From mobile mapping to telegeoinformatics: Paradigm shift in geospatial data acquisition, processing, and management

Technological advances in positioning and imaging sensors, combined with the explosion in wireless mobile communication systems that occurred during the lost decade of the twentieth century, practically redefined and substantially extended the concept Of mobile mapping. The advent of the first mobile mapping systems (MMS) in the early 1990s initiated the process of establishing modern, virtually ground-control-free photogrammetry and digital mapping. By the end of the last decade, mobile mapping technology had made remarkable progress, evolving from rather simple land-based systems to more sophisticated, real-time multitasking and multisensor systems, operational in land and airborne environments. New specialized systems, based on modern imaging sensors, such as CCD (charge-coupled device) cameras, lidar (Light Defection and Ranging) and hyperspectral/multispectral scanners, are being developed, aimed at automatic data acquisition for geoinformatics, thematic mopping, land classification, terrain modeling, emergency response, homeland security, etc. This paper provides an overview of the mobile mapping concept, with a special emphasis on the MMS paradigm shift from the post-mission to near-real-time systems that occurred in the past few years. A short review of the direct georeferencing concept is given, and the major techniques (sensors) used for platform georegistration, as well as the primary radiolocation techniques based on wireless networks, are presented. An overview of the major imaging sensors and the importance of multisensor system calibration are also provided. Future perspectives of mobile mapping and its extension towards telegeoinformatics are also discussed, Some examples of mobile geospatial technology used in automatic object recognition, real-time highway centerline mapping, thematic mapping, and city modeling with lidar and multispectral imagery are included.