Welcome to LIAS
Inside our systems integration lab
Important Note:As of the summer of 2010, LIAS has now merged with the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS). For more up-to-date inormation about this larger research group, please visit the DIRS homepage.
The Laboratory for Imaging Algorithms and Systems (LIAS) is a research group within RIT's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science (CIS). LIAS was founded in 2001 to develop imaging systems and algorithms and carry them to the point of prototypical use. The group's research and development thrusts include
- high performance airborne imaging systems, e.g., the Wildfire Airborne Sensing Program (WASP) and WASP-Lite sensors,
- networked, ground-based sensing systems,
- management, processing, and dissemination of sensor data, e.g., the Rochester Airborne Imagery Database for Education and Research (RAIDER),
- development of high value information products, e.g., the Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response (IPLER), and
- environmental remote sensing applications, e.g., fire detection and behavior modeling, species classification, woody and herbaceous biomass estimation, forest inventory, and assessment of vegetation (ecosystem) condition.
LIAS operates in the IT Collaboratory (Building 17 - see map), a multidisciplinary research facility at RIT. The current facilities include about 10,000 square feet of laboratory space for the construction and calibration of equipment and the development of software systems.
The LIAS Team
LIAS faculty and staff work as an interdisciplinary team to integrate systems, analyze problems and advance the state of knowledge in remote sensing. We also work with collaborators in the academic, industrial, and government sectors. The LIAS team operates under the leadership of Jan van Aardt and includes faculty members Harvey Rhody and Robert Kremens, plus senior research staff Don McKeown, Robert Krzaczek, and Jason Faulring. The team's expertise includes environmental remote sensing, image processing, data management, system engineering, and sensor integration. With close working ties across departmental boundaries, LIAS provides collaboration opportunities with faculty from other colleges at RIT such as the College of Engineering, College of Applied Science and Technology, and the College of Liberal Arts.
Research Projects
LIAS is involved in multiple research projects dealing with image acquisition systems, image processing, algorithm development, and remote sensing applications. We also provide support for students who are working on research projects in imaging science.
- Some of our major projects are airborne imaging platforms including the Wildfire Airborne Sensor Program and Modular Imaging Spectrometer Instrument, and data management software for the SOFIA infrared telescope.
- LIAS also develops ground-based electronic sensor networks for measuring environmental parameters including air conditions and water temperatures. These sensors are designed mainly for use in emergency response management and wildfire research.
- LIAS researchers are involved with 3D image processing algorithms and signal processing.
- Finally, the group works in close collaboration with the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) team on ecological applications of waveform light detection and ranging (lidar) and hyperspectral remote sensing.
