Abstract
Airborne laser scanning (ALS) allows for extensive coverage, but the accuracy of tree detection and form can be limited. Although terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can improve on ALS accuracy, it is rather expensive and area coverage is limited. Multi-view stereopsis (MVS) techniques combining computer vision and photogrammetry may offer some of the coverage benefits of ALS and the improved accuracy of TLS; MVS combines computer vision research and automatic analysis of digital images from common commercial digital cameras with various algorithms to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) objects with realistic shape and appearance. Despite the relative accuracy (relative geometrical distortion) of the reconstructions available in the processing software, the absolute accuracy is uncertain and difficult to evaluate. We evaluated the data collected by a common digital camera through the processing software (Agisoft PhotoScan ©) for photogrammetry by comparing those by direct measurement of the 3D magnetic motion tracker. Our analyses indicated that the error is mostly concentrated in the portions of the tree where visibility is lower, i.e., the bottom and upper parts of the stem. For each reference point from the digitizer we determined how many cameras could view this point. With a greater number of cameras we found increasing accuracy of the measured object space point positions (as expected), with a significant positive change in the trend beyond five cameras; when more than five cameras could view this point, the accuracy began to increase more abruptly, but eight cameras or more provided no increases in accuracy. This method allows for the retrieval of larger datasets from the measurements, which could improve the accuracy of estimates of 3D structure of trees at potentially reduced costs.
Highlights
In forest biometrics and other related research areas, analysis of three-dimensional (3D) data has gained a great deal of attention during the last decade
We evaluated the accuracy of photo reconstructed stems and compared them to the common field measurement of stem circumference using measuring tape at breast height (1.3 m)
We evaluated the suitability of a handheld camera for the reconstruction of the tree stem surface using the recommended settings from the manufacturer of the software Agisoft PhotoScan © which are based on the algorithms deployed in it
Summary
In forest biometrics and other related research areas, analysis of three-dimensional (3D) data has gained a great deal of attention during the last decade. The 3D data may be characterized by three primary acquisition methods: (1) by scanned by laser; (2) by magnetic motion tracker, and (3) by photogrammetric reconstruction (stereoscopy). The data can be divided into so-called surface data and structural data. Surface data are sensed directly from the surface of the three-dimensional object and are relatively and quickly displayable. Structural data describe the structure, i.e., the permanent relation of several features [1], of an organism, such as a plant or a tree. The main advantage of structural data is that they describe the parts of a tree more directly, it provides an overview of the Remote Sens. The main advantage of structural data is that they describe the parts of a tree more directly, it provides an overview of the Remote Sens. 2016, 8, 123; doi:10.3390/rs8020123 www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing
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