Welcome to Fagerman Technologies, Inc.

Photogrammetry Website.

 

Fagerman Technologies, Inc., is committed to providing quality services, consulting, and software to meet the demanding needs of today’s photogrammetry business. Our primary service area is softcopy photo triangulation. Our essential ingredient is a strong fundamental understanding of photogrammetry and exploitation of existing systems. Photogrammetry is our business.  We been successfully using ISAT on many large DMC and film-based projects (as in thousands of photos per project).

To provide only the best solution for our customers, we strongly encourage the use of a fully capable bundle adjustment program that will grow as your needs grow. As a result, Fagerman Technologies, Inc., has exclusive rights to sell and support BINGO in North America. BINGO is used on a regular basis for in-house bundle block adjustments. As such we have first hand, in-depth experience with the software. In addition we have provided a user-friendly interface to make integration with the Intergraph software as seamless as possible.

Fagerman Technologies, Inc., was founded and is operated by Jeff Fagerman, PLS, who has 14 years of experience developing state-of-the-art photogrammetric solutions for Intergraph. This includes working as Chief Photogrammetrist on the IMA, IMD, and IMZ. Understanding technology and when to put it into production has been an integral part of this experience.

In addition, Jeff is a practicing Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) in the state of Alabama. The combination of education in photogrammetry and land surveying, practical experience in software development, and skills required to maintain a land surveying practice are key ingredients to our success.


Softcopy AT Services

Fagerman Technologies, Inc., specializes in softcopy photo triangulation (AT) services. Our primary goal is to fill the niche of the specialized photogrammetrist which many times is the bottleneck in the photogrammetric operation. In this capacity, we can provide support for selecting the appropriate targeting, image scale, control point distribution, and survey control information (including coordinate system definition). Proper exploitation of AGPS in the bundle adjustment is also our responsibility.

We use the Intergraph Imaging product, ISDM/ISAT, for measurement due to intimate familiarity with the product having been chiefly responsible for the product while at Intergraph.

No job is too big or too small. We have provided measurement and adjustment of blocks from only a couple of photos up to several thousand photos. Our measurement is of the highest quality and reliability. BINGO is fully capable of processing airborne GPS (AGPS) including drift and shift parameters (if necessary), antenna offset determination, self-calibration, and INS (IMU) data.

Hi/Lo data transfer, multi-temporal transfer, and stereo pug transfer have all been successfully performed in-house.

Our price structure for AT services is very aggressive.

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Photogrammetric Software Tools & Downloads

Tutorials.  We have some tutorials available to show you what our tools do and how they can help you in the AT process.  To view our tutorials simply click here.

1.  Disk Organizer.  This little tool will re-organize all of the files you have in a folder into "pack sized" folders.  For instance, if you create orthos and deliver them on DVDs (e.g. to the state or county), this tool can be used to break up the output files into logically grouped and DVD sized folders.  It's very easy to use and works great.  It seems trivial to have such a tool but once you use it you see that it can really save you time and pain.  It also let's you preview what it's about to do and you can save what it does in an index file to easily find the image/file you are looking for.

http://www.medlookusa.com/outgoing/Setup_DiskOrgnzr_2p0.exe, $75.

2.  CD Reader.  Ever been given a box of CDs or DVDs to read?  I've been given literally hundreds before.  This tool allows you to specify where you want to load the CD/DVD data to on your system (local or networked).  It doesn't matter how many CD/DVD readers you have on  your system, it will sequence through them all when they're ready.  You simply pop in the CD/DVD and close the door.  The program will read the media when it's ready and pop the door back out when it's done.  A little kid can drive this - and mine did at 5 yrs old!

http://www.medlookusa.com/outgoing/Setup_CDReader_2p0.exe, $50.

3.  GraphAT.  This is a graphic display tool for AT analysis and review.

It's very similar to the Intergraph Footprint Viewer, but provides essential information not displayed in ISDM/ISAT.  False tie points, points that are not really valid (stereo in two strips) tie points, multi-scale ties, etc.

are all possible to view in this tool.  It requires the Intergraph data file (project, photo, camera).

http://www.medlookusa.com/outgoing/Setup_GraphAT_2p0.exe, $500.

4.  BingoEZ.  This program provides a smooth and efficient integration between Intergraph and BINGO (from GIP in Germany).  It not only allows you to integrate smoothly with BINGO but can read in the BINGO files and create an Intergraph project.  It does the same with PAT-B files.  You can also do intermittent backups of your AT files with a single click (a lifesaver!).

http://www.medlookusa.com/outgoing/Setup_BingoEZ_2p0.exe, $1000.

