DEM Generation and Accuracy Assessment Using ZY-3 Stereo Image Pairs

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is an important data source for topographic analysis, 3D visualization and satellite image ortho-rectification. This paper focused on the DEM extraction and accuracy assessment from ZY-3 satellite with 3 stereo images. DEM was extracted using three different stereo pair image groups composed of forward and nadir view images, nadir and backward view images as well as forward and backward view images. The accuracy of the DEM was indicated by root-mean-square error (RMSE) values. The results showed that the stereo pair of nadir and forward view images achieved the best accuracy, while the pair of forward and backward view images obtained the worst. This might be useful for the selection of the stereo pair images for extracting DEM using ZY-3 satellite images.