Remote sensing is the science of acquiring and analyzing information about objects or phenomena from a distance. We are familiar with remote sensing in that we rely on visual perception to provide us with information about our surroundings. As sensors, however, our eyes are greatly limited by                    

1) sensitivity to only the visible range of electromagnetic energy;                                                                                                                                         2) viewing perspectives dictated by the location of our bodies; and                                                                                                                                   3) the inability to form a lasting record of what we view.                                                                                                                                                         

Because of these limitations, humans have continuously sought to develop the technological means to increase our ability to see and record the physical properties of our environment.Beginning with the early use of aerial photography, remote sensing has been recognized as a valuable tool for viewing, analyzing, characterizing, and making decisions about our environment. In the past few decades, remote sensing technology has advanced on three fronts: 

1) from predominantly military uses to a variety of environmental analysis applications that relate to land, ocean, and atmosphere issues; 2) from photographic systems to sensors that convert energy from many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to electronic signals; and 3)from aircraft to satellite platforms.

Today, we define satellite remote sensing as the use of satellite-borne sensors to observe, measure, and record the electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by the Earth and its environment for subsequent analysis and extraction of information.

After referring to a few e-books i found relevant information on ieee.org(institute of electrical and electronics engineers) which is a leading association for advancement of technology. I narrowed my topic to principles of remote sensing after going through numerous articles on sciencedaily.com. Then i obtained further information from publications of isprs.org , an international society devoted to research on remote sensing satellites.

Books referred:

1.Tropical cyclone convection and intensity analysis using differenced infrared and water vapor imagery

2. The diurnal cycle in the tropics.

3. Statistical Methods in the Atmospheric Sciences

Journals referred:

New probabilistic forecast models for the prediction of tropical cyclone rapid intensification.

a)book name - Introduction to remote sensing,1996

author - Campbell, J.B.

publisher - Taylor & Francis,London.

b)book - Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, third edition

author - Lillesand, T.M. and Kiefer, R.1993

publisher - John Villey, New York.

2.Reference from journals:

journal-Architecting principles for system-of-systems.

author - maier. M

year- 1998

3.reference from websites:

a)http://esd.mit.edu/symposium/pdfs/papers/crossley.pdf

b)www.ieee.org

c)http://www.earthobservations.org/05_Cape%20Town%20Decla ration.pdf

d)www.sciencedaily.com

1.name of the book: Satellite Technology, An Introduction.

Author:Inglis Andrew & Luther. Arch C

publisher: Focal Press. Boston,

year:1997

2. name of the book :: Principles and Technologies

Author:Pattan, Bruno. Satellite Systems

publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York

year:1993

websites referred:

1.http://www.reformation.org/geostationary-satellites.pdf

2.http://arxiv.org/

journals referred :

1.: The diurnal cycle of tropical convection

Author :Hendon, H. H., and K. Woodberry,1993

2.: Daily hurricane variability inferred from GOES infrared imagery

Author : Kossin, J. P,2002

2.EMS - Electromagnetic spectrum the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.

3.Near-infrared photography - In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to asnear-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermalimaging. Wavelengths used for photographyrange from about 700 nm to about 900 nm

4. CIR(colour infrared photography) - Satellites and high-altitude aircraft equipped to record scenes of the Earth use both visible and invisible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Near-infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but adding it to these images allows scientists to "see" the surface of the Earth in other than natural colors. The result is "color-infrared" photography.

5. aerial reconnaissance - 

Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. This role can fulfil a variety of requirements, including the collection of imagery intelligence, observation of enemy maneuvers and artillery spotting.

6.TIROS - TIROS, or Television Infrared Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960.

7. digital image processing - Digital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. As a subcategory or field of digital signalprocessing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing.

8.Hyperspectral imaging - Hyperspectral imaging, like other spectralimaging, collects and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. The goal ofhyperspectral imaging is to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the image of a scene, with the purpose of finding objects, identifying materials, or detecting processes.

