Interpreting Remote Sensing Imagery Human Factors Interpreting Remote Sensing Imagery Human Factors Edited by Robert R. Hoffman, Ph.D. Arthur B. Markman, Ph.D. LEWIS PUBLISHERS Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C. disclaimer Page 1 Thursday, January 18, 2001 7:14 AM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Interpreting remote sensing imagery : human factors / edited by Robert R. Hoffman, Arthur B. Markman, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56670-413-8 (alk. paper) 1. Remote sensing. 2. Geographical perception. I. Hoffman, Robert R. II. Markman, Arthur B. G70.4.I58 2000 621.36′78—dc21 00-050680 CIP This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. 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Visit the CRC Press Web site at www.crcpress.com © 2001 by CRC Press LLC Lewis Publishers is an imprint of CRC Press LLC No claim to original U.S. Government works International Standard Book Number 1-56670-413-8 Library of Congress Card Number 00-050680 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Printed on acid-free paper hoff_FM.qxd 1/16/01 9:37 AM Page v Preface Creation of this book has been a labor of love, but a labor indeed. The first and highest hurdle stemmed from the simple fact that the main topic of this vol- ume, human factors in the interpretation of remote sensing imagery, is truly interdisciplinary. Dealing as this volume does, with psychological aspects of remote sensing—perception, conceptualization, expertise—it would seem that some sort of venue in experimental psychology would be most appropri- ate. But the volume’s focus on the domain of remote sensing makes it seem distant from the topics that are close to the heart of mainstream psychology. Conversely, dealing with psychological aspects of remote sensing makes this volume seem distant from the traditional concerns of mainstream remote sensing. In remote sensing, whenever the term “interpretation” is used, it is taken as a reference to automated methods for image analysis. We are very pleased to have found a receptive ear at Lewis Publishers/CRC Press. The psychological factors in remote sensing are abundantly clear. I became aware of them some 20 years ago when physicist friend Dr. Walter Carnahan of Indiana State University demonstrated his project on thermog- raphy. “How were the colors assigned to the temperatures?,” “How can you tell that that green blob is a house that needs better insulation?” Clearly, the then-new field of remote sensing was ripe for the analytical eye of the exper- imental psychologist. The first step was to pursue training, acquired with the support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—which just happened to need an experimental psychologist to help determine how to elicit expert knowl- edge for the creation of expert systems for aerial photointerpretation. Psycho- logical factors including knowledge, experience, and perception quickly manifested themselves as important considerations. There was no research base of studies on how experts interpret images, how the color codings for nonliteral imagery are devised, etc. The editors of this volume came together at the suggestion of a colleague, mentor, and friend, Dr. Dedre Gentner of Northwestern University, a world- renowned pioneer in the study of concept formation and analogical reason- ing. I approached her with a discussion of the topic of remote sensing, to make a point about the state of the art in psychological research on concept formation. True to its tradition in the academic laboratory, psychological research on concept formation has tended to rely upon highly controlled, hoff_FM.qxd 1/16/01 9:37 AM Page vi vi Preface some would say artificial, experimental materials and tasks. My view was that the field of remote sensing offered a prime opportunity to study the processes of concept formation using a “real world” domain of abundant imagery and diverse image types that could be useful in studies of concept formation. Dr. Gentner arranged for me to meet her former student, Art Markman, then at Columbia University, not far from Adelphi University on Long Island where I then taught. That led to our collaboration on this volume. Over the years of our attempts to conduct research, on such issues as expert/novice differences in the interpretation of thermograms and weather satellite images, other non-mainstream scientists started to come “out of the woodwork,” including those individuals whose work we are pleased to pre- sent in this volume. We see great hope in the continuing collaboration of remote sensing sci- entists and experimental psychologists in the area of remote imagery inter- pretation. How can research guide the design of image displays and work- stations? How can we preserve the knowledge and skills of senior experts? How can we better train people? Lifetimes of research lie open and waiting. Indeed, despite advances in the computational analysis of images, the human factors will not disappear, but instead will become more salient and more important. This book is an attempt to map this new territory and to provide guid- ance to future research. hoff_FM.qxd 1/16/01 9:37 AM Page vii Acknowledgment The senior editor would like to thank Professor Walter Carnahan (Depart- ment of Physics, Indiana State University) for introducing him to remote sensing, stimulating his exploration of the human factor in remote sensing, and training him in the interpretation of aerial thermograms. If it were not for the fact that trees are hot in winter infrared photography, this volume would not exist. Special thanks go in memoriam to Olin Mintzer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who devoted valuable time so that the senior editor could attempt to learn terrain analysis. Thanks also to Mike Mogil for his gen- erosity, including his willingness to share both his knowledge and his repos- itory of remote sensing images. Finally, the senior editor would like to acknowledge the nurturing support provided by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and the Department of Psychology of the University of West Florida. The editors would like to thank William Howell for assisting in the preparation of the indices. The editors’ work on this volume was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. hoff_FM.qxd 1/16/01 9:37 AM Page viii hoff_FM.qxd 1/16/01 9:37 AM Page ix About the Editors Robert R. Hoffman earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in experimental psychology at the University of Cincinnati, where he was award- ed McMicken Scholar, Psi Chi, and Delta Tau Kappa Honors. After a postdoctoral associate- ship at the Center for Research on Human Learning at the University of Minnesota, Hoffman joined the faculty of Adelphi Uni- versity. There, he received awards for out- standing research and service, and also served as Chair of the Institutional Review Board and the University Grants Officer. He joined the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition of the University of West Florida in 1999, as a Research Associate. Dr. Hoffman’s first book, Cognition and Figurative Language, coedited by his mentor Richard Honeck of the University of Cincinnati, is now regarded as a classic. Hoffman has published widely, in journals including Human Factors, Memory and Cognition, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, The Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, The Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Ecological Psychology, Applied Cognitive Psychology, Metaphor and Symbol, The AI Magazine, Weather and Forecasting, and The Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence. He is a member of the board of editors for the journals Human Factors and Cognitive Technology, and is series editor for the book series, Expertise: Research and Applications. Hoffman’s research has focused on psychological aspects of remote sens- ing and meteorology, including expert reasoning, knowledge elicitation for expert systems, workstation and display design, and the development of training and performance aids. His current effort is aimed at specifying the principles of “human-centered computing” and establishing the methodolo- gies for cognitive work analysis and cognitive field research. Dr. Hoffman is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the Psychonomic Society, the International Society for Ecological Psychology, the American