[FWTools] OpenEV/FWTools Add-ons

[Nate Jennings]

Hi,
I am new to the list and have a background in remote sensing, digital image
processing, and some programming.  I teach a remote sensing course in
Sacramento, CA and have been looking for a supplemental open source software
that is easy to install and fairly straight forward to use.  I am currently
using Imagine for my in-class work, but the students would like an
alternative that they can use at home to get more experience working with
satellite, airborne, RADAR, LIDAR, and multispectral data.  I looked into
GRASS and have known about it for years.  I even have it loaded on my
system, but going through the install (primarily on windows) is too much for
my students and getting a "free" functioning software like I can get for
ESRI is not going to happen.  When I was in grad school at U of Wisconsin, I
took a remote sensing algorithms class where the students developed their
own software with quite a bit of functionality...the problem is it was
developed for OS2 and in C++.  Since then I have been teaching GIS
programming and am in the middle of an intermediate programming class using
Python.  I thought as part of my endeavor in learning would be to create a
python shell, add some basic navigation buttons (pan/zoom in/out, zoom to
extent, zoom to full image) and then build into the shell image processing
functions such as:  image classification (IsoData, Max Like, MDM),
subsetting, image enhancement (stretches, principle components, ratios),
RADAR (slant to ground range, texture), etc.  GRASS was my original choice,
but I have not been able to come up with a method that is pretty streamlined
and easy to use for students who don't know little or nothing about remote
sensing and little to average GIS.  Installing Cywin, and GRASS, and working
through setting up the coordinate sytem, etc is very challenging and not
inuitive to the novice installer.

I started to develop my own shell with wxPython and was able to learn about
some basic concepts of buttons, menu items, load an image, but still have a
long way to go, then in doing research I came across OpenEV and FW Tools.
FW Tools actualy has some of the above functionality already present and
hooks into OpenEV...(if this is correct to say).  So, it seems to me that I
could translate the algorithms I have from C++ to python? or GTK+? to then
add this functionality to FW Tools.

I would like to collaborate with someone here or with FWTools to add this
functionality.  I need some guidance on getting this started.  It looks like
some direction is given with some of the tutorials, but I need a little more
guidance.  I can also provide the C++ code for some of the algorithms stated
above.  I do want to be able to program some of this on my own, so if anyone
can provide some feedback, tutorials, other people to talk to, other
websites and/or projects, I would appreciate it.  Do I need to consult GTK,
GDAL, etc?  Sources and starting places for these?  Also, if there is a
better/easier way to install and get going with GRASS or any other open
source program, I am open to that too.

My website is below.  Works best in FireFox.  Show a little of what I do and
my background and resume.  I posted this same message to OpenEV.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Nate


-- 
http://www.jenningsplanet.com
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