2.improving efficiency of air traffic control

3.determining soil moisture content

4.Help in fishing by monitoring oceans

5.Monitoring air quality to combat pollution

6.Recording video footage from satellites

7.Identifying minerals for extraction

8.Detecting ancient archaeological sites

9.Assessing rural road conditions

10. Aiding in land use for urban planning

2.TOT : tropical-overshooting-top

3.MODIS : Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

4.POD : probability of detection

5.GOES-E : Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-East

6. CONUS : contiguous United States

7.POFD : probability of false detection

8.FAR : false-alarm ratio

URL: http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2014/None/WillMarshall_2014-480p.mp4

2. Here is the link of the article "Satellite Communication:Impact on developing economies

URL: http://cisjournal.org/journalofcomputing/archive/vol2no11/vol2no11_3.pdf Author: AAA.Atayero,Member IEEE Date : October 2011

3. The video about "How GPS Works" was taken from youtube.Here is the link of the video URL: https://youtu.be/PLjld-edVj8

4. Other article named as "Satellite communication " was taken from the following website URL: http://www.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cis788-97/ftp/satellite_nets.pdf Author : David Hart Date : 14 August 1997

1. Trait - an Identifing characteristic,habit or trend. 2. Decry - to denounce as harmful. 3. Albeit - although,despite being 4. Deployment - An implementation, or putting into use, of something.

5. Spurious - false, not authentic, not genuine. 6. Consortium - an association or combination of businesses, financial institutions, or investors, for the purpose of engaging in a joint venture. 7. Impetus - Something that impels, a stimulating factor. 8. Burgeoning - a new growth or expansion of something. 9. Idiosyncrasy - A language or behaviour that is particular to an individual or group.

International Journal of Satellite Communications Policy and Management on 'www.inderscience.com'.

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION-

Dharma Raj Cheruku

2. WEBSITES:

1. http://archive.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/Satelight%20Comm..pdf

2. http://satellites.spacesim.org/english/function/communic/index.html

3. VIDEOS

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXa3bTcIGPU

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmFHwQkCYlQ

3.ONLINE JOURNALS:

1.http://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=ijscpm

2.http://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication

Military Uses Satellite based VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) technology is providing military commanders with improved command,control and communications capabilities vital to support military operations. Telemedicines and E-Health A Healthy nation is said to be a wealthy one. E-Health systems are used for the transmssion of digital images using satellite connectivity.X-Rays,Computer Tomogram (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Images(MRI) are sent across the world for the purpose of diagnostic interpretation or consultation Distance Learning Education is a critical component of economic growth and development.Satellite linked internet services have played a tremendous role in distance learning. Rapid Disaster Management Satellite telephony has helped in connecting rural areas to urban access during the time of crisis or disasters. Tracking for Theft Management and Crime control Geographic Positioning System(GPS) is a satellite service that is very crucial for object tracking. Applications of GPS Tracking include: ⦁ Navigation ⦁ recovery of stolen vehicles or electronic gadgets ⦁ wildlife tracking ⦁ map making ⦁ land surveying

1. GPS -Geographic Positioning System 2. VSAT - Very Small Aperture Terminals 3. MRI - Magnetic Resonance Images 4. WAN - Wide Area Network 5. BGAN - Broadband Global Area Network 6. RBGAN - Regional Broadband Global Area Network

Access to information and communication infrastructure greatly enhances the economic growth in developing countries.Most ares in developing countries are not densely populated and highly rural.Satellite communication is an exellent solution for meeting the communication needs in such ares in developing countries.

Satellites offers some features that are not readily available with terrestrial methods of transmissions such as fibre, coaxial cable and microwaves.

Satellite communication is often the only viable network in special situations where difficult terrain, climatic conditions or territories separated by large bodies of water, renders conventional telecommunications impossible.

Some of the advantages of satellite communication over terristial methods include : ⦁ distance independent costs ⦁ fixed broadband cost ⦁ relatively high capacity and ⦁ low error rates

I read few articles on satellite communication from various websites The article "Satellite Communication:Impact on developing economies" was obtained from the website www.cisjournal.org. 

Second article "Satellite Communication" was taken from the website www.cse.ohio-state.edu

Videos were taken from yotube and TED Talks.

2. Digital Signal- A digital signal refers to an electrical signal that is converted into a pattern of bits.

3. Geostationary Orbit-A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular geosynchronous orbit in the plane of the Earth's equator with a radius of approximately 42,164 km. A satellite in this orbit is at rest relative to the earth as its period is 24 hours.

4.Travelling wave tube-A traveling-wave tube (TWT) is a specialized vacuum tube that is used in electronics to amplify radio frequency (RF) signals in the microwave range.

