3D Reconstruction of Exposed Underground Utilities Using Photogrammetric Methods

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This thesis addresses the topic of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of exposed underground utilities using photogrammetric methods. Research on this topic is mainly motivated by the need for improved information on the location of underground utilities and, thus, to provide reliable information for the management of buried assets. In this thesis, a system of photogrammetric software programs is developed for 3D reconstruction of underground utilities. Camera calibration programs are used for computing interior elements and lens distortion coefficients of digital cameras and saving them in a lookup table (LUT). The accuracy of calibrated image coordinates satisfies the photogrammetric processing demand. An automatic image point detection method is proposed and achieved in these programs. External orientation programs are used for calculating exterior elements of the digital images. Based on geographic information system (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) techniques, a new ground control points (GCPs) collection method is proposed and implemented in these programs. A 3D reconstruction program provides corresponding functions to obtain and edit 3D information of underground utilities. Epipolar lines are employed as an assisting tool that helps operators easily find homologous points from different digital images. The study results indicate that photogrammetric methods for reconstructing 3D information of underground utilities are effective and low cost.