External quality control of SPOT6 orthoimagery : geometric benchmarking over Maussane test site for positional accuracy assessment

The main objective of the present study is to assess whether SPOT6 sensor can be qualified for Control with Remote Sensing programmes, specifically in Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) Controls image acquisition campaign. The benchmarking presented herein aims at: evaluating the usability of SPOT6 for the CAP checks through an estimation of its geometric (positional) accuracy, measuring the influence of different factors (viewing angle, number of GCPs, software implementation) on the abovementioned accuracy. For that purpose, the External Quality Control of SPOT6 orthoimagery conforms to the standard method developed by JRC and follows a procedure already adopted in the validation of previous high and very-high resolution products.