The ITG digital terrain model generation system is a stereo correspondence/automated change detection
algorithm based on adaptive

Adaptive filter

An adaptive filter is a filter that self-adjusts its transfer function according to an optimization algorithm driven by an error signal. Because of the complexity of the optimization algorithms, most adaptive filters are digital filters. By way of contrast, a non-adaptive filter has a static...

 least squares correlation

Least mean squares filter

Least mean squares algorithms are a class of adaptive filter used to mimic a desired filter by finding the filter coefficients that relate to producing the least mean squares of the error signal . It is a stochastic gradient descent method in that the filter is only adapted based on the error at...

 for generating digital terrain models

Digital elevation model

A digital elevation model is a digital model or 3-D representation of a terrain's surface — commonly for a planet , moon, or asteroid — created from terrain elevation data....

.

Developed by Mark A. O'Neill

Mark A. O'Neill

Mark A. O'Neill is an English biologist and computer scientist with interests in artificial intelligence, systems biology, complex systems and image analysis...

, it utilises stereoscopic

Stereoscopy

Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...

 image analysis

Image analysis

Image analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images; mainly from digital images by means of digital image processing techniques...

 techniques developed by O'Neill during research at Oxford. This was initially used for terrain modelling utilising SPOT-1

SPOT (satellites)

SPOT is a high-resolution, optical imaging Earth observation satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image based in Toulouse, France...

 stereo imagery of Western Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, but also stereo imagery of faces and knees and MRI scanner imagery of the human brain.