Aerial Photography Data Collection

(1) Aerial Photography Operations

This Branch is implementing the "National Aerial Survey and Remote Sensing Aircraft Renewal Project (2020–2029)." Under this project, two brand-new King Air 360 ER aerial survey and remote sensing aircraft have been provided by a private aviation company. Throughout the contract period, the company also supplies flight crews and comprehensive flight and maintenance services. Aerial photography missions are conducted by professional aerial photographers using a DMC III high-resolution digital aerial camera, capturing aerial imagery covering the entire Taiwan area, including outlying islands, with a resolution of approximately 15 cm. Processed through professional software, the imagery yields multispectral data with 14-bit radiometric resolution and RGB + NIR bands. Combined with a POS (Position and Orientation System), the system records real-time camera position and attitude, enhancing geolocation accuracy and operational efficiency.

An aerial photographer inspects the DMC III high-resolution digital aerial camera before the mission. 　

(2) Remote Sensing and Airborne LiDAR Scanning

To enhance the collection of high-precision topographic and surface data, this Branch has acquired the VQ-1560 II-S airborne LiDAR system. As an active remote sensing technology, the system continuously emits laser pulses from an aircraft-mounted LiDAR scanner and records the return signal echoes reflected from surfaces. By measuring the time difference between emission and return, the relative distance between the aircraft and ground objects is calculated.
Integrated with a POS (Position and Orientation System) for real-time flight path recording, the dense laser signals captured by LiDAR, known as point cloud data, are used to generate detailed digital terrain models (DTMs).

(3) FORMOSAT Imagery Service Capacity Development

Since 2014, this Branch has established a management system for FORMOSAT satellite imagery, integrating publication services with operational maintenance workflows to gradually build a comprehensive FORMOSAT image database. To date, seamless mosaics of cloud-free, 2-meter resolution orthorectified fusion imagery covering Taiwan from 2005 to the present have been completed. Additionally, standard and orthorectified products with minimal cloud cover from 2013 onward have been consolidated and archived. These resources are now available for external use.
Since 2014, this Branch has established a management system for FORMOSAT satellite imagery, integrating publication services with operational maintenance workflows to gradually build a comprehensive FORMOSAT image database. To date, seamless mosaics of cloud-free, 2-meter resolution orthorectified fusion imagery covering Taiwan from 2005 to the present have been completed. Additionally, standard and orthorectified products with minimal cloud cover from 2013 onward have been consolidated and archived. These resources are now available for external use.
This Branch also offers free FORMOSAT imagery services to government agencies, including both online access and physical data delivery, to support applications in national land planning, disaster prevention and monitoring, and environmental management.