scholarly journals Comparing sUAS Photogrammetrically-Derived Point Clouds with GNSS Measurements and Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Topographic Mapping

Drones ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar E. Mora ◽  
Amal Suleiman ◽  
Jorge Chen ◽  
Doug Pluta ◽  
Matthew H. Okubo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Accurate Solution ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Topographic Mapping

Interest in small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for topographic mapping has significantly grown in recent years, driven in part by technological advancements that have made it possible to survey small- to medium-sized areas quickly and at low cost using sUAS aerial photography and digital photogrammetry. Although this approach can produce dense point clouds of topographic measurements, they have not been tested extensively to provide insights on accuracy levels for topographic mapping. This case study examines the accuracy of a sUAS-derived point cloud of a parking lot located at the Citizens Bank Arena (CBA) in Ontario, California, by comparing it to ground control points (GCPs) measured using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data corrected with real-time kinematic (RTK) and to data from a terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) survey. We intentionally chose a flat surface due to the prevalence of flat scenes in sUAS mapping and the challenges they pose for accurately deriving vertical measurements. When the GNSS-RTK survey was compared to the sUAS point cloud, the residuals were found to be on average 18 mm and −20 mm for the horizontal and vertical components. Furthermore, when the sUAS point cloud was compared to the TLS point cloud, the average difference observed in the vertical component was 2 mm with a standard deviation of 31 mm. These results indicate that sUAS imagery can produce point clouds comparable to traditional topographic mapping methods and support other studies showing that sUAS photogrammetry provides a cost-effective, safe, efficient, and accurate solution for topographic mapping.

scholarly journals QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND COMPARISON OF SMARTPHONE AND LEICA C10 LASER SCANNER BASED POINT CLOUDS

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B5 ◽  
pp. 581-586
Author(s):  
Beril Sirmacek ◽  
Roderik Lindenbergh ◽  
Jinhu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Model Generation ◽  
Surface Geometry ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Urban Model

3D urban models are valuable for urban map generation, environment monitoring, safety planning and educational purposes. For 3D measurement of urban structures, generally airborne laser scanning sensors or multi-view satellite images are used as a data source. However, close-range sensors (such as terrestrial laser scanners) and low cost cameras (which can generate point clouds based on photogrammetry) can provide denser sampling of 3D surface geometry. Unfortunately, terrestrial laser scanning sensors are expensive and trained persons are needed to use them for point cloud acquisition. A potential effective 3D modelling can be generated based on a low cost smartphone sensor. Herein, we show examples of using smartphone camera images to generate 3D models of urban structures. We compare a smartphone based 3D model of an example structure with a terrestrial laser scanning point cloud of the structure. This comparison gives us opportunity to discuss the differences in terms of geometrical correctness, as well as the advantages, disadvantages and limitations in data acquisition and processing. We also discuss how smartphone based point clouds can help to solve further problems with 3D urban model generation in a practical way. We show that terrestrial laser scanning point clouds which do not have color information can be colored using smartphones. The experiments, discussions and scientific findings might be insightful for the future studies in fast, easy and low-cost 3D urban model generation field.

scholarly journals QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND COMPARISON OF SMARTPHONE AND LEICA C10 LASER SCANNER BASED POINT CLOUDS

2016 ◽  
Vol XLI-B5 ◽  
pp. 581-586
Author(s):  
Beril Sirmacek ◽  
Roderik Lindenbergh ◽  
Jinhu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Model Generation ◽  
Surface Geometry ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Urban Model

