Remote Sensing

The AutoCAD 2009 Application window has a new look and feel. It provides easy access to the most commonly used tools while maximizing the drawing area. The default application window includes the Menu Browser, Quick Access toolbar, InfoCenter, Ribbon, and Status bar. Many of these user interface enhancements become even more valuable with a dual monitor configuration.
The model space background has been changed to a default off-white color, enabling you to draw in model space with dark colors that you can see just as easily on the white paperspace layouts.

Updates have been made in the following commands and features:

Update 1

• 3D Visual Styles
• Annotation Scaling
• External References (xref) Palette
• HATCH
• Partial Open
• PLOT
• Properties Palette
• Raster Images
• Remote Text (rtext)

Update 2

• 3DORBIT
• Annotation Scaling
• Blocks
• HATCH
• LAYER
• MATERIALS
• Menu Browser
• OPEN/SAVE
• PLOT
• Properties Palette
• PUBLISH
• RENDER

The following defects have also been fixed:

3D Navigation Tools

Update 2

• When you use the ViewCube in some drawings, AutoCAD freezes.

.NET API

Update 1

• When a .NET function with a LispFunction attribute has the return type as object, an exception is thrown in AutoCAD.

Update 2

• If you create a wipeout object through .NET API, a fatal error may occur.

Annotation Scaling

Update 1

• A drawing that contains a large number of anonymous blocks and copies of annotative entities created in AutoCAD 2007 or an earlier release opens slowly in AutoCAD 2009.
• A scale is infinitely enumerated when you insert a drawing that contains the same scale as a block or an external reference (xref).

Update 2

• The scale of annotative text changes when you use LISP entmod() to change the properties of the annotative text.

Attributes

Update 1

• When you attempt to display a tooltip of a multiline text (mtext) attribute that contains 281 characters or more, AutoCAD crashes.
• When you move a block using an insertion grip, mtext attributes move incorrectly.
• When the default value of an mtext attribute in a block contains a field, you cannot edit the attribute text to replace the field with other data.

Update 2

• When a drawing contains xrefs, the -ATTEDIT command fails.

Autodesk Buzzsaw

Update 2

• In the File Navigation dialog box, when you use the Add a Buzzsaw location shortcut option, AutoCAD crashes.

Blocks

Update 1

• When you insert or redefine a block that contains attributes on a locked layer, AutoCAD crashes.
• When you change the scale of a block through the Properties Palette, an attribute displays incorrectly.

Update 2

• When you copy and paste a dynamic block, associative hatches do not work.
• After you redefine a block definition, associative hatches in dynamic blocks display incorrectly.
• When you open a drawing, a polyline in a block may have a very large width.
• After you open a drawing, some dynamic blocks lose their dynamic properties.

Data Extraction

Update 2

• Data Extraction cannot finish operations in some cases.
• The Data Extraction Combine Record Mode > Sum values option does not work correctly.

DGN Support

Update 2

• When you import some DGN files, AutoCAD crashes.

DIM

Update 2

• If alternate units is on and you edit dimension text, the alternate units text is duplicated.

Export a Layout to Model Space

Update 1

When you export a layout to model space the following occurs:

• The linetype scale changes.
• Dimension arrowheads do not display.
• Text does not rotate correctly.
• Drawing properties are lost.

Update 2

• If .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1 is installed and you use the EXPORTLAYOUT command on some layouts, AutoCAD may stop responding.

External Reference ESW

Update 1

• The External References palette does not display when auto-hidden and used with the XREF or IMAGE commands.

Find

Update 1

• When you use the FIND command, AutoCAD does not remain zoomed into an object.

Update 2

• The FIND command performs slowly when you search for text.

Groups

Update 2

• Rollover highlighting does not go away.

Hatch

Update 1

• When you recreate a hatch boundary, it consists of separate line segments rather than a closed polyline.

Update 2

• When you bind a drawing with an xref that contains annotative hatches, AutoCAD crashes.

