Visualization with asp-plot#
ASP outputs are scattered across files in many formats; asp-plot reads them and produces diagnostic figures and PDF reports used throughout this guide.
Two ways to use it#
The CLI (asp_plot --directory ... --report_filename ...) generates a single PDF capturing the whole run: processing parameters, scene overviews, bundle-adjust residuals when present, disparity and match quality, the DEM and its difference against a reference, and an ICESat-2 comparison. The tutorials end each processing pass with this command, so every run leaves a self-contained record. A few pages from the WorldView tutorial’s report:
The Python API (ScenePlotter, StereoPlotter, PlotBundleAdjustFiles, Altimetry, StereoGeometryPlotter) produces the same figures one at a time, for interactive exploration in a notebook. The stereo photogrammetry and bundle adjustment pages use it for their figures.
Comparable reports across runs#
When two runs differ by one processing choice, their reports should differ only where the processing does. asp_plot writes its figure selections (which ICESat-2 points, which profile track, which hillshade crops) to a sidecar file next to each report, and --reuse_selections replays them, so the two PDFs line up panel for panel. The tutorials use this twice: the ASTER raw-vs-orthorectified pair of reports, and the WorldView with-and-without bundle adjustment pair.