High Performance Computing (HPC) hardware solutions such as grid computing and General Processing on a Graphics
Processing Unit (GPGPU) are now accessible to users with general computing needs. Grid computing infrastructures in
the form of computing clusters or blades are becoming common place and GPGPU solutions that leverage the processing
power of the video card are quickly being integrated into personal workstations. Our interest in these HPC technologies
stems from the need to produce near real-time maps from a combination of pre- and post-event satellite imagery in
support of post-disaster management. Faster processing provides a twofold gain in this situation: 1. critical information
can be provided faster and 2. more elaborate automated processing can be performed prior to providing the critical
information. In our particular case, we test the use of the PANTEX index which is based on analysis of image textural
measures extracted using anisotropic, rotation-invariant GLCM statistics. The use of this index, applied in a moving
window, has been shown to successfully identify built-up areas in remotely sensed imagery. Built-up index image masks
are important input to the structuring of damage assessment interpretation because they help optimise the workload. The
performance of computing the PANTEX workflow is compared on two different HPC hardware architectures: (1) a blade
server with 4 blades, each having dual quad-core CPUs and (2) a CUDA enabled GPU workstation. The reference
platform is a dual CPU-quad core workstation and the PANTEX workflow total computing time is measured.
Furthermore, as part of a qualitative evaluation, the differences in setting up and configuring various hardware solutions
and the related software coding effort is presented.
Computer based teaching has become common place as the demand for specialists continues to increase in view of continuously evolving remote sensing technologies. Moreover, content accessibility via the internet makes anytime, anywhere teaching possible while reaching a larger audience. The majority of computer based courses however, continue to use the static text model and present the student mainly with the same material found in a textbook. Student computer based learning experiences could be much more rewarding if the curriculum included more interaction and practice. It is with these goals in mind that the development of a virtual experiment and game were devised. Herschel's experiment was the first to show the existence of infrared (IR) light. This virtual experiment requires the student to set up the experiment and record data in order to prove the existence of IR light. The 'Field Experiment' game requires the student to plan and execute a field collection campaign with the use of a field spectrometer. These 'beyond the book' experiences hopefully encourage and stimulate students in the subject at hand as well as provide more 'practical' experience that is not available through viewing static text and graphics.
Conference Committee Involvement (1)
Commercial Remote Sensing: Applications, Policy Issues, and Workforce Development
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