Indiana University Uses IDL & ENVI to Enhance Geology Instruction
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Customer Challenge
The Indiana University Department of Geology needed to calibrate instruments and spacecraft, as well as analyze hyperspectral satellite data and extract diagnostic spectral features for the identification and discrimination of minerals and rocks, soil types, vegetation species and the assessment of conditions of these materials.
Solution Achieved
For instruction of undergraduate students, the department uses ENVI® and IDL®. The students register for three courses, wherein they use ENVI and IDL to complete their laboratory assignments: Geological Remote Sensing, Planetary Remote Sensing, and Planetary Geology. The department of Geology, IUPUI, uses ENVI to calibrate spacecraft, satellite and airborne hyperspectral data such as OMEGA, Hyperion and AVIRIS imagery, and to extract diagnostic spectral features.
ENVI's ease of use and flexibility were the primary reasons the department chose it as a primary teaching tool. According to Lin Li, Assistant Professor in Geological and Environmental Sciences for the Department of Geology at IU, "The ENVI user interface is very friendly. A novice can easily learn through hands-on exercises."
For students just learning to use remotely-sensed data, Lin was impressed with ENVI's ability to read remotely sensed data in a variety of formats. "The spectral feature analysis and subpixel analysis tools are very powerful, and they have been used in various applications," said Lin, "ENVI is also capable of handling field spectra with built-in functions, such as resampling, data format conversion and MNF transformation."
In addition to powerful functionality and ease-of-use, the department appreciates the comprehensive reference manuals, which clearly outline each ENVI function.
Key Benefits
- Students can now easily learn to process hyperspectral, remotely-sensed data as part of their curriculum.
- The spectral feature analysis and subpixel analysis tools are very powerful, and they have been used in various applications," said Lin, "ENVI is also capable of handling field spectra with built-in functions, such as resampling, data format conversion and MNF transformation."
- ENVI's ease of use and flexibility were the primary reasons the department chose it as a primary teaching tool.