This paper shows one of the demonstrating results of remote sensing information processing researches in China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station

CAS. Based on the analysis of the relationship between the building heights and the shadows in panchromatic SPOT image

the paper presents the principle and the method for building heights estimation in a city from the shadows of an image. And works out a feasible approach for determining shadow zones in a panchromatic SPOT image. It has also contributed an automatic technique for extracting buildings' distribution information of different heights in a city from the shadows in a panchromatic SPOT image. Different from the previous studies mentioned in published articles

of which they focused on height setimation of single object or several buildings. The most important challenge of this paper is how to extract buildings' distribution information of different heights in a city from the shasows in a panchromatic SPOT image automatically. Although the basci law for height calculating addressed in this paper is similar to what the used.A result with above 80% accuracy has been achieved while applying this technique to Beijing City

which has demonstrated prospecting applications of satellite remote sensing for urban purposes.