3D urban models are valuable for urban map generation, environment monitoring, safety planning and educational purposes. For 3D measurement of urban structures, generally airborne laser scanning sensors or multi-view satellite images are used as a data source. However, close-range sensors (such as terrestrial laser scanners) and low cost cameras (which can generate point clouds based on photogrammetry) can provide denser sampling of 3D surface geometry. Unfortunately, terrestrial laser scanning sensors are expensive and trained persons are needed to use them for point cloud acquisition. A potential effective 3D modelling can be generated based on a low cost smartphone sensor. Herein, we show examples of using smartphone camera images to generate 3D models of urban structures. We compare a smartphone based 3D model of an example structure with a terrestrial laser scanning point cloud of the structure. This comparison gives us opportunity to discuss the differences in terms of geometrical correctness, as well as the advantages, disadvantages and limitations in data acquisition and processing. We also discuss how smartphone based point clouds can help to solve further problems with 3D urban model generation in a practical way. We show that terrestrial laser scanning point clouds which do not have color information can be colored using smartphones. The experiments, discussions and scientific findings might be insightful for the future studies in fast, easy and low-cost 3D urban model generation field.

scholarly journals Revealing Changes in the Stem Form and Volume Allocation in Diverse Boreal Forests Using Two-Date Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 835
Author(s):  
Ville Luoma ◽  
Tuomas Yrttimaa ◽  
Ville Kankare ◽  
Ninni Saarinen ◽  
Jiri Pyörälä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Stem Form ◽  
Monitoring Period ◽  
Significant Difference

Tree growth is a multidimensional process that is affected by several factors. There is a continuous demand for improved information on tree growth and the ecological traits controlling it. This study aims at providing new approaches to improve ecological understanding of tree growth by the means of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Changes in tree stem form and stem volume allocation were investigated during a five-year monitoring period. In total, a selection of attributes from 736 trees from 37 sample plots representing different forest structures were extracted from taper curves derived from two-date TLS point clouds. The results of this study showed the capability of point cloud-based methods in detecting changes in the stem form and volume allocation. In addition, the results showed a significant difference between different forest structures in how relative stem volume and logwood volume increased during the monitoring period. Along with contributing to providing more accurate information for monitoring purposes in general, the findings of this study showed the ability and many possibilities of point cloud-based method to characterize changes in living organisms in particular, which further promote the feasibility of using point clouds as an observation method also in ecological studies.

scholarly journals Combined Use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning and UAV Photogrammetry in Mapping Alpine Terrain

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ján Šašak ◽  
Michal Gallay ◽  
Ján Kaňuk ◽  
Jaroslav Hofierka ◽  
Jozef Minár
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Mutual Orientation ◽  
Close Range Photogrammetry ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Close Range

Airborne and terrestrial laser scanning and close-range photogrammetry are frequently used for very high-resolution mapping of land surface. These techniques require a good strategy of mapping to provide full visibility of all areas otherwise the resulting data will contain areas with no data (data shadows). Especially, deglaciated rugged alpine terrain with abundant large boulders, vertical rock faces and polished roche-moutones surfaces complicated by poor accessibility for terrestrial mapping are still a challenge. In this paper, we present a novel methodological approach based on a combined use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and close-range photogrammetry from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for generating a high-resolution point cloud and digital elevation model (DEM) of a complex alpine terrain. The approach is demonstrated using a small study area in the upper part of a deglaciated valley in the Tatry Mountains, Slovakia. The more accurate TLS point cloud was supplemented by the UAV point cloud in areas with insufficient TLS data coverage. The accuracy of the iterative closest point adjustment of the UAV and TLS point clouds was in the order of several centimeters but standard deviation of the mutual orientation of TLS scans was in the order of millimeters. The generated high-resolution DEM was compared to SRTM DEM, TanDEM-X and national DMR3 DEM products confirming an excellent applicability in a wide range of geomorphologic applications.

scholarly journals Special Issue on “Terrestrial Laser Scanning”: Editors’ Notes

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (20) ◽  
pp. 4569
Author(s):  
Joan R. Rosell-Polo ◽  
Eduard Gregorio ◽  
Jordi Llorens
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Alternative Technologies ◽  
Cloud Processing ◽  
3D Point Clouds ◽  
Point Cloud Processing

