JP2000194833A - Area management system utilizing observation satellite, area managing method, agriculture raising management system and observation satellite operation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the operation costs of an area management system by generating a synthetic image by using a plurality of satellite images and extracting only an area needing a detailed analysis. SOLUTION: In images of an observation satellite 5 stored in a database 60 via earth receiving facilities 20a and 20b, a synthetic image generating part 101 synthesizes parts for prescribed time series. A synthetic image is evaluated, based on the decision reference which is preliminarily given by an area extracting means 201, and a pixel satisfying the decision reference is extracted among respective pixels of the synthetic image. An image acquiring means 300 retrieves a scene corresponding to an extracted pixels group in a database 60 among past acquiring high resolution images, and when the images of the scene exist, the latest one is read. Also, when the corresponding scene are not present, a measurement request is issued to a high resolution observation satellite 10 and an image is acquired. The acquired high resolution image is analyzed by an area analyzing means 401, outputted to a CRT 80 and also used as information to manage the area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and an area management method for analyzing the condition of the ground surface in a target area using measurement information of observation satellites and managing the area based on the result. Also, it relates to an agricultural development management system using measurement information of observation satellites. In addition, the present invention relates to an observation satellite operation system for operating observation satellites having a short return cycle and observation satellites having a long return cycle. The present invention operates a plurality of satellites equipped with sensors having different spatial resolution or spectral resolution,
This is a method for acquiring satellite images.

An area management system and an area management method according to the present invention are directed to a city planning based on the management of growing crops, the management of water quality or pollution load in an area including a hydrosphere such as a lake, the analysis of a heat island phenomenon in the city center, and the classification of land cover. management,
And so on.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A regional management system using measurement information of observation satellites is described in, for example, "Remote Sensing of Plants and Their Growth Environment" (Journal of the Remote Sensing Society of Japan, Vol. 1).
7, No. 3, pp. 59-74) and “Application of Remote Sensing to Lake Pollution Monitoring” (Environmental Technology, Vol. 12, N
As shown in O.5, pp.47-52), there are known examples of application to agricultural crop cultivation management in an agricultural area and water source management in an area having a hydrosphere such as a lake. As shown in these conventional examples, satellite images obtained by measuring the spectral radiance of the ground surface or the water surface are used to analyze the situation of the target area. As the satellite image, an image having a spatial resolution of several tens of meters or less and a relatively high resolution is generally used.

A high-resolution satellite image has a smaller area that can be covered by one scene than a meteorological satellite or the like, and the acquisition cost is high. Also, the regression cycle is 2 weeks to 2
Since it is about 0 days, when used for regional management, the measurement frequency may not always be sufficient. For this reason, acquisition of a satellite image scene covering the entire target area may be difficult due to cost restrictions, or a necessary scene itself may not be measured. Techniques for using a plurality of satellite images having different spatial resolutions are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos.
-7072. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-61963 discloses that when an image of a ship moving in the ocean is to be acquired,
It describes that the position of a moving object is recognized by a wide-area optical camera and a wide-area synthetic aperture radar, and a high-resolution image obtained by enlarging the position is acquired by the high-resolution camera and the high-resolution aperture radar. It is described that the wide-area optical camera and the wide-area synthetic aperture radar and the high-resolution camera and the high-resolution aperture radar are mounted on the same or different artificial satellites. JP-A-8-7072 discloses that a wide-field imaging device and a narrow-field imaging device are mounted on an observation satellite, a target position is measured by a wide-field imaging device, and an image of the target position is acquired by a narrow-field imaging device. Is described. The technology described in these patents discloses that when a wide-area optical camera and a wide-area synthetic aperture radar and a high-resolution camera and a high-resolution aperture radar are mounted on separate artificial satellites, Holds only when are the same.

[0005]

Among the above-mentioned prior arts, "Remote sensing of plants and their growth environment" (Journal of the Remote Sensing Society of Japan, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 147-181).
59-74) and "Application of Remote Sensing to Lake Pollution Monitoring" (Environmental Technology, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 47-5)
In the technique described in 2), analysis of satellite images required for management of a target area may not be performed due to restrictions on acquisition of necessary satellite image scenes. As a result, it is unavoidable that continuity is hindered in regional management.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
The technique described in -7072 is difficult to apply when the target object or target position is unknown.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to automatically select a satellite image scene selection and measurement request for an area required for analysis by extracting an area requiring analysis with a high-resolution satellite image from a target area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for operating a regional management system without any problems even under the constraints of cost and measurement frequency.

[0008]

The present invention proposes an area management system, an agricultural development management system, a satellite image operation system, an observation satellite operation system, and an area management method described below.

(1) In an area management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from an observation satellite and having different resolutions, a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellite, and the database Of the satellite images saved in, using the image with the lower resolution,
A composite image generating means for generating a composite image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period, and using a composite image obtained by the composite image generating means to meet a predetermined evaluation criterion. An area is extracted from the target area by an area extracting means, and the latest high-resolution image obtained by measuring the area extracted by the area extracting means is searched and read out from the database, or the area of the area is detected with respect to an observation satellite. An observation satellite utilization area management system, comprising: an image acquisition unit that issues a request to acquire a high-resolution image.

This system includes a case where a plurality of satellite images having different resolutions are obtained by one observation satellite and a case where they are obtained from different observation satellites. Further, the image acquiring means selects the area extracted by the area extracting means from high-resolution images measured in the past, or requests the observation satellite to measure a new high-resolution image. You can choose. In the present invention, the expression “low resolution image” or “high resolution image” is used as a relative expression when two or more images are compared. For example, when there are two satellite images having different resolutions, the image with the lower resolution is called a low-resolution image, and the other image is called a high-resolution image. When there are three or more satellite images having different resolutions, one image arbitrarily selected from them is referred to as a low-resolution image, and an image having a higher resolution is referred to as a high-resolution image. The expression, resolution,
Spatial resolution or spectral resolution is included. The composite image includes an integrated image or a difference image.

