Summit Evolution

1.  Documentation and Help files are updated to include the latest software changes. Manuals are not copied to the hard drive during installation. Please copy the Manuals folder from the DAT/EM installation CD to your …\Program Files\Datem Software folder for easy access to the documentation through the application menus. If your update was downloaded from our web site, it will not include the manuals. Update CD’s will be shipped upon request via email to support@datem.com.

2.  Sample Z/I images were received with flipped pixel rows. Summit now supports bottom/right, top/left (normal), and left/bottom pixel row displacement when using Z/I images.

3.  There is a new way of calculating a pixel shift for image mates of LiDAR-generated images.

     A normalization method is used to minimize the elevation variance and provide an optimal pixel shift for stereo viewing.

The pixels per ground are based on the number of points in the LiDAR file. The elevation range is calculated and used along with the image size to create a pixel-to-ground range. A pixel shift per elevation unit may be user-defined. Clicking the “1/gpp” button applies a 1-ground-per-pixel and displays that value in the text box. When applied, the same result occurs as the option to “Shift based on ground per pixel of image”. Otherwise, type in the ground-per-pixel shift you desire. Please note that if you are not satisfied with the stereo of the images generated, you may regenerate the stereo mate using another ground/pixel value.

Another option added to LiDAR image generation is the “Span Areas” setting.

If there are areas within the LiDAR data set without points, vectors can “span” this distance, which affects stereo viewing. The range is from “Most” to “Hardly”, with “Hardly” removing essentially all of the vectors.

4.  The Output tab in Summit’s contour generator was modified to clarify settings.

5.  The Depression tab setting “All elevations lower than contour” defaulted to “on”. When “Average elevation lower than contour” was checked, both remained on and could not be turned off. This was fixed.

6.  The USGS DEM file format was added to the list of DTM files supported in Summit.

7.  Multiple instances of Summit may now be opened. The Project Viewer and Contour Creator also support multiple runs at the same time.

8.  Terrain Visualization super imposition options to adjust the opacity setting failed if “Fast Generation” was checked on. This was fixed. Super imposition adjustments also failed on some older 3DLabs video cards, and will now work correctly in most cases. If you have a 3DLabs video card, try turning off “Use Line Smoothing” in Summit’s Options->SI tab. Setting the thickness in this tab to 1.0x may also help.

9.  LiDAR stereo projects had a model bounds limit which cut off super imposed objects extending beyond the model. The extents were increased to accommodate most situations.

10. A project with many large images could cause Project Viewer to crash if images are set to automatically display. The Project Viewer now checks and deactivates the images display if the images are too large. In these cases, use the options to display fewer images, or reduce the image size in the Options->Images tab of Project Viewer.

11. The reports generator was broken and crashed Summit with a runtime error when accessing Blue Marble and Unicode. This was fixed.

12. Some clients using the DAT/EM Keypad controller without a DAT/EM hardware lock on the computer experienced sluggish performance. The keypad controller was searching for a hardware lock. This was fixed.

13. Close Range projects with Exterior Orientation only crashed without Relative Orientation point data. Summit no longer crashes, but a Relative Orientation is still required before importing EO into a close range project. This is for purposes of defining the orientation of the XYZ axes.

14. Window settings and column adjustments are all saved when possible and used the next time the window is activated.

15. There is a new option to clip the main stereo view to the stereo region in Options->Main View.

Please notice that this is also where the anaglyph mode may be activated. A new anaglyph mode was added to view stereo using red/cyan glasses. The option is in the “Main View” tab of the Options dialog. The anaglyph mode is useful for stereo demos on a laptop or other system without stereo viewing hardware, but it is not suitable for mapping production.

Another new option is the Performance monitor. For single core computers, or older systems, the response is slower than more current workstations. Adjusting this bar to a Slower setting may help when panning and image tiles are loading too quickly for the system to handle.

16. When installing an update, the following dialog may appear if the DAT/EM Keypad Controller is loaded.

Click the “Skip” button, or close the keypad application and then click the “Try Again” button to continue installing the update.

The DAT/EM hardware lock must be attached to the computer when installing an update.

17. Apply a Z Index from TIN using a new button toggle. It's a Plotter Type function called "Z Index from TIN". Load LiDAR and other DTM points into the Terrain Mode. Place the cursor on the ground and hit the Z Index from TIN button. A Z index shift will be applied. Click this button again, to toggle off the Z index shift, or to remeasure a new Z index offset value. Up to 1.2 million points can be loaded into the Terrain Mode from several files. The rest are filtered out.

The Zindex is calculated as the difference between the current stereoplotter Z and the underlying TIN. The TIN should be previously loaded using “Load DTM File” from the Terrain menu.

18. A 3D Vector Split Window option was added to Summit’s View pull-down menu.

Vectors are displayed in a separate 3D view, providing both a top and a perspective look at your data.

It is not necessary to have CAD open to view vector files. If the “Open Vector Files” option is used, the split vector window will display those objects.

                Select the Options icon…

The farther the Field of View Angle slider is to the right, the more like a “wide angle” view; the farther to the left, the less distortion there will be away from the cursor.

Field of View Left:                                   Field of View Right:

The “Light 3D faces” setting shades faces that have been made with the “BuildingFrame” command in DAT/EM Capture for AutoCAD.

Light 3D faces on:                   Light 3D faces off:

19. The cursor movement when in Relative Orientation measurement was incorrect. The kappa angle is now passed with the model rotation to fix the problem, which only presented itself if manual orientations were performed. The speed of the cursor was also affected and should be fine now.

20. A new ADS40 option was added to File->New Project options. The preferred project type to use when setting up ADS40 projects is “ADS40 Using Leica Kit” . This new project type utilizes the latest Leica SDK Toolkit for the ADS40 digital sensor. There is a significant increase in the speed of the system, as well as a benefit in project setup. A drawback to this option is that there may be NO SPACES IN THE PATHS for the files or folders. An added feature is the ability to “Update SUP File Paths” in the Project Edit dialog for this type of project. Click on the “Update SUP File Paths” button to automatically write path adjustments into the SUP files.

Unlike the “SocetSet ADS40” option, there is no Leica lock required to use this project type.

The previous “ADS40 Digital Sensor” option allows spaces in the project paths, but is significantly slower to use and setup than the Kit option.

Summit Evolution will continue to open projects created with the other two ADS40 project types. But for all new projects, it is highly recommended to setup filenames and path structures without spaces so the new Leica Kit option may be used.

Mt. McKinley, Alaska