Abstract
An interactive picture processing system was developed for semi-automatic processing of the NOAA-3-type weather satellites picture data. This can be helpful in cases where the experiences and the knowledge of the meteorologists can support the digital data processing. Also the system serves as a quick-look image display.
A precision color-TV monitor is used with a 19-inch screen, operating according to the TV-standards. This monitor receives the picture data from a core-memory which is the interface to a PDP 11/45 digital data-processor. The separate core-memory comprises 163 840 18-bit-locations and is organized as a random access memory with respect to a maximum flexibility. The capacity of the memory was chosen to be sufficient for operating in a section of the screen where the distortions are negligible. The core-memory is used as a quick image refreshing memory as well as a buffer equalizing the highly from each other differing transfer rates by transferring data from the processor to the memory and from the memory to the TV-monitor. A TV-camera is coupled with the core-memory to enable the operator to put additional informations on the screen or to feed this information to the processor. By using a light-dot receiver, the operator can pick up co-ordinate values from the monitor screen to be transferred to the core-memory or to the processor. Also marking signals can be transferred to the screen as well by hand as by a mini computer.
Date of this Version
1975