(2) In a regional management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from observation satellites and having different resolutions, a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellites, and the database Of the satellite images saved in, using the image with the lower resolution,
A composite image generating means for generating a composite image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period, and using a composite image obtained by the composite image generating means to meet a predetermined evaluation criterion. An area is extracted from the target area by an area extracting means, and a high-resolution image stored in the database is searched to determine whether there is a high-resolution image obtained by measuring the area extracted by the area extracting means. An image acquisition means for examining, reading out the latest high-resolution image if there is, and requesting the observation satellite to obtain a high-resolution image of the area if there is not. Regional management system.

This system also includes a case where a plurality of satellite images of different resolutions are obtained from one observation satellite and a case where a plurality of satellite images are obtained from another observation satellite. This system is different from the system (1) in that, in order to obtain a high resolution of the area extracted by the area extracting means, first, a database storing past high-resolution images of the area is searched.
If it is not found there, an observation request is issued to the observation satellite to obtain a new high-resolution image.

(3) In an area management system for managing a target area using measurement information from a plurality of observation satellites having different resolutions, a plurality of observation satellites transmitted from a lower-resolution observation satellite among the plurality of observation satellites. A composite image generating unit that performs an arithmetic process on an image in a time series within a predetermined image acquisition period to generate a composite image, and a composite image obtained by the composite image generating unit is used to evaluate a predetermined evaluation criterion. Areas that fit
Area extraction means for extracting from the target area, and a high-resolution observation satellite from which an image with a higher resolution than the observation satellite used to generate the composite image is obtained. Make a request to get an image,
Or an image acquisition means for retrieving an image archive of a high-resolution observation satellite measuring the extracted area and acquiring the latest high-resolution image. This system is applied when acquiring a satellite image using a high-resolution observation satellite and a low-resolution observation satellite capable of obtaining an image with a relatively lower resolution. (4) In a regional management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from observation satellites and having different resolutions, a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellites, and a database stored in the database. A synthetic image generating means for generating a synthetic image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period using a lower resolution image of the satellite images obtained, Using the obtained composite image, an area meeting an evaluation criterion given in advance, an area extracting means for extracting the area extracted from the target area, and the latest high-resolution image obtained by measuring the area extracted by the area extracting means in the database. Searching and reading out, or an image acquiring means for requesting an observation satellite to acquire a high-resolution image of the area, and a high-resolution image acquired by the image acquiring means. And analysis, observation satellites use area management system characterized by comprising a section analyzing means issuing information for managing the zone.

This system is characterized in that an area obtained by the area extracting means is analyzed based on the high-resolution image obtained by the image obtaining means.

(5) Using the measurement information from the observation satellite,
In an agricultural cultivation management system that manages the cultivation status of crops in the target area, an image transmitted at a predetermined cycle from a meteorological satellite that measures information about the amount of cloud or water vapor, and an integrated image that is sequentially added within a predetermined period. Using the integrated image generated by the integrated image generating means and the integrated image obtained by the integrated image generating means, an area in which the amount of water supplied to the crops due to rainfall is equal to or less than a predetermined amount is defined as an area of the target area. An irrigation priority area extraction means for extracting from inside, and for the area extracted by the irrigation priority area extraction means, issue a measurement request to an observation satellite having a higher spatial resolution than the weather satellite, or
Searching the image archive of the observation satellite that measured the extraction area, using a satellite image acquisition unit that acquires the latest satellite image that measured the extraction area, and a satellite image acquired by the image acquisition unit, An agricultural cultivation management system comprising: irrigation water amount calculation means for calculating an amount of water required for irrigation of agricultural crops.

This system proposes a crop cultivation management system using a meteorological satellite and an observation satellite having a higher resolution than the meteorological satellite.

(6) In an observation satellite operation system for a plurality of observation satellites, a target observation satellite to be subjected to operation control is set from among the observation satellites, and a recurring period of the target observation satellite is set higher than the target observation satellite. Satellite setting means for setting a short observation satellite as a reference observation satellite; satellite operation determining means for determining an observation schedule of the target observation satellite based on information obtained by referring to a satellite image of the reference observation satellite; An observation request means for issuing an observation request to the target observation satellite according to the observation schedule determined by the observation satellite operation system.

This system is characterized in that observation satellites with a short recurring cycle are used as reference observation satellites, and observation satellites with a longer recurring cycle are used as target observation satellites.

(7) In the observation satellite operating system described in the above (6), the satellite operation determining means is a time series of a satellite image obtained by observing the same observation target area, Priority area selection for selecting the area to be prioritized for observation based on the acquisition necessity determination means for determining the necessity of acquisition or the coverage of each area to be observed based on the satellite image observed within a predetermined period An observation satellite operation system comprising means.

This system defines a specific configuration of the satellite operation determining means.

(8) In the area management system according to (4), information necessary for analyzing a high-resolution image by the area analysis means is stored in the database, or a database storing the information. Is provided separately from the database.

The feature of this system is that information necessary for area analysis is stored in a database in advance, instead of being input from outside the system each time.

(9) In the agricultural cultivation management system according to (5), information necessary for calculating the amount of irrigation water by the irrigation water amount calculation means is stored in the database, or the information is stored. An observation satellite utilization area management system comprising a database provided separately from the database.

The feature of this system resides in that information necessary for calculating the amount of irrigation water is stored in a database in advance.

(10) In an area management method for managing a target area using at least two types of satellite images transmitted from an observation satellite and having different resolutions, a resolution among at least two types of satellite images having different resolutions is used. A lower image is synthesized in time series within a preset image acquisition period to generate a synthesized image, and an area that meets a predetermined evaluation criterion is extracted from the obtained synthesized images, and the area is extracted. A region management method based on satellite images, characterized in that the latest image obtained by measuring satellite images is retrieved by searching a database storing high-resolution images, or by issuing an observation request to an observation satellite transmitting high-resolution images. . The present invention relates to an area management method using at least two types of satellite images having different resolutions. These satellite images may be obtained by the same satellite, or may be obtained by a plurality of satellites.

