The Development of a Digital Photogrammetric Softcopy Kit for Educational Purposes

This paper shows the current efforts in order to develop a digital photogrammetric softcopy kit which intends to provide a link between theory and practice in the field of Photogrammetry. These efforts have started in 2002, with the development of the first modules of the E-Foto kit: image viewer, project configuration, camera parameters, interior orientation and digital mensuration. The project was based upon a two-principle approach: freedom of software and self-teaching. This means that all software are delivered under a free license (in this case, the GNU GPL), which turns it accessible to users who might compile and use it, study its code or even develop new modules for it. The second principle relies on a considerable amount of teaching material that accompanies the software, including an on line help, the e-book on Digital Photogrammetry and the project's support homepage. Based on these resources, the user will be able to study the main photogrammetric principles, how they work and how to use them. Its main objective is to diminish the gap that exists nowadays between the teaching of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing in universities and Research Institutions of developing countries and the high-tech expensive systems that are used under the spatial data production environment. Currently, there are five modules ready to use, in English and Portuguese, and one under development. Both Linux and Windows versions are available. Thee-book on Digital Photogrammetry is available only in Portuguese and is distributed as a series of portable document files (pdf's).