IMAGING GEOMETRY AND POSITIONING ACCURACY OF DUAL SATELLITE STEREO IMAGES: A REVIEW

Abstract. Many previous studies have demonstrated the potential applications of stereo pairs obtained from high-resolution satellites for accurate geo-positioning, but it should be noted that they are based on the conventional use of single-satellite stereo images produced by integrating two images taken by the same satellite. Considering the emergence of various types of satellite data and the requirements to combine these data, it is important to investigate dual-satellite stereo images that integrate two images taken by different satellites. This study reviews the image geometry and positioning accuracy of dual-satellite stereo images based on several important studies, including comparisons with conventional single-satellite stereo images. In particular, the geometric limitation of dual-satellite stereo images often leads to very weak geometry, which degrades the positioning accuracy according to theoretical and experimental studies. Optimal ray intersection can improve the positioning accuracy using dual-satellite stereo images. This review improves our understanding of satellite stereo geometry and the handling of the dual-satellite stereo images, which are expected to become more common in real mapping applications.