(11) In an area management method for managing a target area using satellite images transmitted from at least two observation satellites having different resolutions, a satellite image having a lower resolution among at least two observation satellites is obtained. A synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the transmitted image of the target area in a time-series manner within a preset image acquisition period, and from the obtained synthesized images, an area that meets a predetermined evaluation criterion is extracted. ,
A region management method using observation satellites, characterized in that the latest high-resolution image obtained by measuring the area is retrieved by searching an image archive of the high-resolution observation satellite, or by issuing an observation request to the high-resolution observation satellite. .

The present invention specifies an area management method using a plurality of observation satellites having different resolutions.

In the area management system according to the present invention, it is necessary to generate a composite image or an integrated image by using a plurality of satellite images having a higher measurement frequency than the high-resolution satellite image and at a low acquisition cost, and to perform a detailed analysis. Extract only districts that are not
As a result, an appropriate measurement request can be issued to a high-resolution satellite, and the loss of satellite image scenes required for analysis for area management can be significantly reduced. Further, even in the case of a satellite image scene covering the target area, it is not necessary to acquire a scene that does not require detailed analysis, so that the cost of system operation can be reduced.

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention relates to the use of a plurality of satellites having different operating conditions and performances in an area management system for analyzing information necessary for area management using remote sensing images of earth observation satellites and the like. Thus, means for improving analysis accuracy and reducing operation costs is provided. The term "regional management" as used herein refers to the management of growing crops in the case of an agricultural area, and refers to the management of water quality and the management of pollution load in a basin in the case of an area including a hydrosphere such as a lake. When the urban area is targeted, city planning management based on analysis of the heat island phenomenon and land cover classification is a specific function of the regional management system. Further, the present invention provides a system for operating a plurality of observation satellites or a plurality of satellite images having different resolutions for a satellite image utilization system including the above-mentioned area management system.

The earth observation satellites assumed to be used in the present invention include meteorological satellites represented by NOAA (Noah) and GMS (sunflower), and high resolution represented by LANDSAT (Landsat) and SPOT (spot). It is an observation satellite. Although the former meteorological satellite has a spatial resolution of about 1 km, it can cover a wide range of several thousand km wide. Further, it is possible to obtain a time-series image having a high measurement frequency.

On the other hand, a high-resolution satellite is characterized by having a high spatial resolution of about several tens of meters, although the measurement width of one scene is as narrow as about several tens of kilometers. Furthermore, in the case of Quick Bird, which is scheduled to be launched in the future, measurement of a very high spatial resolution of about several meters will be performed. The sensors mounted on each satellite are a multispectral sensor that measures visible to infrared wavelengths in a plurality of wavelength bands and a panchromatic sensor that measures in a single wavelength band.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a general overall configuration of an area management system according to the present invention. This system uses the images of earth observation satellites as information sources to perform analysis necessary for regional management. In particular, by properly using images from a plurality of satellites, it is intended to solve the problems of image deficiency and high operation costs, which are problems when using high-resolution satellite images. The main components of the area management system 51 for realizing these are a composite image generation unit 101, a zone extraction unit 201, and an image acquisition unit 3.
00.

The general flow of area management by the area management system 51 will be described. Observed satellite images of the observed satellites 5 stored in the database 60 via the ground receiving facilities 20a and 20b are combined by the combined image generating means 101 in a predetermined time series. The synthesized image is sent to the area extracting means 201, and is evaluated based on a predetermined criterion. From each pixel of the composite image, a pixel satisfying the above criterion is extracted. In the image acquisition means 300,
In the high-resolution images acquired in the past, a scene corresponding to the extracted pixel group is searched in the database 60, and if an image of the scene exists, the latest one is read.
If the corresponding scene does not exist, a measurement request is issued to the high-resolution observation satellite 10 to acquire an image. The acquired high-resolution satellite image is analyzed by the area analysis means 401 and output to the CRT 80, and is used as information for managing the area. Area analysis means 401
The specific content of is specific to the region to which it is applied and its purpose, and is specific to each embodiment.

The rough processing flow of the area management system 51 has been described above. It should be noted that among the constituent elements of the area management system 51, the composite image generating means 101, the area extracting means 20
1, the image acquisition means 300 and the area analysis means 401
It is realized by a computer (not shown) such as a workstation or a personal computer. The database 60 is constructed on an auxiliary storage device in the computer such as a hard disk, but may be constructed on hardware other than the computer itself, such as a file server. Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example that applies to the whole area management, FIG. 2 illustrates an entire configuration of an embodiment in which the area management system according to the present invention is applied to agricultural development management in an agricultural area. The configuration of the agricultural development management system 50 can be roughly divided into (1) integrated image generation means 100, (2) irrigation priority area extraction means 200, (3) image acquisition means 300, and (4) irrigation water amount calculation means 400. You. Agricultural development management system 5 of the present embodiment
0 provides a function to support irrigation management in crop cultivation areas such as paddy fields. Gate control of dams and waterways is performed based on the analyzed results. The satellite image to be used is an image from the meteorological satellite 5a that can obtain information on rainfall with high frequency, and a high resolution that measures visible to infrared wavelengths necessary for extracting soil moisture, irrigated water surface, and the like. It is an image from the observation satellite 10. As the high-resolution observation satellite 10 here, SPOT or Quick having an off-nadir mechanism that can measure not only the direction directly below the sensor (referred to as the nadir direction) but also the oblique direction by tilting the sensor.
It assumes a satellite such as Bird. The interval (return cycle) at which these satellites measure the same location (scene) is about 2 weeks to 20 days in the basic operation, but the off-nadir measurement based on the measurement request sets the return cycle to at least about 2 days. be able to. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1a indicates the earth, and reference numeral 1b indicates a target area.