In this editorial, we provide an overview of the content of the special issue on “Terrestrial Laser Scanning”. The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together innovative developments and applications of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), understood in a broad sense. Thus, although most contributions mainly involve the use of laser-based systems, other alternative technologies that also allow for obtaining 3D point clouds for the measurement and the 3D characterization of terrestrial targets, such as photogrammetry, are also considered. The 15 published contributions are mainly focused on the applications of TLS to the following three topics: TLS performance and point cloud processing, applications to civil engineering, and applications to plant characterization.

scholarly journals Processing Chain for Estimation of Tree Diameter from GNSS-IMU-Based Mobile Laser Scanning Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juraj Čerňava ◽  
Martin Mokroš ◽  
Ján Tuček ◽  
Michal Antal ◽  
Zuzana Slatkovská
Keyword(s):  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Forest Road ◽  
Forest Mapping ◽  
Fitting Method ◽  
Progressive Technology ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

Mobile laser scanning (MLS) is a progressive technology that has already demonstrated its ability to provide highly accurate measurements of road networks. Mobile innovation of the laser scanning has also found its use in forest mapping over the last decade. In most cases, existing methods for forest data acquisition using MLS result in misaligned scenes of the forest, scanned from different views appearing in one point cloud. These difficulties are caused mainly by forest canopy blocking the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal and limited access to the forest. In this study, we propose an approach to the processing of MLS data of forest scanned from different views with two mobile laser scanners under heavy canopy. Data from two scanners, as part of the mobile mapping system (MMS) Riegl VMX-250, were acquired by scanning from five parallel skid trails that are connected to the forest road. Misaligned scenes of the forest acquired from different views were successfully extracted from the raw MLS point cloud using GNSS time based clustering. At first, point clouds with correctly aligned sets of ground points were generated using this method. The loss of points after the clustering amounted to 33.48%. Extracted point clouds were then reduced to 1.15 m thick horizontal slices, and tree stems were detected. Point clusters from individual stems were grouped based on the diameter and mean GNSS time of the cluster acquisition. Horizontal overlap was calculated for the clusters from individual stems, and sufficiently overlapping clusters were aligned using the OPALS ICP module. An average misalignment of 7.2 mm was observed for the aligned point clusters. A 5-cm thick horizontal slice of the aligned point cloud was used for estimation of the stem diameter at breast height (DBH). DBH was estimated using a simple circle-fitting method with a root-mean-square error of 3.06 cm. The methods presented in this study have the potential to process MLS data acquired under heavy forest canopy with any commercial MMS.

scholarly journals Fusion of high resolution remote sensing images and terrestrial laser scanning for improved biomass estimation of maize

2014 ◽  
Vol XL-7 ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hütt ◽  
H. Schiedung ◽  
N. Tilly ◽  
G. Bareth
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Biomass Estimation ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Elevation Model ◽  
In The Beginning

In this study, images from the satellite system WorldView-2 in combination with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) over a maize field in Germany are investigated. Simultaneously to the measurements a biomass field campaigns was carried out. From the point clouds of the terrestrial laser scanning campaigns crop surface models (CSM) from each scanning date were calculate to model plant growth over time. These results were resampled to match the spatial resolution of the WorldView-2 images, which had to orthorectified using a high resolution digital elevation model and atmosphere corrected using the ATCOR Software package. A high direct correlation of the NDVI calculated from the WorldView-2 sensor and the dry biomass was found in the beginning of June. At the same date, the heights from laser scanning can also explain a certain amount of the biomass variation (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.6). By combining the NDVI from WorldView-2 and the height from the laser scanner with a linear model, the R2 reaches higher values of 0.86. To further understand the relationship between CSM derived crop heights and reflection indices, a comparison on a pixel basis was performed. Interestingly, the correlation of the NDVI and the crop height is rather low at the beginning of June (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup> = 0,4, <i>n</i> = 1857) and increases significantly (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0,79, <i>N</i> = 1857) at a later stage.