5. Transponder- a device for receiving a radio signal and automatically transmitting a different signal.

6. Orbital Velocity- Orbital velocity, velocity sufficient to cause a natural or artificial satellite to remain in orbit.

7. Fibre Optics- A technology that uses glass (or plastic) threads (fibers) to transmit data.

8.Bandwidth-Bandwidth is the bit-rate of available or consumed information capacity expressed typically in metric multiples of bits per second.

These dedicated satellites are responsible for making 100s of channels across the globe available for everyone. They are also responsible for broadcasting live matches, news, world-wide radio services.

2. Global Telephone

One of the first applications of satellites for communication was the establishment of international telephone backbones.

3. Connecting Remote Areas- Due to their geographical location many places all over the world do not have direct wired connection to the telephone network or the internet (e.g., researchers on Antarctica) or because of the current state of the infrastructure of a country. Here the satellite provides a complete coverage.

4. Data Communications-Data communications involve the transfer of data from one point to another. Corporations and organizations that require financial and other information to be exchanged between their various locations use satellites to facilitate the transfer of data through the use of very small-aperture terminal (VSAT) networks.

5. Internet- Various Internet Service Providers(ISPs) use communication satellites to provide internet connectivity to various parts of the globe.

1. Which range includes your age ?

a. below 18

b. 18-40

c. 41-60

d. above 60

2..Do you have access to internet ?

a. Yes

b. No

3. Do you think that the government should invest money on satellites ?

a. Yes

b. No

4. Have you ever used a GPS navigation systems ?

a. Yes 

b. No

5. Which is the better way of communicating people far away from you ?

a. Landline telephones

b. Mobile phones using cellular networks

c. Satellite phones

d. Other means

6. Did you try to learn anything from E-learning websites ?

a. Yes

b. No

The people who live in rural areas or towns are the target audience because these are the places which contribute the majority population of a developing country.

I want to know the extent of usage of satellite communication by people living in these areas.

1. What is GPS? A. The Geographic Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit in six orbital planes at an altitude of 20200 Kilometers above the earth surface with an orbital period of 12 hours by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.

2. How does GPS receivers determine its 3D position from GPS signal? A. The GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a GPS satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position by triangulation.

3.Why are meteorological satellites needed? A. Meteorological satellites provide important information to be used in more accurate weather forecasts and global climate monitoring.

4. How does a satellite phone works ?

A. A satellite phone routes calls via satellites instead of land-based cell towers.When you make a call, it is transmitted from your phone to the nearest satellite (you often need line-of-sight connections with the satellites, which is why satellite phones work best from outdoors), then beamed through your provider’s satellite constellation and back down to the person you are trying to call. If you are calling a non-satellite phone, the call is routed through an Earth station that patches it into the local telephone network.

A satellite is basically a self-contained communications system with the ability to receive signals from Earth and to re-transmit those signals back with the use of a transponder.

Making satellites and launching them into space can be an expensive task, and thus, satellites should be light and should be able to work in the hostile environment of space without any need for maintenance.

 There are three types of communication services that satellites provide namely telecommunications, broadcasting and data communications.Satellite communications technology is often used during natural disasters and emergencies when land-based communication services are down.

Future communication satellites will have more onboard processing capabilities, more power, and larger-aperture antennas that will enable satellites to handle more bandwidth, and with higher bandwidth

Remote sensing means sensing things from a distance.It is defined as the science and technology by which characteristics of objects of interest can be identified without direct contact.Remote Sensing is a technology to observe objects' size, shape and character without direct contact with them. The reflected or radiated electromagnetic (EM) waves are received by sensors aboard platform. The characteristics of reflected or radiated EM waves depend on the type or condition of the objects. Every material on earth shows its own strength of reflection in each wavelength when it is exposed to the EM waves Sensors aboard a platform are capable to acquire the strength of reflection and radiation in each wavelength. The first requirement for remote sensing is to have an energy source. The energy interacts with the atmosphere it passes through. The energy then interacts with the target depending on the properties of both the target and the radiation.Next stage is recording of energy by the sensor,which is not in contact with the target.the energy recorded by the sensor has to be transmitted to a receiving and processing station.- the processed image is interpreted, visually and/or digitally or electronically, to extract information about the target which was illuminated.