FIG. 3 shows a procedure for estimating the amount of irrigation water for irrigation management which is most important for paddy field cultivation management. The weather satellite image 65 stored in the database 60 is integrated for a preset period n to generate an integrated image. Since information relating to clouds is included in the meteorological satellite image 65, it is possible to obtain information on the cloud amount integrated value within the predetermined period n from the integrated image. In the scene of the meteorological satellite image 65, an area where the cloud amount integrated value is small is where water supply to the paddy field due to rainfall is insufficient, so that it is determined that the irrigation water amount needs to be estimated in detail. A search is made as to whether a high-resolution satellite image exists for an area where detailed estimation of irrigation water is required, and if so, the latest scene is read. If not, a measurement request is issued to the high-resolution observation satellite 10 to acquire a necessary scene. The acquired high-resolution observation satellite image 70 is used for estimating the amount of irrigation water together with related information such as map information. Irrigation management is performed based on the estimated irrigation water volume.

Next, the details of each component of the agricultural development management system 50 will be described in order.

The database 60 stores the weather satellite image 6
5, a high-resolution observation satellite image 70 and information necessary for irrigation management and irrigation water estimation are stored. Generally, satellite image data is treated as raster type data in which the spatial resolution of the sensor is a mesh size. The raster type data is data arranged in a matrix. In the case of a satellite image, the row direction corresponds to the traveling direction (track direction) of the artificial satellite, and the column direction corresponds to the scanning direction (cross-track) of the optical sensor. Direction). The data at each mesh position is a relative reflection intensity or radiation intensity value. Satellite image data of a commercial satellite is, for example, 256
This is data that has been converted into gray scale integer data (0 to 255). As information stored in the database 60, additional information such as measurement date and time and conditions are also stored together with the satellite image data itself, and are referred to when performing various data corrections or matching between image data. I do.
The stored data can be displayed on the CRT 80.

The integrated image generating means 100 described next
This is a means for obtaining an integrated value of the cloud amount that greatly affects the amount of water required for irrigation by integrating the weather satellite images 65 in time series. This means is composed of four steps as shown in FIG. First, in a weather satellite image reading step 110 which is the first step, data of the weather satellite image 65 stored in the database 60 is read. As described above, data is stored in NOAA stored in raster data format.
And GMS images. Meteorological satellites are more frequently observed in the same area than high-resolution satellites such as SPOT.
It is possible to acquire several scenes or more a day.

In the integration period reference step 120, the integration period set in advance is referred to the database 60. This integration period is set according to the time scale at which the irrigation water amount is estimated, and is set, for example, from the range of one day to one week. Since the frequency of controlling the amount of irrigation water varies depending on the growing stage of the crop, the integration period also needs to be changed accordingly. Note that the integration period may be input interactively from a keyboard (not shown) of the computer on which the integrated image generation unit 100 is constructed, instead of referring to the database 60.

In the image integration calculating step 130, the weather satellite images for the integration period read in the previous integration period reference step 120 are integrated to generate an integrated image. The calculation of image integration is
This is performed using the equation shown in Equation 1.

[0042]

(Equation 1)

Where, Sum (row, col, t): integrated image value of pixel (row, col) at time t Image (row, col, t): weather satellite image value of pixel (row, col) at time t n: Image integration period As shown in FIG. 5, the calculation result is obtained as a distribution of the accumulated luminance for each pixel. The pixel where the cloud is generated has relatively higher luminance than the other pixels, so that it can be evaluated that a pixel having a higher cumulative luminance has a relatively larger amount of cloud during the cumulative period. The coordinates (ro
(w, col) is desirably represented by latitude / longitude, coordinates (UTM coordinates) by the universal transverse Mercator projection, and the like. By using such a coordinate system, pixels indicating the same point can be associated with each other even between different types of images.

In the integrated image output step 140, which is the last step of the integrated image generation means 100, the integrated image obtained in the previous step is output to the database 60 and stored. More than,
It is a procedure of four steps of the integrated image generation means.

Next, the details of the irrigation priority area extracting means 200 will be described. This means is composed of six steps as shown in FIG. In the first integrated image reading step 210, the integrated image stored as the meteorological satellite image 65 in the database 60 is read so as to be applicable to calculations in the subsequent steps. In the next satellite scene division step 220, a process of associating a scene between the integrated image and the high-resolution observation satellite image 70 is performed. In general, since the integrated image calculated from the weather satellite image is wider than the measurement range of the weather satellite image 65, the high-resolution observation satellite image 7 is included in the scene of the integrated image.
There will be a plurality of scenes of 0. In this step, each pixel of the integrated image is associated with which scene of the high-resolution observation satellite image 70. The specific association process is performed by using the coordinate values such as the latitude and longitude assigned to each pixel of the integrated image and the coordinate values of the four corners of each scene of the high-resolution observation satellite image 70 to determine the magnitude relation of the coordinates. Can be determined. The scene is identified by the high-resolution observation satellite 10
It is performed by the combination of the pass number and the row number of the operation trajectory. Therefore, each pixel of the integrated image is assigned the pass number and row number of the scene to which it belongs.

In the next scene-specific rainfall estimation step 230,
The rainfall amount for each scene of the high-resolution observation satellite image 70 included in the area measured by the integrated image is estimated. As described above, since the integrated image includes the information of the cloud amount integrated value during the integration period, the rainfall amount corresponding to the amount of clouds can be estimated from this information. The formula for estimation differs depending on the target region and season. For example, an expression as shown in Expression 2 can be used as an example.

[0047]

## EQU2 ## Rain (row, col, t) = F {Sum (row, col, t)} = A.exp {Sum (row, col, t)}-B Rain (row, col, t) = 0 if (Rain (row, col, t) <0) where, Rain (row, col, t): Estimated rainfall at the pixel (row, col) point during a predetermined period up to time t Sum (row, col, t) : Integrated image value at pixel (row, col) point at time t A, B: Model coefficient The expression shown in Equation 2 is an estimation expression that rainfall increases exponentially in accordance with the integrated cloud amount. Model coefficient B
Is a coefficient that takes into account that there is actually no rainfall unless the cloud cover exceeds a certain threshold. The estimated rainfall amount for each pixel is calculated by Equation 2, and the estimated rainfall amount for each scene number assigned to each pixel in the satellite scene division step is calculated. The estimated rainfall amount for each scene is obtained by calculating the sum of the estimated rainfall amounts of the pixels having the scene number.

