The Very High-resolution Radar & Optical Data Assessment (VH-RODA) 2024 workshop took place in hybrid form (on-site and on-line) from 2nd to 6th December 2024.
The 5th edition of the VH-RODA Workshop has provided an open forum; involving: new space, commercial and institutional space sectors; for presentation and discussion of the status and future developments related to Earth Observation (EO) data quality, calibration and validation (Cal/Val) of space-borne very high-resolution SAR, Optical, and, for the first time, atmospheric sensors, constellations and data products.
The Workshop has proposed a dedicated focus on commercial EO data providers and related Cal/Val activities, synergies between optical, SAR and atmospheric communities, presentation of standards and best practices for data quality. It was very successful with around 220 registrations on-site and an audience of 177 participants (on average) per session including on-line attendance. For the first time, it also hosted a vendors exhibit with 10 vendors throughout the five days, as well as three training sessions, highly appreciated by the community.
Group Picture of VH-RODA 2024 Workshop
A significant part of the program was dedicated to the CEOS-WGCV (Working Group on Cal/Val) context. In addition to the dedicated CEOS Booth, it is worth to mention dedicated presentations for the main CEOS reference networks: RadCalNet, SARCalNet and TIRCalNet designed to provide high-quality, standardized calibration and validation data for satellite sensors (Optical, SAR and Thermal Infrared sensors, respectively). Exploiting RadCalNet as reference, the latest updates and a demo of the CEOS Commercial Mission Radiometric Calibration Monitoring System was provided.
A whole session was dedicated to the CEOS Analysis Ready Data (ARD) including updates on the CEOS-ARD Surface Reflectance Product Family Specification, advancements in the optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Product Family Specifications (PFSs) and methodologies for aligning CubeSat and SmallSat imagery with CARD4L standards.
Dedicated presentation and discussion were on CEOS-Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRMs), they are well established and defined as international references for post-launch satellite Cal/Val for many different applications. The new FRMs Assessment framework facilitates transparent and consistent assessment of compliance to community agreed criteria. As an FRM evolution, in terms of reference from Space, the concept of SI traceable satellite (SITSat) has been consolidated and a new SITSat task group established to coordinate and facilitate commonalities of purpose.
The workshop offered dedicated slots for discussion
In the context of CEOS WGCV intercomparison exercises, the DEMIX (Digital Elevation Model Intercomparison eXercise) outcome was presented.
VH-RODA reaffirmed itself, and together with JACIE (USA), as a key workshop within the field of EO Data Quality and Cal/Val in the world, further demonstrating strategic relevance of ESA projects within the international perspective.
Paolo Castracane (Starion for ESA), Leonardo De Laurentiis (ESA), Philippe Goryl (ESA)