scholarly journals GENERATION OF INDOOR POINT CLOUDS EXPLOITING GEOMETRIC SYMMETRIES AND REGULARITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol XLVI-M-1-2021 ◽  
pp. 435-440
Author(s):  
A. Masiero ◽  
A. Guarnieri ◽  
G. Tucci ◽  
A. Vettore
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Mobile Mapping ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Planar Surfaces ◽  
Mapping System

Abstract. 3D building modeling is becoming an important support in civil engineering, architecture and cultural heritage applications. Despite static laser scanning can be considered as the state-of-the-art in such kind of applications, mobile mapping techniques can be considered as a suitable alternative to quickly gather geospatial information. Outdoor mobile mapping can be considered as a mature technique, which takes into advantage of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-laser scanning information fusion. Instead, indoor mobile mapping is typically more challenging: the unavailability of GNSS makes the mapping system rely either just on the inertial navigation system, or on some control points. A drift in the navigation solution, and consequently in the 3D reconstruction, is typically visible after a while in the former case, whereas the use of other surveying instruments is required in the latter.This work aims at exploiting geometric characteristics of the buildings, such as symmetries and regularities, to reduce the drift effect in indoor mobile mapping, in particular when dealing with affordable systems. The proposed approach is based on the segmentation of the point clouds acquired with a time of flight camera (ToF), detecting in particular vertical planar surfaces. It is well known that aligning planar surfaces can be a viable way for reducing the drift in this kind of applications. Nevertheless, this paper aims also at investigating the use of geometric symmetries to such aim.The proposed approach is tested on a case study, a building of the University of Padova, whose reconstruction was produced by an ad hoc affordable mobile mapping system, integrating low cost inertial sensors, RGB and ToF camera.

The Advantages of Using Laser Scanners in Surveying in Protected Sites

2015 ◽  
pp. 382-402
Author(s):  
Gülhan Benli
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Point Cloud ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Point Cloud Data ◽  
Cloud Data ◽  
Laser Scanners ◽  
Point Data

Since the 2000s, terrestrial laser scanning, as one of the methods used to document historical edifices in protected areas, has taken on greater importance because it mitigates the difficulties associated with working on large areas and saves time while also making it possible to better understand all the particularities of the area. Through this technology, comprehensive point data (point clouds) about the surface of an object can be generated in a highly accurate three-dimensional manner. Furthermore, with the proper software this three-dimensional point cloud data can be transformed into three-dimensional rendering/mapping/modeling and quantitative orthophotographs. In this chapter, the study will present the results of terrestrial laser scanning and surveying which was used to obtain three-dimensional point clouds through three-dimensional survey measurements and scans of silhouettes of streets in Fatih in Historic Peninsula in Istanbul, which were then transposed into survey images and drawings. The study will also cite examples of the facade mapping using terrestrial laser scanning data in Istanbul Historic Peninsula Project.

scholarly journals Multitemporal Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Marble Extraction Assessment in an Underground Quarry of the Apuan Alps (Italy)

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Di Bartolo ◽  
Riccardo Salvini
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
3D Point Clouds ◽  
Apuan Alps ◽  
Material Extraction

This article focuses on the use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) for change detection analysis of multitemporal point clouds datasets. Two topographic surveys were carried out during the years 2016 and 2017 in an underground marble quarry of the Apuan Alps (Italy) combining TLS with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Total Station (TS) studies. Multitemporal 3D point clouds were processed and compared with the aim of identifying areas subjected to significant material extraction. Point clouds representing changed areas were converted into triangular meshes in order to compute the volume of extracted material over one year of quarrying activities. General purpose of this work is to show a valid method to examine the morphological changes due to raw material extraction with the focus of highlighting benefits, accuracies and drawbacks. The purpose of the executed survey was that of supporting the planning of quarrying activities in respect of regional rules, safety and commercial reasons.

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