Remote sensing can be used to better understand Earth and its functions. Remote sensing technology has has enabled humankind to make observations of earth from space and obtain a view of vast areas of the planet of a kind never available before.It has enabled a study of natural resources,environment,human activities and many other areas in far greater detail than before.

TARGET AUDIENCE-General Public

1. What is your age?

a. less that 18

b. 18-40

c. 41-60

d. above 60

2. Do you watch television?

a. Yes

b. No

3. Do you possess a mobile phone?

a. Yes

b. No

4.How much time do you spend on internet everyday?

a. 1 hour

b. 1-3 hours

c. More than 3 hours

d. Do not use internet.

5. Do you know what artificial satellites are?

a. Yes

b. No

6. Do you think artificial satellites are made use of whenever you do the activities mentioned in the above questions?

a. Yes

b. No

7. During a natural calamity, when the ground communication fails, do you think artificial satellites can be used for communication?

a. Yes

b. No

GPS Satellites can be used for tracking lost vehicles,electronic gadgets,map making,land surveying,fleet management,asset tracking and many more.

It is feasible because the satellites required for GPS tracking have already been launched into space by the United States Department of Defence.

Satellite,cellular and radio technology have been used by the tracking industry to track the stolen vehicles.As the GPS satellites are already launched the facilities provided by these satellites can be made available at a lower cost.

1.Fishing by monitoring oceans -  Satellites monitor sea surface temperature and ocean colors. The top-down view of remotely sensed data can be communicated with local fisherman. Fishermen use this information to save time and fuel in real-time.

2.Assessing rural road conditions -  With the integration of remote sensing and GIS, remote sensing satellites can provide answers on pothole detection, washboard analysis and crown conditions for unpaved roads. With great accuracy, rural road conditions can be assessed and improved saving time and money.

3.Identifying minerals for extraction - There are over 4000 natural minerals on Earth. Each one has their own chemical composition. This is the equivalent to saying that each composition has its own spectral reflectance. Having more spectral bands like hyperspectral sensors makes it possible to map more minerals. Thus remote sensing can be applied to geology and extraction minerals.

4.Monitoring air quality to combat pollution -Air pollution is one of the most alarming issues with global repercussions. Air pollution is the presence of undesirable substances in air. Remote sensing technology can identify the level and types of these substances with the help of hyperspectral sensing where every substance has a different spectral signature.

Questions

1. Gender?

2.Age?

3.Do you know what satellites are?

4.If yes,then where have you come across the term satellite for the first time?

a. television

b.newspaper

c.through a website

5.Have you ever used google earth?

6.How would you rate the accuracy of google earth on a scale of 1-5 ,5 being the highest?

a.1 b.2 c.3 d.4 e.5

7.How useful do you think google earth is on a scale of 1-5 ,5 being the highest?

a.1 b.2 c.3 d.4 e.5

8.Have you experienced any problem while using google earth?If yes,then explain briefly.

9.Have you ever used GPS?

10.On which device have you used GPS?(you can select mare than one choice)

a. mobile phone b.automoblie c.other

11.Have you found GPS useful?

12.If you are in a populated area and need directions to reach your destination, would you prefer to ask people around you or would you use GPS?

13. Have you faced any kind of a problem when using GPS?If yes, then explain briefly.

Target -

General (common) public.

• The most familiar application of geostationary satellites is in direct broadcast satellite television. Because the satellite appears to remain stationary in the sky, a receiving dish can be left pointing in a fixed direction, Geostationary orbits are also widely employed by communications satellites

Weather Satellites and Flight Monitoring

• Another important use of geostationary satellites is in weather monitoring, the main satellites used for this purpose are called Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES. Geostationary satellites can also be used to monitor aircraft in flight; the Inmarsat satellite that provided data on the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was of this type

A space elevator is conceived as a cable fixed to the equator and reaching into space. A counterweight at the upper end keeps the center of mass well above geostationary orbit level.This is inherent with rockets. We’ve had lots of really smart people spending lots and lots of money developing rocket technology over the past several decades and this is the best they can do, and, due to the rocket equation, probably getting close to the best they ever can do.

There are endless possibilities of benefits to society from remote sensing. With higher spatial, spectral and temporal resolution, the future of remote sensing is promising. To solve some the of the biggest challenges of Earth in the near future,remote sensing is an essential and proficient tool.