In the priority area extraction condition reference step 240, a condition for extracting an area having a high priority in terms of whether or not it is necessary to control the amount of irrigation water is referred to. Specifically, the conditions stored in the database 60 or the conditions input from the keyboard are read. The conditions here are:
The minimum required amount of irrigation water and the number of scenes to be selected are used for each stage of paddy field growth.

In the next priority area determination step 250, which area (ie, the scene of the high-resolution observation satellite image 70) has a higher priority for irrigation management at present according to the conditions read in the priority area extraction condition reference step 240. Is determined. For areas where the estimated rainfall is less than the minimum required amount of irrigation water, the area with the smaller estimated rainfall is selected up to the number of selected scenes.

In the extraction area output step 260, which is the final step of the irrigation priority area extraction means 200, the scene number corresponding to the selected area is output to the database 60 and stored so that it can be referred to in the subsequent steps. . By executing the irrigation priority area extracting means 200 described above, the high-resolution observation necessary for irrigation management at that time can be obtained from a wide range of meteorological satellite images 65 including tens to hundreds of high-resolution observation satellite images 70. Scenes in the satellite image 70 can be selected with priority. The above is the irrigation priority area extraction means 200
It is a specific procedure.

Next, a specific procedure of the image obtaining means 300 will be described. This means is composed of five steps as shown in FIG. First irrigation priority area scene reference process 3
In 10, the result output from the irrigation priority area extracting means 200 to the database 60 is referred to. Specifically, processing for reading the selected scene number is performed. Further, in the satellite image archive search step 320, it is searched whether or not the weather satellite image 65 corresponding to the selected scene number exists in the database 60. The search result is sent to the next scene measurement request output step 330.

In the scene measurement request output step 330, it is determined whether a new measurement request is issued to the high resolution observation satellite 10 based on the search result. If no scene corresponding to the area extracted as the irrigation priority area is found in the search result, a measurement request is output. The output is sent to a computer (not shown) operating the high-resolution observation satellite 10. When a scene of the area is found in the search result, it is determined whether the image is new enough to be used for estimating the amount of irrigation water in a later process, depending on whether the scene is within a predetermined period. If the image is older than required, a measurement request to the high-resolution observation satellite 10 is output. If the scheduled measurement date and time of the scene is within the allowable waiting time, the normal measurement immediately below the satellite is requested. If not, a request for off-nadir measurement is output, and measurement is performed earlier than the date and time previously determined in the satellite operation schedule.

In the satellite image reading step 340, a high-resolution observation satellite image 70 that has been stored in the database 60 in advance or obtained by a new measurement request is read.
Further, in the satellite image output step 350, the read high-resolution observation satellite image 70 is output to a buffer that can be referred to in a later step. The above is the details of the image acquisition unit 300.

Next, the irrigation water amount estimating means 400, which is the last part of the description of the main components of the agricultural breeding management system 50, will be described in detail. This means is composed of four steps as shown in FIG. First satellite image reading step 410
Then, the high-resolution observation satellite image 70 output from the image acquisition means 300 to a buffer that can be referred to is read, and is put into a state where it can be used for various calculations.

In the related information reading step 420, necessary information for estimating the amount of irrigation water is read from the database 60. Here, the necessary information is, for example, data of the soil type and the altitude of the target area, as schematically shown in FIG. These data are desirably in the above-described raster type format, but may be vector format data corresponding to land divisions and the like. The information read here is used together with the data of the high-resolution observation satellite image 70 in the calculation of the water volume calculation model.

In the next water amount calculation model calculation step 430,
Estimate the amount of irrigation water required for the target area. For the estimation, a water amount calculation model prepared in advance is used. This model considers the related information read in the related information reading step 420 in addition to the analysis results obtained from the high-resolution observation satellite image 70, such as the moisture content of the soil, the growth state of the crop, and the type of crop. High resolution satellite image 7
Methods for analyzing moisture content and growth status from 0 include, for example, “Remote Sensing Digital Image Analysis”, Jo
Known techniques such as those described in hn A. Richards, Springer-Verlag (1993) can be used.

Equation 3 shows an example of a water amount calculation model.

[0058]

[Mathematical formula-see original document] Water (r, c, t) = G {WC (r, c, t), STG (r, c, t), CRP (r, c, t), SIL (r, c, t) , ELV (r, c, t)} = [A-ln {WC (r, c, t)}] ^* STG (r, c, t) ^* CRP (r, c, t) ^* SIL (r, c, t) / [1 + B exp {ELV (r, c, t)}] where Water (r, c, t): pixel (r at time t) ,
c) Required irrigation water amount at point WC (r, c, t): water content at pixel (r, c) at time t STG (r, c, t): point at pixel (r, c) at time t Growth stage coefficient CRP (r, c, t): crop species coefficient at pixel (r, c) at time t SIL (r, c, t): soil at pixel (r, c) at time t Seed coefficient ELV (r, c, t): Elevation of the point of pixel (r, c) at time t A, B: Model coefficient The required irrigation water amount at the point corresponding to each pixel is calculated using the model formula of Equation 3. Can be estimated.

In the final estimated water amount output step 440, the required irrigation water amount estimated in the water amount calculation model calculation step 430 is output to the CRT 80 or a system for dam / waterway gate control. By displaying the estimation result on the CRT 80, it is possible to grasp the required irrigation water distribution in the target area, particularly in the area where irrigation is required. Further, specific gate control can be performed from the estimated value of the required irrigation water amount. The means for managing irrigation by dam or waterway gate control may be included in the agricultural growth management system 50 according to the present invention, but is not an essential component. As a general means of irrigation management, information such as the distance and gradient of the canal from the dam to the irrigation point, and the roughness of the canal surface are stored in a geographic information system (Geo
Graphic information system (GIS) is stored in a database, and gate control is performed based on a relational expression between a required water amount and a gate opening at each point.