5.  AGPS Station Finder.  If you work with projects with lots of photos and AGPS data, this is the tool for you.  Given an Intergraph project (project, photo, camera) and a text file (or files) containing AGPS/IMU data, this tool will magically and very quickly match events to photos.  In the case of duplicate matches it is almost always possible to resolve ambiguities using the 'Keep Best' option but you can manually override and select individuals to discard.  This program outputs the data into simple tabular form (two

types) as well as in BINGO, PAT-B, and Intergraph format.  This is a must have for uses doing much AGPS/IMU work. 

http://www.medlookusa.com/outgoing/Setup_AGPS_2p0.exe, $500.

6.  Pug Burner.  This utility allows you to burn "pug" marks into your raster files.  It's not something you do everyday, that's for sure.  But some clients still insist upon having the measurements permanently burned into the raster image.  That's exactly what this utility does.  There are some prerequisites for this product (I think it requires at least ISPM or some other Intergraph product to be installed on the system). 

There is no current download link.  $600.

7.  BINGO.  BINGO is the full-blown photo triangulation bundle adjustment software package from GIP, Eng (http://www.gip-aalen.de/).  It is the most comprehensive package available on the market today.  BingoEZ provides a smooth and easy interface with the Intergraph IMZ stations and BAE provides a fully integrated system with their product lines.  Call for pricing and an evaluation copy.

 

Other utilities will also be available soon (PAT-B .ori files from Intergraph, model analyzer for breaks between models, etc.).

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Photogrammetric Consulting/Training

Specialized training on the Intergraph product ISDM/ISAT (and related products) is available.

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Photo Triangulation Details

Image Files Supported
The raster file formats supported are the very same as Intergraph. This includes Intergraph's proprietary formats as well as the majority of the industry standards. The preference is for tiled tiff jpeg compressed imagery to keep file sizes to a minimum and maximize data access speeds.

The Measurement Process
Fully automated solutions are now being used on the simpler projects where the terrain, vegetation, and imagery will allow for a reasonable success rate.  In all other cases an assisted measurement approach that guarantees very good results is employed. The number of tie points between strips is maximized in order that as many six (or more) ray points as possible are obtained to strengthen the block geometry. This cost additional time but definitely increases the reliability and helps guarantee a quality solution. Pass points are typically collected in a five-point pattern (i.e. ten per stereo model) and are generally points on the ground (not on roof tops, trees, etc.). This last part is important for three good reasons: 1) there is redundancy in each model solution reducing the likelihood of any remaining model parallax, 2) the data capture operator needs to be able to (vertically) index to the point, and 3) it allows for a good QC measure on the elevation data (by comparing the triangulated points to the elevation data).

The Adjustment
The triangulation or bundle adjustment always includes a relative bundle adjustment (i.e. without control) to be certain that the photogrammetric ties are without defect. Once a relative solution is obtained within specifications the full bundle using ground control and AGPS (if available) is computed. This allows for delivery of the cleanest data possible and the isolation of problems with external data such as control and AGPS. Large projects or those using AGPS are solved using sophisticated algorithms as found and supported in BINGO.

The Delivered Result
A floppy, CD, or email attachment will contain the final results of the process. The information included will be all of the measurement data, computed ground coordinates, exterior orientation parameters, model solutions, and adjustment reports. For IMZ/IMD (Intergraph) customers this includes the standard text files (project, photo, model, camera, control). Custom file formats can be supported given sufficient volume or arrangements.

Can Softcopy Support Analog and Analytical Plotters?
This is a question that is often asked. For an analog plotter the answer is typically no; however, dial settings can be computed for some analog plotters making setup much quicker but requires either pug or photo identifiable points for indexing. For an analytical plotter, the answer is yes. Any device capable of accessing photo coordinates and being able to reposition itself to those coordinates can fully use softcopy results. This of course excludes analog plotters that have no means of repositioning. Furthermore, in a strictly analytical environment (hardcopy or softcopy), pugging is no longer required, it remains only to support analog plotters. On an analytical device, the vertical index is achieved without pug points by repositioning to the measured point and then moving along the Z-axis until the floating mark is on the ground.

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Interesting Articles

Some articles we've either written or found of interested are included here for convenience sake.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE USE OF AIRBORNE GPS-ASSISTED PHOTOGRAPHY TO SUPPORT PENNDOT DESIGN SCALE MAPPING AT 1"=50' MAP SCALE WITH 1-FT CONTOURS
By Matt Elious and Michael Loose.

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Softcopy AT, consulting, and software
Looking Ahead, Providing Solutions for Today!

Fagerman Technologies, Inc.
56 Gilchrist Road
Somerville, AL 35670

Phone: (256)778-0521, Fax: (256)275-4248
info@medlookusa.com

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