Hide/Shade

Update 1

• When you plot, objects in an xref are not correctly hidden.

Update 2

• When you use the HIDE command with a drawing that contains text, some objects may not be hidden.

Image

Update 2

• When you attach a corrupted raster image to a drawing, AutoCAD crashes.

Layer

Update 2

• When you zoom to a locked viewport, the Layer palette updates

Layouts

Update 2

• When you attempt to switch layouts in drawings, an Out of Memory crash may occur.

Materials

Update 2

• When you import a 3DS file with texture, AutoCAD may crash.

Menu Browser

Update 1

• You cannot access the menu browser in a non-English version of AutoCAD using the shortcut Alt+Key.

Menu/Toolbar

Update 2

• Some menu macros do not work.

Multileader (mleader)

Update 1

• When created on a rotated UCS, an mleader does not respect POLAR or ORTHO settings.

Update 2

• Mleader custom arrowheads are not brought over to the drawing from the Tool palette.

Multiline Text (mtext)

Update 1

• When you drag and drop a drawing while the In-Place Text Editor is active, AutoCAD crashes.
• When some of the values in the In-Place Text Editor are changed, AutoCAD crashes.
• Some mtext objects with double byte characters display as a single line.

Update 2

• When you edit mtext in a viewport, it may be duplicated in other viewports.

Open/Save

Update 1

• When you attempt to save a file with a long file name, AutoCAD may crash.
• When you drag and drop a file from Windows Explorer into the AutoCAD title bar while in Single Document Interface (SDI) mode, AutoCAD may crash.
• When you attempt to open multiple files from Windows Explorer, only the first selected file opens.

Object Snaps

Update 2

• Osnaps on polylines and mesh objects do not work correctly.

Partial Open

Update 1

• When the OPENPARTIAL system variable is set to 1 and you use the PURGE command, drawings may become corrupted.

Plot

Update 2

• When you plot upside-down, an OLE object does not plot correctly.
• A drawing that contains hatches and gradients may plot slowly.
• When plot area is set to View, AutoCAD LT may crash.

Properties Palette

Update 1

• In the Properties palette, the Dimension Style control may display an incorrect dimension style name.

Publish

Update 1

• In the Publish dialog box, the Publish To setting always defaults to DWF format even if you select a different setting.

Update 2

• When you attempt to publish multiple sheets with PUBLISHCOLLATE=1, only the first sheet of the set is plotted.

Quick Properties

Update 1

• When you change the theme of your operating system while running AutoCAD and then click the Quick Properties window, AutoCAD crashes.

Update 2

• When you edit multiple mtext objects through the Quick Properties palette, AutoCAD crashes.

RECOVER

Update 1

• When you open some valid drawings, you are prompted to use the RECOVER command.

Render

Update 1

• When you use the RENDER command with certain drawings that contain textured objects, AutoCAD crashes.

Update 2

• When you render some drawings, AutoCAD runs out of memory.

Ribbon

Update 1

• When acad.CUI is loaded as a partial CUI, some buttons in the mtext ribbon contextual tab fail.
• On a ribbon panel, you may not be able to move items between rows.
• A ribbon panel continues to display after it is removed from a ribbon tab.
• A button image used on a ribbon panel that is loaded from a resource DLL file lacks a transparent background.
• If you transfer a ribbon panel and a tab, buttons display small.
• Enterprise, main, and partial CUI files display multiple ribbon tabs in workspaces.
• You cannot control a ribbon tab when you use more than one non-AutoCAD CUI file.
• A ribbon tab and/or menu macro may not function properly when referenced from multiple CUI files.
• If you load a CUI file that references a missing BMP file, a fatal error displays.

Update 2

• If the ribbon is displayed and you select portions of a mtext object that contains multiple formats, the mtext object becomes distorted.

Selection

Update 2

• When you select objects in groups, AutoCAD may crash.

Tables

Update 2

• When you edit text with space before or after the text within a table cell, AutoCAD crashes.