The above is the description of the configuration and operation of the embodiment in which the area management system according to the present invention is applied to paddy field irrigation management in an agricultural area. In this embodiment, by using meteorological satellites with low acquisition cost and high measurement frequency in a time series, it is possible to timely select an area where a high-resolution satellite image necessary for estimating the amount of irrigation water is required. Not only can the cost be reduced, but also the loss of the required high-resolution satellite image can be reduced. This will enable more reliable paddy irrigation management. The present invention can be applied to watershed basin management and the like in substantially the same procedure, and the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-mentioned area management system 51 and agricultural cultivation management system 50, the acquisition of satellite images is optimized by operating the observation satellite 5 in combination with the observation satellite 10 having a higher resolution than the observation satellite. This concept can be applied to other systems for operating observation satellites, without being limited to an area management system and an agricultural growth management system.

FIG. 10 shows the overall configuration of the observation satellite operation system 52 according to the present invention. This system sets an observation schedule appropriately and operates a plurality of observation satellites 5a, 5b,.... As for the system configuration, the database 60 includes a CRT 80, a satellite setting unit 500, a satellite operation determining unit 600, and an observation requesting unit 700, similarly to the area management system 51.

The general operation of the observation satellite operation system 52 is as follows. First, the satellite setting means 500 sets a target satellite for which an observation schedule is determined from among the plurality of observation satellites 5 operated by the observation satellite operation system 52. Further, a satellite having an observation cycle shorter than that of the target satellite is selected as a reference satellite. In the next satellite operation determining means 600, the arithmetic processing of the satellite image of the reference satellite
Decide which area of the target area should be observed first. Based on the priority, an observation schedule is created, and the last observation requesting means 700 sends the ground reception equipment 2
0, the observation request is transmitted to the observation satellite 5. The observation satellite 5 performs observation based on this. Although the means constituting the observation satellite operation system 52 is different from the area management system 51, the functions realized by the satellite operation determination means 600 and the observation request means 700 are the composite image generation means 101, the area It corresponds to the function realized by the three of the extraction unit 201 and the image acquisition unit 300. Although the specific application targets of the two systems are different, the concept of means for realizing these functions is the same.

Next, details of each means constituting the observation satellite operation system 52 will be described. FIG. 11 shows the satellite setting means 5
00 shows the detailed process. First target satellite setting step 510
Then, the observation satellite 5 for determining the observation schedule is set. The setting here is performed by an input from the user or automatically performed according to a predetermined order. The set observation satellite is referred to as a target satellite. Next regression cycle reference step 52
At 0, the regression cycle of the target satellite is referred to the database 60. The regression cycle of each observation satellite 5 is registered in the database 60 in advance and can be referred to. The return cycle differs for each observation satellite 5, and a geostationary satellite such as a meteorological satellite has a short return cycle of about one hour.
The ndsat TM has a regression cycle of about 14 days, and an image of the same scene is acquired about twice a month.

In the reference satellite setting step 530, the observation satellites 5 having a shorter return cycle than the target satellite are listed. A satellite (reference satellite) to be referred to when determining the observation schedule of the target satellite is set from the listed observation satellites 5. When a plurality of observation satellites 5 are listed, the observation satellite 5 with the shortest return cycle is set. As another method, priorities may be assigned to the observation satellites 5 in advance, and the highest priority among the listed observation satellites 5 may be set as the reference satellite. The set target satellite and reference satellite are stored in the database 60.
Is output to

The above is the description of each step of the satellite setting means 500. Next, the detailed process of the satellite operation determining means 600 is shown in FIG.
This will be described below. In this means, the observation schedule of the target satellite is determined based on the image acquisition status of the reference satellite. However, if the target satellite does not have the above-mentioned off-nadir mechanism, it is difficult to change the predetermined observation schedule, and the processing of this means is omitted. In the case of the observation satellite 5 having the oblique mechanism, observation other than the Nadia direction of the satellite navigation route is possible, so that a necessary scene can be preferentially observed according to the observation request.

In the first reference satellite image reading step 610 of the satellite operation determining means 600, the image of the reference satellite stored in the database 60 is read and made available in the following steps. In the next observation schedule determination condition setting step 615, the conditions under which the observation schedule of the target satellite is determined are set. The conditions are set by input from a user or using predetermined conditions.
In the present embodiment, a case where two conditions are prepared will be described. The first condition is to set a scene to be observed (an area located in the target area) and determine whether or not the scene is to be preferentially acquired by off-nadir observation. Under this condition, the processing by the acquisition necessity determination unit 620 is performed. Another condition is to determine the coverage for all scenes in the target area without limiting a specific scene in the target area. The coverage is calculated by calculating the frequency of satellite images observed within a predetermined period and how many good images without clouds were observed in one month. A scene with a lower coverage rate has more satellite image defects, and can be determined to be a scene to be preferentially observed. This processing is performed by the priority target area selecting means 640.

Observation schedule decision condition setting step 615
After the conditions are set, the acquisition necessity determination unit 620 or the priority target area selection unit 640 is executed. The acquisition necessity judging means 620 is composed of three steps. In the first acquisition determination condition setting step 625, a scene to be determined and conditions for determining the necessity of acquisition are set. Conditions for determining the necessity of acquisition include: 1) how much the latest image is required, 2) how much image the cloud cover ratio is less than, and the like. It is also possible to set a condition based on an index obtained by applying a satellite image to a certain functional expression, such as the rainfall described in.

In the next target area image calculation step 630, calculations necessary for the conditions set in the previous acquisition determination condition setting step 625 are performed. When the amount of rainfall is set as an index, for example, the function shown in Expression 2 is calculated. Here, the calculated result is sent to the acquisition necessity determination step 635. In the acquisition necessity determination step 635, it is determined whether new observation of the scene is necessary based on the observation date and time of the latest image of the scene, the cloud cover rate, that is, the rate of cloud coverage, and the numerical value of the index.

On the other hand, the priority target area selecting means 640 also includes three steps. In the coverage calculating step 645, the coverage within a predetermined period is calculated for all scenes in the target area. In the next priority assigning step 650, a priority is assigned to each scene in ascending order of coverage. In the last observation target area sharpening step 655, scenes are selected by a preset number of scenes in descending order of priority. Information on which scene the selected scene is is provided in the observation date setting step 6
Sent to 60.

