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High-performance imagery. Simplified.
Turn your Simera Sense imagery into analysis-ready data without the complexity of building your own processing pipeline. Calibrated following ESA EDAP+ best practice guidelines.
Get to insights faster.
IPT is purpose-built for the Simera Sense xScape product range. It handles multispectral and hyperspectral payloads from raw L0 data through to orthorectified, radiometrically calibrated products.
Precise georeferencing
Direct georeferencing using satellite telemetry with GPS positioning and star tracker attitudes.
Calibrated radiometry
Convert raw digital numbers to TOA (Top of Atmosphere) radiance or reflectance with per-pixel DSNU and PRNU corrections.
Seamless integration
Designed for the Simera Sense xScape product range, handling multispectral and hyperspectral payloads.
Multi-level processing
From raw L0 data through radiometrically and geometrically corrected L1B to fully orthorectified L1C products.
Choose the tier that works for you.
IPT offers two distinct processing tiers. Whether you need a fast turnaround for quick image assessment or a fully calibrated, orthorectified product ready for downstream analysis, IPT has you covered.
Express Image Processing
Fast turnaround for quick image assessment. Ideal for mission operators who need a rapid look at newly acquired data before committing to full processing.
✓ Fast turnaround for quick image assessment
✓ Pre-flight calibration coefficients
✓ Satellite telemetry-based geolocation
✓ L1B and L1C product generation
✓ Interbands geometric correction
✓ Direct georeferencing with RPC generation
Advanced Image Processing
Full in-flight calibration and precision correction for mission-critical applications where accuracy is non-negotiable.
Everything in Express Image Processing, plus:
✓ Vicarious in-flight radiometric calibration
✓ Dark current update from night-time orbits
✓ Absolute calibration using Libya-4, Niger-2, RadCalnet
✓ Cross-validation with Sentinel-2A and 2B
✓ Geometric calibration with bundle adjustment and GCPs
✓ Calibration done to ESA EDAP+ best practice guidelines
From raw telemetry to analysis-ready data.
IPT processes satellite imagery through three well-defined stages, each building on the last. Every step is traceable, calibrated, and compatible with standard downstream tools.
Raw Data Processing
Decompression, packet assembly, and GPS synchronisation.
LEVEL0
Radiometric & Geometric Correction
Band co-registration, direct georeferencing, and optional vertical/horizontal destriping.
LEVEL1B
Orthorectification
Full terrain relief correction using DEM and resampling to a fixed grid at native GSD.
LEVEL1C
Built for the applications that matter.
IPT produces data that feeds directly into mission-critical workflows across agriculture, environmental monitoring, defence, and disaster response.
Precision agriculture
Water management
Forestry
Mining
Battlefield assessment
Disaster assessment
Ready to process your satellite imagery?
Talk to our team about integrating IPT into your mission pipeline, or download the product brochure to share with your team.
What is the Image Processing Tool (IPT)?
The IPT (Image Processing Tool) is a processing solution for the Simera Sense xScape optical camera range. It converts raw satellite acquisitions into structured product levels with increasing calibration, geolocation, and usability.
What are the main product levels?
The specification describes three main product levels:
- Level 0: raw satellite data with minimal processing.
- Level 1B: radiometrically corrected or calibrated and geo-referenced data that remains in sensor geometry.
- Level 1C: orthorectified and projected data suitable for direct geospatial analysis.
What is the difference between express and advanced image processing?
Express processing relies on pre-flight laboratory radiometric measurements and ancillary satellite or camera metadata to geolocate and correct imagery. It does not include in-flight calibration.
Advanced processing adds in-flight vicarious radiometric calibration and advanced geometric calibration to improve absolute radiometric and geolocation performance.
What is a Level 0 product?
A Level 0 product is raw, unprocessed data directly acquired from the satellite. It is primarily organized and packaged rather than corrected. Typical content includes original sensor readings, time and location stamps, telemetry, and auxiliary metadata.
What processing is applied to Level 0?
Level 0 focuses on data integrity and preparation for later stages. Key steps include data decompression, packet assembly into frames or swaths, time tagging and synchronization, and storage in a standard archival format. No radiometric or geometric correction is applied at this stage.