Text

Update 2

• When you move text to a new position within a drawing, it disappears.

Tool Palettes

Update 2

• When you attempt to edit the properties of multiple Tool Palette tools, an Out of Memory crash may occur.

Visual LISP

Update 1

• The AutoLISP Redraw function fails to hide or highlight objects.

ZOOM

Update 1

• When you zoom while inserting some blocks, AutoCAD crashes.

New feature releases including the new 64-bit versions of Autodesk Revit, Autodesk® Inventor® 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack, training as well as local language training content, and the 64-bit DWG Reader for Autodesk NavisWorks 2009:

* AutoCAD 2009

o Transitioning from AutoCAD 2008 - Simplified Chinese

* AutoCAD Architecture 2009

o Erweiterung für AutoCAD® Architecture - German Only

* AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit Architecture 2009 64-bit
o Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only

* AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit MEP 2009 64-bit
o Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009 – Swedish only

* AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit Structure 2009 64-bit
o AutoCAD Structural Detailing Engine 2009
o Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only

* Autodesk Inventor 2009

o Autodesk® Inventor® 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack
o Transitioning from Autodesk Inventor 2008 Parts 1 & 2 e-Learning - German, French, Italian, Korean, Latin America Spanish
o Inventor 2009 Essentials e-learning – 40 lessons – Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese

* Autodesk NavisWorks Review, Simulate, Manage

o 64-bit DWG Reader for Autodesk NavisWorks 2009

* Revit Architecture 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit Architecture 2009 64-bi
o Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only
o Video Help for Revit Architecture 2009

* Revit MEP 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit MEP 2009 64-bit

* Revit Structure 2009

o Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
o Globe Link for Revit 2009
o Revit Structure 2009 64-bit
o Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only

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Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 2D and 3D design software for use in architecture, engineering and building construction, manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Autodesk was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a co-author of early versions of the company's flagship CAD software product, AutoCAD, and twelve other co-founders. It is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

Autodesk has arguably become best-known due to its flagship computer-aided design software AutoCAD. Today, Autodesk is the world’s largest design software company, with more than 9 million users[2] throughout the world, and the company was recently named number 25 on Fast Company's list of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies."[3]

Autodesk has developed a broad portfolio of digital prototyping solutions[4] to help users visualize, simulate, and analyze real-world performance throughout the design process. The company also provides digital media creation and management software across all media and entertainment disciplines, from film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization

MapInfo Professional is a powerful Microsoft® Windows®-based mapping and geographic analysis application from the experts in location intelligence. Designed to easily visualize the relationships between data and geography, MapInfo Professional helps business analysts, planners, GIS professionals – even non-GIS users – gain new insights into their markets, share information-rich maps and graphs and improve strategic decision-making.

MapInfo developed the first desktop GIS in 1986[citation needed]. Originally, the intention was to create an easy-to-use software package that did not require exceedingly large amounts of computing power.

MapInfo provided the first tools to Microsoft that allowed them to include mapping functionality in their products, specifically the mapping add-on branded as Microsoft Map for Microsoft Excel as part of MS Office 95. The add-on was subsequently included in Microsoft Office 97, and Microsoft Office 2000. This provided the inspiration for the Microsoft MapPoint program, which became a separate product from Microsoft, and since that Microsoft Map was dropped.

MapInfo collaborated with Oracle Corporation to develop the original spatial cartridge for the Oracle 8i database.

ENVI is the premier software solution for processing and analyzing geospatial imagery used by GIS professionals, scientists, researchers, and image analysts around the world. ENVI software combines the latest spectral image processing and image analysis technology with an intuitive, user-friendly interface to help you get meaningful information from imagery.

ERDAS IMAGINE is a raster graphics editor and remote sensing application designed by ERDAS, Inc. The latest version is 9.3. It is aimed primarily at geospatial raster data processing and allows the user to prepare, display and enhance digital images for use in GIS or in CADD software. It is a toolbox allowing the user to perform numerous operations on an image and generate an answer to specific geographical questions.