In the observation date setting step 660, the observation date of each scene determined to be required to be acquired is set. In this step, the database 60 refers to the regular observation schedule of each scene. The regular observation schedule refers to the observation date and time by observation directly below, not by the Offnadia mechanism. The observation date and time in the downward direction can be known from a predetermined satellite flight schedule. If the observation date and time according to the regular observation schedule is not within a predetermined period, the latest observable date and time by the off-nadir mechanism is set as the requested observation date and time. Otherwise, the observation date and time according to the regular observation schedule is set as the requested observation date and time. If there are scenes with the same required observation date and time, the scene with the higher priority is given priority. The observation schedule determined by these procedures is output to the database 60. The operation of the satellite operation determining means 600 has been described above.

Next, the observation requesting means 700 will be described with reference to FIG. The observation schedule reading means 710 reads the observation schedule output by the satellite operation determining means 600 from the database 60. Further, in the observation request output step 720, the read observation schedule is output to the ground receiving equipment 20. The signal of the observation request output here is transmitted to the target observation satellite, and the observation schedule is updated. The target satellite acquires a satellite image based on the transmitted observation schedule, and is downlinked to the ground receiving facility.

The above is the details of the operation of the observation satellite operation system 52 according to the present invention. As described above, it is possible to issue an observation request to another observation satellite based on the information of the observation satellite having a shorter regression cycle, so that a necessary scene in the target area can be acquired in a timely manner, and thus the satellite image defect is extremely reduced. Can be reduced.

The system for area management using satellite images is based on the assumption that satellite images are continuously acquired without loss. The observation satellite operation system 52 according to the present invention can increase the reliability of such a system.

Another embodiment of the present invention is described below.

(I) In the agricultural cultivation management system according to the fifth aspect, the integrated image generation means includes a weather satellite image reading step of reading weather satellite image data stored in the database, and a predetermined integration period. An agricultural development management system comprising: an integration period reference process for referring to a database; and an image integration calculation process for integrating the weather satellite images for the integration period read in the integration period reference process to generate an integrated image.

(II) In the agricultural growth management system according to the fifth aspect, the irrigation priority area extracting means can apply the integrated image stored as a meteorological satellite image in the database to a calculation in a subsequent step. An integrated image reading step of reading the integrated image, a satellite scene division step of performing a process of associating the scene of the integrated image with the high-resolution image, and a high-resolution satellite image for each scene included in the area where the integrated image is measured. A scene-specific rainfall estimation step of estimating rainfall, a priority area extraction condition reference step of referring to a condition for extracting a high priority area in terms of whether or not estimation of irrigation water is necessary; A priority zone determination step of determining which area has a higher priority for irrigation management at the present time according to the conditions read in the condition reference step; Agricultural development management system the scene number corresponding output to the database, equipped with a extraction section outputting step to store as possible references in subsequent steps.

(III) In the agricultural cultivation management system according to the fifth aspect, the image acquisition means refers to the result output to the database from the irrigation priority area extraction means and reads the selected scene number. Based on the area scene reference step, a satellite image archive search step for searching whether a high-resolution satellite image corresponding to the selected scene number exists in the database, and a search result,
A scene measurement request output step of determining whether to issue a new measurement request to the high-resolution satellite, and a satellite image reading step of reading a high-resolution satellite image previously existing in the database or acquired by the new measurement request, And a satellite image output step of outputting the read high-resolution satellite image to a buffer that can be referred to in a later step.

(IV) In the agricultural breeding management system according to the fifth aspect, the irrigation water amount estimating means can read the high-resolution satellite image output from the image acquiring means to a buffer that can be referred to and use it for various calculations. A satellite image reading step for setting a state, a related information reading step for reading necessary information for estimating an irrigation water amount from a database, and an irrigation water amount required for a target area, a water amount calculation model prepared in advance. A display device or a dam, the water amount calculation model calculating step to estimate the required irrigation water amount estimated in the water amount calculation model calculating step; An agricultural cultivation management system comprising: an estimated water output step of outputting to a system for waterway gate control.

(V) In the observation satellite operating system according to the sixth aspect, the satellite setting means refers to a database for a target satellite setting step of setting an observation satellite for determining an observation schedule and a regression period of the target satellite. Regression cycle reference step, reference satellite setting step of determining observation satellites with a regression cycle shorter than the target satellite from among the listed observation satellites, and setting to output the set target satellite and reference satellite to the database An observation satellite operation system including a satellite output step.

[0081]

According to the present invention, it is possible to extract, from a target area, an area that requires a detailed analysis using a high-resolution satellite image, and to appropriately obtain a satellite image. Thereby, the operation cost of the area management system using the satellite image information can be reduced. In addition, since loss of satellite images required for analysis can be reduced, there is an effect that analysis in a regional management system requiring continuity can be made more reliable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a region management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an agricultural development management system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a procedure for estimating an irrigation water amount in the agricultural growth management system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating main steps of an integrated image generation unit in the agricultural cultivation management system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data format of a weather satellite image in the agricultural cultivation management system.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining main steps of an irrigation priority area extracting means in the agricultural growth management system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating main steps of an image acquisition unit in the agricultural cultivation management system.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating main steps of an irrigation water amount estimating unit in the agricultural cultivation management system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for estimating the amount of irrigation water in the agricultural cultivation management system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an observation satellite operation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating main steps of a satellite setting unit in the observation satellite operation system.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining main steps of a satellite operation determining means in the observation satellite operation system.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining main steps of observation request means in the observation satellite operation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Target area, 5 ... Observation satellite, 10 ... High resolution observation satellite, 20a, 20b ... Ground receiving equipment, 50 ... Agricultural development management system, 51 ... Regional management system, 60 ... Database, 65 ... Meteorological satellite image, 70 ... High resolution observation satellite image, 80 CRT, 100 integrated image generation means, 101
... Synthetic image generation means, 200 ... Irrigation priority area extraction means,
201 ... area extraction means, 300 ... image acquisition means, 400
... Irrigation water amount calculation means, 401 ... Area analysis means, 500 ...
Satellite setting means, 600: satellite operation determination means, 700: observation request means.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B057 AA14 AA15 CA08 CA12 CA16 CB08 CB12 CB16 CE08 CH08 CH12 DA08 DA17 DB02 DB09 DC31 5B075 ND06 PQ02 UU13

