SOCET SET

Key takeaways

SOCET SET belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SOCET SET to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SOCET SET from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SOCET SET is a software application that performs functions related to photogrammetry. It is developed and published by BAE Systems. SOCET SET was among the first commercial digital photogrammetry software programs. Prior to the development of digital solutions, photogrammetry programs were primarily analog or custom systems built for government agencies.

Features SOCET SET inputs digital aerial photographs, taken in stereo (binocular) fashion, and from those photos it automatically generates a digital elevation model, digital feature (vector data), and orthorectified images (called orthophotos). The output data is used by customers to create digital maps, and for mission planning and targeting purposes. The source images can come from film-based cameras, or digital cameras. The cameras can be mounted in an airplane, or on a satellite. A key requirement of the imagery is that there must be two or more overlapping images, taken from different vantage points. This "binocular" characteristic is what makes it mathematically possible to extract the 3-dimensional terrain and feature data from the imagery. A key step, involving very complex least squares mathematics, is triangulation which determines exactly where the cameras were positioned when the photographs were taken. Photogrammetrists that contributed to SOCET SET's Triangulation include Scott Miller, Bingcai Zhang, John Dolloff, and Fidel Paderes. If the quality of the triangulation is poor, all subsequent data will have correspondingly poor positional accuracy. The most recent major version, released in 2011, is version 5.6.

Stereo display SOCET SET, like all high-end photogrammetry applications, requires a stereo display to be used to its fullest potential. Although SOCET SET can run and generate all its products on a computer with only a conventional display, a typical user will require a stereo display to view the digital data overlaid on the imagery. Interactive (manual) quality assurance requires this capability.

File formats SOCET SET has the ability to read and write the following formats: VITec, Sun Raster, TIFF, TIFF 6.0 (Raster, Tiled, Tiled JPEG, and LZW), JFIF, NITF 2.0, NITF 2.0 JPEG, NITF 2.1, NITF 2.1 JPEG, ERDAS IMAGINE, JPEG 2000, Targa, COT, DGN, USGS DOQ, MrSID, Plain Raster. SOCET SET has the ability to read terrain data formats, including: DTED, USGS DEM, ASCII (user-defined), LIDAR LAS, ArcGrid, SDTS, NED, GSI, GeoTIFF. Vector formats supported include: DXF, Shapefile, ASCII (ArcGen), ASCII, TOPSCENE.

Applications SOCET SET, like some photogrammetry tools, is used for the following applications:

Cartography (map making) – especially topographic maps Targeting (warfare) Mission planning Mission rehearsal Remote sensing Building a 3D model of the Earth's surface for computer simulation Astrophysics Conservation-restoration About half of SOCET SET users are commercial, and half are government/military.

History Development started as a Research and Development project around 1989, with Jim Gambale as the sole developer. At the time, the parent corporation was GDE Systems (formerly a subsidiary of General Dynamics). The hardware platform was a PC running Interactive Unix. After the prototype proved successful, a larger R&D effort was initiated in 1990, led by Herman Kading. One of the primary accomplishments of this effort was to migrate the product to UNIX Platforms, including Sun, SGI, HP, and IBM. Technical knowledge was provided by Helava Inc, a company based in Detroit, Michigan that specialized in photogrammetry. Helava employees Scott Miller, Janis McArthur née Thiede, and Kurt de Venecia brought in-depth experience in the field. Leadership of the project passed to Neal Olander around 1992, and after this time, SOCET SET (which before then was only sold to government customers) began to be distributed commercially. Around 1996, SOCET SET was migrated to the Microsoft Windows operating system, although the Unix system continued to be supported as well. Technical skills were provided by Tom Dawson, Kurt Reindel, Dave Mayes, Jim Colgate, Bingcai Zhang and Dave Miller.

Future Starting in 2005, SOCET SET photogrammetric functionality migrated to the next generation product, SOCET GXP (Geospatial eXploitation Product).

Meaning of SOCET SET SOCET SET is an acronym that stands for SOftCopy Exploitation Toolkit. The phrase is a play on the actual tool socket set.

Release history v1.0 – 1991 v2.0 – 1993 v3.0 – 1995 v4.0 – June 1997 v4.1 – Sept 1998 v4.2 – July 1999 v4.3 – Sept 2000 v4.4 – Dec 2001 v5.0 – Sept 2003 v5.1 – Apr 2004 v5.2 – Nov 2004 v5.3 – June 2006 v5.4 – Summer 2007 v5.4.1 – Jan 2008 v5.5 – Jun 2009 v5.6 – Jun 2011

Alternatives The chief competitor to SOCET SET is the Leica Photogrammetry Suite (a.k.a. LPS, owned by ERDAS), INPHO, PHOTOMOD and Intergraph, which are also leaders in the field of photogrammetry. Other related applications that have some photogrammetry functionality include ArcGIS, ENVI, and ERDAS IMAGINE, all of which are primarily GIS or remote sensing applications.

See also Photogrammetry Triangulation Orthophoto Binocular vision Reconnaissance Remote Sensing Imaging Spectroscopy Least squares

Related terms Image Processing GIS Topography Multispectral

References

External links Paper on terrain extraction Official page

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SOCET SET

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SOCET SET claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SOCET SET before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SOCET SET ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SOCET SET

In research: SOCET SET appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SOCET SET in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SOCET SET is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics BAE Systems, Photogrammetry software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SOCET SET outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study SOCET SET in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SOCET SET means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SOCET SET out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SOCET SET in simple terms?

SOCET SET is a software application that performs functions related to photogrammetry. It is developed and published by BAE Systems.

Why does SOCET SET matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SOCET SET?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SOCET SET.