What does a Level 1B product provide?
Level 1B provides Top-of-Atmosphere radiance or reflectance data after radiometric and geometric processing. The data remains in sensor geometry, but each pixel is linked to geographic information.
What does a Level 1C product provide?
Level 1C adds orthorectification and projection, producing georeferenced, radiometrically corrected or calibrated imagery aligned to a fixed map grid. It is intended for direct geospatial analysis and operational use.
What are the key Level 1B processing steps?
- Interband geometric correction
- Direct georeferencing using telemetry, position, velocity, and attitude data
- RPC generation for geometric modelling
- Radiometric processing from DN to TOA radiance or TOA reflectance
- Optional vertical and horizontal de-striping
- Band-specific grayscale quicklook generation
What is interband geometric correction?
It corrects spectral band misregistration, where the same ground point is not perfectly aligned across bands. This improves multispectral and hyperspectral analysis quality for tasks like classification, vegetation monitoring, and change detection.
What is direct georeferencing?
Direct georeferencing uses satellite position, velocity, attitude, and sensor line-of-sight information to estimate the geographic location of pixels on Earth, typically expressed as longitude, latitude, and height.
What are Rational Polynomial Coefficients (RPCs)?
Rational Polynomial Coefficients (RPCs) are mathematical coefficients that approximate the relationship between image coordinates and ground coordinates. They simplify georeferencing and orthorectification without requiring full detailed sensor models in downstream software.
How does radiometric processing work?
Radiometric processing corrects raw digital numbers and converts them into physical values. The workflow includes dark signal non-uniformity correction, gain and PRNU correction, optional conversion from TOA radiance to TOA reflectance, and optional high-frequency equalization and destriping.
What extra calibration does the advanced option add?
The advanced option adds in-flight vicarious calibration. It refines radiometric and geometric calibration coefficients after launch, including dark current updates, radiometric checks over desert sites, RadCalNet-based assessment, Sentinel-2 comparison, and geometric calibration using bundle adjustment and ground control points.
Can I get atmospherically corrected (Level 2) products?
Level 1 products serve as input for Level 2 processing. On request, VITO can provide atmospheric correction using our iCOR tool), which produces Top of Canopy (TOC) surface reflectance products.
Which data formats are used for delivery?
Level 0 is delivered in raw binary format specific to onboard instruments. Level 1 products use standard Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF for image datasets, plus associated JSON metadata, KML footprint files, and in some cases RPC, TIFF quicklook, and JPEG preview files.
What files are included in a Level 1B product?
A Level 1B product typically includes a parent product directory, a contour KML file, a JSON metadata file, band subdirectories for spectral-band files, and band-specific datasets such as LTOA, RTOA, quality grids, angle grids, latitude and longitude grids, height grids, and RPC files.
What files are included in a Level 1C product?
A Level 1C product includes a contour KML file, a JSON metadata file, an RGB quicklook TIFF, an RGB preview JPEG thumbnail, and band subdirectories with LTOA, RTOA, quality, angles, and height datasets.
What coordinate systems can Level 1C use?
Level 1C image files can be delivered in either Geographic Lat/Lon (EPSG:4326) or UTM/WGS84, using the relevant EPSG:326xx or EPSG:327xx code depending on hemisphere and zone.
What is the RGB quicklook file?
The RGB quicklook is a false-colour COG file built from four 8-bit bands: red, green, blue, and alpha transparency. It is optimized for visual inspection and uses JPEG compression internally.
What is the RGB preview thumbnail?
The RGB preview thumbnail is a downsampled JPEG intended for fast browsing and quick visual inspection. It has no assigned coordinate reference system.
What metadata is included in IPT products?
Metadata covers acquisition timing, satellite and sensor details, processing level, geographic coverage, quality indicators, and processing history. It is delivered in a JSON-style key-value format organised by sections.
What identifiers and timestamps are stored in the general metadata section?
The General section includes references for the input Level 0 product and output Level 1 product, the processing level, start and stop acquisition times, the IPT software version, and the product generation time.
What CRS metadata is provided for a product?
