify the elements that appear in it.”
The identification of shadows enables the subsequent application of specific information recovery techniques, as well as the preparation of three-dimensional designs.
And by extrapolating from the length of shadows it is possible to estimate, among other parameters, the height of features in a landscape, such as houses.
The method developed by Andalusian researchers has been successfully tested in images obtained under different lighting conditions, in both urban and rural areas. For example, in a field of olive trees, it is possible to assess the height of the trees more accurately if shadows are properly identified in the high resolution images.
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