Claims (11)

[Claims] An area management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from an observation satellite and having different resolutions, wherein: a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellite; A synthetic image generating means for generating a synthetic image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period using an image having a lower resolution among the stored satellite images; Using the composite image obtained in the above, an area that meets the evaluation criteria given in advance, an area extraction unit that extracts from the target area, and the latest high-resolution image that measures the area extracted by the area extraction unit Search and read the database,
Alternatively, an image acquisition means for requesting an observation satellite to acquire a high-resolution image of the area is provided. 2. An area management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from an observation satellite and having different resolutions, wherein: a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellite; A synthetic image generating means for generating a synthetic image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period using an image having a lower resolution among the stored satellite images; Using the composite image obtained in the above, an area that meets the evaluation criteria given in advance, an area extracting means for extracting from the target area, and a high-resolution image stored in the database is searched, and the area extracting means Check if there is a high-resolution image that measures the area extracted in step 2.If there is, read the latest high-resolution image.If not, send the high-resolution image of the area to the observation satellite. An area management system using observation satellites, comprising: image acquisition means for issuing a request to acquire an image. 3. An area management system for managing a target area using measurement information from a plurality of observation satellites having different resolutions, wherein an image transmitted from an observation satellite having a lower resolution among the plurality of observation satellites is provided. Image processing means for generating a composite image by performing arithmetic processing on the image data in a time series within a predetermined image acquisition period, and using a composite image obtained by the composite image generation means to meet a predetermined evaluation criterion. Area extraction means for extracting an area to be extracted from the target area; and a high-resolution observation satellite capable of obtaining an image with a higher resolution than the observation satellite used for generating the composite image. Image acquisition means for issuing a request to acquire an image of the extracted area, or searching an image archive of a high-resolution observation satellite measuring the extracted area to acquire the latest high-resolution image. Observation satellite-based regional management system, characterized in that Bei was. 4. An area management system for managing a target area using a plurality of satellite images transmitted from an observation satellite and having different resolutions, wherein: a database for storing images transmitted from the observation satellite; A synthetic image generating means for generating a synthetic image by performing arithmetic processing in a time series within a preset image acquisition period using an image having a lower resolution among the stored satellite images; Using the composite image obtained in the above, an area that meets the evaluation criteria given in advance, an area extraction unit that extracts from the target area, and the latest high-resolution image that measures the area extracted by the area extraction unit Search and read the database,
Or image acquisition means to request the observation satellite to acquire a high-resolution image of the area, and analyze the high-resolution image acquired by the image acquisition means,
An area management system using observation satellites, comprising: area analysis means for outputting information for managing the area. 5. An agricultural breeding management system for managing the breeding status of crops in a target area using measurement information from observation satellites, wherein the information is transmitted at a predetermined cycle from a meteorological satellite that measures information on cloudiness or water vapor content. Using an integrated image generating unit that generates an integrated image by sequentially adding images within a predetermined period, using the integrated image obtained by the integrated image generating unit,
An area in which the amount of water supplied to the crop due to rainfall is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, irrigation priority area extraction means for extracting from the target area, and an area extracted by the irrigation priority area extraction means. hand,
A measurement request is issued to an observation satellite having a higher spatial resolution than the weather satellite, or an image archive of the observation satellite that has measured the extraction area is retrieved to obtain the latest satellite image that has measured the extraction area. An agricultural growth management system, comprising: a satellite image acquisition unit; and an irrigation water amount calculation unit that calculates a water amount required for irrigation of the crop using the satellite image acquired by the image acquisition unit. 6. An observation satellite operating system for a plurality of observation satellites, wherein a target observation satellite to be operated and controlled is set from among the observation satellites, and a recurring cycle shorter than the target observation satellite is set. Satellite setting means for setting an observation satellite as a reference observation satellite; satellite operation determination means for determining an observation schedule of the target observation satellite based on information obtained by referring to a satellite image of the reference observation satellite; An observation requesting means for issuing an observation request to the target observation satellite according to the determined observation schedule. 7. An observation satellite operation system according to claim 6, wherein said satellite operation determination means is a means for acquiring a satellite image of said observation target area in a time series of satellite images observing the same observation target area. A priority target area selecting means for selecting an observation target area to which observation is to be prioritized based on the coverage of each observation target area by a satellite image observed within a predetermined period. An observation satellite operation system characterized in that: 8. The area management system according to claim 4, wherein information necessary for analyzing a high-resolution image by said area analysis means is stored in said database, or a database storing said information is stored in said area analysis means. An area management system using observation satellites, which is provided separately from the database. 9. The agricultural breeding management system according to claim 5, wherein information necessary for calculating the amount of irrigation water by said irrigation water amount calculation means is stored in said database, or a database storing said information. Is provided separately from the database. 10. A region management method for managing a target area using at least two types of satellite images transmitted from observation satellites having different resolutions, wherein the resolution is low among at least two types of satellite images having different resolutions. The other image is synthesized in a time-series manner within a preset image acquisition period to generate a synthesized image, and from the obtained synthesized images, an area that meets a predetermined evaluation criterion is extracted. A region management method using satellite images, wherein the latest measured image is obtained by searching a database storing high-resolution images and reading the database, or by sending an observation request to an observation satellite transmitting the high-resolution images. 11. A region management method for managing a target area using satellite images transmitted from at least two observation satellites having different resolutions, wherein at least two of the at least two observation satellites have lower resolutions. A synthesized image is generated by synthesizing the image of the target area thus obtained in a time-series manner within a preset image acquisition period, and, from the obtained synthesized image, an area that meets a predetermined evaluation criterion is extracted, A region management method using observation satellites, characterized in that the latest high-resolution image obtained by measuring the area is retrieved by searching an image archive of the high-resolution observation satellite, or by issuing an observation request to the high-resolution observation satellite. .