| Developer(s) | BAE Systems |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 5.5.0 / Jun,2009 |
| Operating system | Solaris, Windows |
| Type | Photogrammetry |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.socetset.com |
SOCET SET is a software application that performs functions related to photogrammetry. It is developed and published by BAE Systems. SOCET SET was the first commercial digital photogrammetry software program. Prior to SOCET SET, all photogrammetry programs were primarily analog or custom systems built for government agencies.
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SOCET SET inputs digital aerial photographs, taken in stereo (binocular) fashion, and from those photos it automatically generates a digital elevation model, digital feature (vector data), and orthorectified images (called Orthophotos). The output data is used by customers to create digital maps, and for mission planning and targeting purposes.
The source images can come from film-based cameras, or digital cameras. The cameras can be mounted in an airplane, or on a satellite. A key requirement of the imagery is that there must be 2 or more overlapping images, taken from different vantage points. This "binocular" characteristic is what makes it mathematically possible to extract the 3-dimensional terrain and feature data from the imagery.
A key step, involving very complex least squares mathematics, is Triangulation which determines exactly where the cameras were positioned when the photographs were taken. Photogrammetrists that contributed to SOCET SET's Triangulation include Scott Miller, Bingcai Zhang, John Dolloff, and Fidel Paderes. If the quality of the triangulation is poor, all subsequent data will have correspondingly poor positional accuracy.
The most recent major version, released in 2009, is version 5.5.
SOCET SET, like all high-end photogrammetry applications, requires a stereo display to be used to its fullest potential. Although SOCET SET can run and generate all its products on a computer with only a conventional display, a typical user will require a stereo display to view the digital data overlaid on the imagery. Interactive (manual) quality assurance requires this capability.
Hardware companies that manufacture hardware for stereo image display include:
SOCET SET has the ability to read and write the following formats: VITec, Sun Raster, TIFF, TIFF 6.0 (Raster, Tiled, Tiled JPEG, and LZW), JFIF, NITF 2.0, NITF 2.0 JPEG, NITF 2.1, NITF 2.1 JPEG, ERDAS IMAGINE, JPEG 2000, Targa, COT, DGN, USGS DOQ, MrSID, Plain Raster.
SOCET SET has the ability to read terrain data formats, including: DTED, USGS DEM, ASCII (user-defined), LIDAR LAS, ArcGrid, SDTS, NED, GSI, GeoTIFF.
Vector formats supported include: DXF, Shapefile, ASCII (ArcGen), ASCII, TOPSCENE.
SOCET SET, like some photogrammetry tools, is used for the following applications:
About half of SOCET SET users are commercial, and half are government/military.
Development started as a Research and Development project around 1989, with Jim Gambale as the sole developer. At the time, the parent corporation was GDE Systems (formerly a subsidiary of General Dynamics). The hardware platform was a PC running Interactive Unix.
After the prototype proved successful, a larger R&D effort was initiated in 1990, led by Herman Kading. One of the primary accomplishments of this effort was to migrate the product to UNIX Platforms, including Sun, SGI, HP, and IBM.
Technical knowledge was provided by Helava Inc, a company based in Detroit, Michigan that specialized in photogrammetry. Helava employees Scott Miller, Janis Thiede, and Kurt Devenecia brought in-depth experience in the field.
Leadership of the project passed to Neal Olander around 1992, and after this time, SOCET SET (which before then was only sold to government customers) began to be distributed commercially. Around 1996, SOCET SET was migrated to the Microsoft Windows operating system, although the Unix system continued to be supported as well.
Technical skills were provided by Dave Mayes, Jim Colgate, Bingcai Zhang and Dave Miller.
Starting in 2008, SOCET SET photogrammetric functionality is migrating to the next generation product, SOCET GXP (Geospatial eXploitation Product).
SOCET SET is an acronym that stands for SOftCopy Exploitation Toolkit. The phrase is a play on the actual tool socket set.
The chief competitor to SOCET SET is Leica Photogrammetry Suite (aka LPS, owned by ERDAS), INPHO, Intergraph and SimActive, which are also leaders in the field of photogrammetry.
Other related applications that have some photogrammetry functionality include ARC/INFO, ENVI, and ERDAS IMAGINE, all of which are primarily GIS or remote sensing applications.