By manipulating data placement in imagery it is possible to see features that would not normally be visible. The level of brightness, or reflectance of light from the surfaces in the image can be helpful with vegetation analysis, prospecting for minerals etc. Other usage examples include linear feature extraction, generation of processing chains ("spatial models" in ERDAS IMAGINE), import/export of data for a wide variety of formats, ortho-rectification, mosaicing of imagery, stereo and automatic feature extraction of map data from imagery.

From the vast ocean depths to the far reaches of outer space, the growing availability of remote sensing technology is helping us observe, study, and learn about our world in ways we could only imagine a generation ago. In Remote Sensing for GIS Managers, author Stan Aronoff guides readers through the historical, conceptual, and practical uses of remote sensing in the rapidly growing GIS community.

Filled with hundreds of full-color images and illustrations, Remote Sensing for GIS Managers demystifies the use of this powerful technology in such fields as agriculture, forestry, business, urban planning, and military intelligence. Designed for new and experienced users, the book is invaluable for GIS managers, professionals and students who interpret information gathered from aerial photography, radar, satellites, and other remote sensing methods. Real-world examples show how remote sensing supports urban and regional planning, resource inventory and management, national security, and scientific disciplines ranging from forestry and geology to archaeology and meteorology.

Remote Sensing data is processed and analyzed with computer software, known as a remote sensing application. A large number of commercial and open source applications exist to process remote sensing data. According to an NOAA Sponsored Research by Global Marketing Insights, Inc. the most used applications among Asian academic groups involved in remote sensing are as follows:

ESRI 30%;
ERDAS IMAGINE 25%;
ITT Visual Information Solutions ENVI 17%;
MapInfo 17%;
ERMapper 11%.

Among Western Academic respondents as follows:

ESRI 39%,
ERDAS IMAGINE 27%,
MapInfo 9%,
AutoDesk 7%,
ITT Visual Information Solutions ENVI 17%.

Beyond the primitive methods of remote sensing our earliest ancestors used (ex.: standing on a high cliff or tree to view the landscape), the modern discipline arose with the development of flight. The balloonist G. Tournachon (alias Nadar) made photographs of Paris from his balloon in 1858. The first tactical use was during the civil war. Messenger pigeons, kites, rockets and unmanned balloons were also used for early images. With the exception of balloons, these first, individual images were not particularly useful for map making or for scientific purposes.

Systematic aerial photography was developed for military surveillance and reconnaissance purposes beginning in World War I and reaching a climax during the Cold War with the use of modified combat aircraft such as the P-51, P-38, RB-66, F4-C and the SR-71 or specifically designed collection platforms such as the U2/TR-1, A-5 and the OV-1 series both in overhead and stand-off collection. A more recent development is that of increasingly smaller sensor pods such as those used by law enforcement and the military, in both manned and unmanned platforms. The advantage of this approach is that this requires minimal modification to a given airframe. Later imaging technologies would include Infra-red, conventional, doppler and synthetic aperture radar.

The development of artificial satellites in the latter half of the 20th century allowed remote sensing to progress to a global scale as of the end of the cold war. Instrumentation aboard various Earth observing and weather satellites such as Landsat, the Nimbus and more recent missions such as RADARSAT and UARS provided global measurements of various data for civil, research, and military purposes. Space probes to other planets have also provided the opportunity to conduct remote sensing studies in extraterrestrial environments, synthetic aperture radar aboard the Magellan spacecraft provided detailed topographic maps of Venus, while instruments aboard SOHO allowed studies to be performed on the Sun and the solar wind, just to name a few examples.

Recent developments include, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s with the development of image processing of satellite imagery. Several research groups in Silicon Valley including NASA Ames Research Center, GTE and ESL Inc. developed Fourier transform techniques leading to the first notable enhancement of imagery data.

The introduction of online web services for easy access to remote sensing data in the 21st century (mainly low/medium-resolution images), like Google Earth, has made remote sensing more familiar to the big public and has popularized the science.