The CRS section provides the coordinate reference system as a PROJ4 string, a WKT string, and an EPSG code. It also records the ground sampling distance as a formatted value in meters.
What instrument configuration metadata is captured?
The Instrument_Configuration section stores band-level TDI settings, binning factor, and the imager acquisition mode, such as snapshot mode, line scan mode, or high accuracy hyperspectral mode.
What calibration metadata is recorded?
The Calibration section includes references to the geometric and radiometric ICP files, boresight and payload-to-body-fixed angles, leap seconds, and polar motion information such as Bulletin-B reference, Delta UT1, and polar motion X and Y coordinates.
What processing-step metadata flags are available?
The Processing_Steps section indicates whether interband geometric correction and absolute geometric correction were applied, what radiometric output type was generated, and whether high-frequency equalization was applied in across-track and along-track directions.
How is radiometric quality summarised in the metadata file?
The Radiometric_Quality section summarises band-by-band percentages of correct pixels, interpolated pixels, missing pixels, negative pixels, and saturated pixels, making it easier to assess scene usability without reading every quality grid manually.
How are Level 1B and Level 1C product directories named?
Both product types use a directory naming pattern that combines a free-form prefix with the processing level and the scene start acquisition timestamp. The patterns are
<PREFIX>_LEVEL1B_<START_ACQUISITION_TIME> and
<PREFIX>_LEVEL1C_<START_ACQUISITION_TIME>.
What kinds of band-specific files can appear inside a Level 1B band folder?
A Level 1B band folder can include TOA radiance or reflectance files, radiometric quality grids, grayscale quicklooks, viewing and solar angle files, longitude and latitude grids at different heights, altitude grids, and RPC files.
What kinds of band-specific files can appear inside a Level 1C band folder?
A Level 1C band folder can include TOA radiance or reflectance files, radiometric quality grids, viewing and solar angle files, and altitude grids. Unlike Level 1B, Level 1C focuses on projected image products rather than sensor-geometry longitude and latitude layers and RPC packaging.
How are COG image files organised internally?
The specification states that Level 1 image files are Cloud Optimized GeoTIFFs with full-resolution pixels plus lower-resolution overviews for efficient access and display. They use DEFLATE compression and a 512 by 512 block size for the core image datasets.
What metadata tags are written into the COG image files?
Each COG image file includes at least three core metadata tags: NoData, Description, and Unit Type. These help users interpret dataset values consistently across tools.
What information is stored in an RPC text file?
The RPC file stores bias and random error values, line and sample offsets and scales, latitude, longitude, and height offsets and scales, and the numerator and denominator coefficient sets for line and sample transformations.
Does the level 1B product include RGB quicklooks?
No. The specification says Level 1B does not include RGB quicklooks. Instead, it provides grayscale quicklooks per spectral band in sensor geometry.
What is embedded in the Level 1C contour KML file?
The Level 1C contour KML contains the product footprint and an embedded RGB quicklook, allowing convenient inspection in tools such as Google Earth.
What quality information is tracked?
Each Level 1B and Level 1C spectral band includes a radiometric quality grid that stores per-pixel status. Product metadata also reports percentages of correct, missing, interpolated, negative, and saturated pixels per band.
What do the radiometric quality values mean?
0 = good pixel
1 = missing pixel
2 = input DN saturated
3 = became saturated during DN-to-TOA conversion
4 = became negative during DN-to-TOA conversion
5 = interpolated from neighbouring pixels
When should users choose Level 1C over Level 1B?
Choose Level 1C when you need spatially corrected imagery ready for GIS workflows, mapping, monitoring, or direct geospatial analysis. Choose Level 1B when you need full-resolution sensor geometry with detailed geometric modelling and product-side georeferencing information.
How is geometric accuracy ensured?
Express processing uses direct georeferencing from satellite GPS and star tracker data. Advanced processing adds geometric calibration with bundle adjustment and accurate Ground Control Points (GCPs) to derive refined interior and exterior orientation parameters, achieving superior absolute geolocation accuracy.
What cameras does IPT support?
Who develops and maintains IPT?
IPT is a collaboration between Simera Sense and VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research). VITO provides the processing software and vicarious calibration services, while Simera Sense offers the camera hardware and integration.
