Remote sensing technology and applications

Electro-optical imaging sensors form the principal devices that are typically used to obtain images of earth from satellite platforms, and substantial improvements in optics, electro-optical detection devices, cooling subsystems and composite structures have enabled the high quality performance exhibited by the current instrumentation. This paper reviews the fundamentals of system design for imaging sensors such as the Thematic Mapper on board Landsat, points out the key areas of current R&D, and briefly alludes to some important applications.