Generally speaking, remote sensing works on the principle of the inverse problem. While the object or phenomenon of interest (the state) may not be directly measured, there exists some other variable that can be detected and measured (the observation), which may be related to the object of interest through the use of a data-derived computer model. The common analogy given to describe this is trying to determine the type of animal from its footprints. For example, while it is impossible to directly measure temperatures in the upper atmosphere, it is possible to measure the spectral emissions from a known chemical species (such as carbon dioxide) in that region. The frequency of the emission may then be related to the temperature in that region via various thermodynamic relations.

The quality of remote sensing data consists of its spatial, spectral, radiometric and temporal resolutions. Spatial resolution refers to the size of a pixel that is recorded in a raster image - typically pixels may correspond to square areas ranging in side length from 1 to 1000 metres. Spectral resolution refers to the number of different frequency bands recorded - usually, this is equivalent to the number of sensors carried by the platform(s). Current Landsat collection is that of seven bands, including several in the infra-red spectrum. The MODIS satellites are the highest resolving at 31 bands. Radiometric resolution refers to the number of different intensities of radiation the sensor is able to distinguish. Typically, this ranges from 8 to 14 bits, corresponding to 256 levels of the gray scale and up to 16,384 intensities or "shades" of colour, in each band. The temporal resolution is simply the frequency of flyovers by the satellite or plane, and is only relevant in time-series studies or those requiring an averaged or mosaic image as in deforesting monitoring. This was first used by the intelligence community where repeated coverage revealed changes in infrastructure, the deployment of units or the modification/introduction of equipment . Cloud cover over a given area or object makes it necessary to repeat the collection of said location. Finally, some people also refer to the "economic resolution", that is, the cost-effective way to manage the collection of data.

In order to create sensor-based maps, most remote sensing systems expect to extrapolate sensor data in relation to a reference point including distances between known points on the ground. This depends on the type of sensor used. For example, in conventional photographs, distances are accurate in the center of the image, with the distortion of measurements increasing the farther you get from the center. Another factor is that of the platen against which the film is pressed can cause severe errors when photographs are used to measure ground distances. The step in which this problem is resolved is called georeferencing, and involves computer-aided matching up of points in the image (typically 30 or more points per image) which is extrapolated with the use of an established benchmark, "warping" the image to produce accurate spatial data. As of the early 1990s, most satellite images are sold fully georeferenced.

In addition, images may need to be radiometrically and atmospherically corrected. Radiometric correction gives a scale to the pixel values, e.g. the monochromatic scale of 0 to 255 will be converted to actual radiance values. Atmospheric correction eliminates atmospheric haze by rescaling each frequency band so that its minimum value (usually realised in water bodies) corresponds to a pixel value of 0. The digitizing of data also make possible to manipulate the data by changing gray-scale values.

Interpretation is the critical process of making sense of the data. The first application was that of aerial photographic collection which used the following process; spatial measurement through the use of a light table in both conventional single or stereographic coverage, added skills such as the use of photogrammetry, the use of photomosaics, repeat coverage, Making use of objects' known dimensions in order to detect modifications. Image Analysis is the recently developed automated computer-aided application which is in increasing use.

Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) is a sub-discipline of GIScience devoted to partitioning remote sensing (RS) imagery into meaningful image-objects, and assessing their characteristics through spatial, spectral and temporal scale.

Old data from remote sensing is often valuable because it may provide the only long-term data for a large extent of geography. At the same time, the data is often complex to interpret, and bulky to store. Modern systems tend to store the data digitally, often with lossless compression. The difficulty with this approach is that the data is fragile, the format may be archaic, and the data may be easy to falsify. One of the best systems for archiving data series is as computer-generated machine-readable ultrafiche, usually in typefonts such as OCR-B, or as digitized half-tone images. Ultrafiches survive well in standard libraries, with lifetimes of several centuries. They can be created, copied, filed and retrieved by automated systems. They are about as compact as archival magnetic media, and yet can be read by human beings with minimal, standardized equipment.

