Spectral Transformer Fc2Tc-CIR (PDF, ~300KB), a standalone utility program for converting popular colour infrared (CIR) imagery into eye-catching natural colour scenes, with six methods / colour templates included.

Usage: Fc2Tc-CIR.exe

Fc2Tc-CIR.exe
<colour_template_indicator>
<green_colour_coefficient>
<brightness_coefficient>
<InputFile_GeoTIFF> <OutputFile_GeoTIFF>

Examples from "Dancing with spectra" series (all images are GeoSage software outputs under default analytical settings)

There are two situations where Fc2Tc-CIR.exe can be applied:

1. Multi-spectral satellite imagery does not have BLUE band (e.g. SPOT-5, ASTER)

The blue band should be simulated from CIR imagery in order to make natural colour composites.

Figure 1: False-to-true colour simulation with a SPOT-5 scene (Image source: (C) CNES 2002; location: Sydney; resolution: 10m). Click the above image for an enlarged version, size 1.2 MB. Also see the image in a web mapping environment from Orbit Geospatial Technologies

Figure 2: False-to-true colour simulation with a SPOT-5 scene (Image source: (C) CNES 2004; location: Goulburn, NSW; resolution: 10m). Click the above image for an enlarged version, size 1.0 MB.

2. Multi-spectral satellite imagery does contain BLUE band but its quality is often compromised by image noises such as stripes and lack of sharpness for image objects) (e.g. see assessment for RapidEye and CBERS-2B imagery from the 2009 Civil Commercial Imagery Evaluation Workshop)

The objective here is to simulate a noise-free, high-quality blue band from CIR imagery.

Figure 3: False-to-true colour simulation with a Landsat ETM+ scene (Bands 4/3/2; Image source: Orthorectified Landsat ETM+ from USGS GloVis; Location: Brisbane, Australia).