* Radar Conventional radar is mostly associated with aerial traffic control, early warning, and certain large scale meteorological data. Doppler radar is used by local law enforcements' monitoring of speed limits and in enhanced meteorological collection such as wind speed and direction within weather systems. Other types of active collection includes plasmas in the ionosphere). Interferometric synthetic aperture radar is used to produce precise digital elevation models of large scale terrain (See RADARSAT, TerraSAR-X, Magellan).
* Laser and radar altimeters on satellites have provided a wide range of data. By measuring the bulges of water caused by gravity, they map features on the seafloor to a resolution of a mile or so. By measuring the height and wave-length of ocean waves, the altimeters measure wind speeds and direction, and surface ocean currents and directions.
* LIDAR Light Detection And Ranging - is well known in the examples of weapon ranging, laser illuminated homing of projectiles. LIDAR is used to detect and measure the concentration of various chemicals in the atmosphere, while airborne LIDAR can be used to measure heights of objects and features on the ground more accurately than with radar technology.
* Radiometers and photometers are the most common instrument in use, collecting reflected and emitted radiation in a wide range of frequencies. The most common are visible and infrared sensors, followed by microwave, gamma ray and rarely, ultraviolet. They may also be used to detect the emission spectra of various chemicals, providing data on chemical concentrations in the atmosphere.
* Stereographic pairs of aerial photographs have often been used to make Topographic maps by Imagery Analysts, Terrain Analysts in trafficability and highway departments for potential routes.
* Simultaneous multi-spectral platforms such as Landsat have been in use since the 70's. These thematic mappers take images in multiple wavelengths of electro-magnetic radiation (multi-spectral) and are usually found on earth observation satellites, including (for example) the Landsat program or the IKONOS satellite. Maps of land cover and land use from thematic mapping can be used to prospect for minerals, detect or monitor land usage, deforestation, and examine the health of indigenous plants and crops, including entire farming regions or forests.

Remote sensing is the small or large-scale acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by the use of either recording or real-time sensing device(s) that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object (such as by way of aircraft, spacecraft, satellite, buoy, or ship). In practice, remote sensing is the stand-off collection through the use of a variety of devices for gathering information on a given object or area. Thus, Earth observation or weather satellite collection platforms, ocean and atmospheric observing weather buoy platforms, monitoring of a pregnancy via ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and space probes are all examples of remote sensing. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of imaging sensor technologies including but not limited to the use of instruments aboard aircraft and spacecraft, and is distinct from other imaging-related fields such as medical imaging.

There are two kinds of remote sensing. Passive sensors detect natural energy (radiation) that is emitted or reflected by the object or surrounding area being observed. Reflected sunlight is the most common source of radiation measured by passive sensors. Examples of passive remote sensors include film photography, infra-red, charge-coupled devices and radiometers. Active collection, on the other hand, emits energy in order to scan objects and areas whereupon a passive sensor then detects and measures the radiation that is reflected or backscattered from the target. RADAR is an example of active remote sensing where the time delay between emission and return is measured, establishing the location, height, speed and direction of an object.

Remote sensing makes it possible to collect data on dangerous or inaccessible areas. Remote sensing applications include monitoring deforestation in areas such as the Amazon Basin, the effects of climate change on glaciers and Arctic and Antarctic regions, and depth sounding of coastal and ocean depths. Military collection during the cold war made use of stand-off collection of data about dangerous border areas. Remote sensing also replaces costly and slow data collection on the ground, ensuring in the process that areas or objects are not disturbed.

Orbital platforms collect and transmit data from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which in conjunction with larger scale aerial or ground-based sensing and analysis, provides researchers with enough information to monitor trends such as el niño and other natural long and short term phenomena. Other uses include different areas of the earth sciences such as natural resource management, agricultural fields such as land usage and conservation, and national security and overhead, ground-based and stand-off collection on border areas