Abstract
Abstract. 3D terrain models are an important instrument in areas like geology, agriculture and reconnaissance. Using an automated UAS with a line-based LiDAR can create terrain models fast and easily even from large areas. But the resulting point cloud may contain holes and therefore be incomplete. This might happen due to occlusions, a missed flight route due to wind or simply as a result of changes in the ground height which would alter the swath of the LiDAR system. This paper proposes a method to detect holes in 3D point clouds generated during the flight and adjust the course in order to close them. First, a grid-based search for holes in the horizontal ground plane is performed. Then a check for vertical holes mainly created by buildings walls is done. Due to occlusions and steep LiDAR angles, closing the vertical gaps may be difficult or even impossible. Therefore, the current approach deals with holes in the ground plane and only marks the vertical holes in such a way that the operator can decide on further actions regarding them. The aim is to efficiently create point clouds which can be used for the generation of complete 3D terrain models.
Highlights
Many applications have needs for a detailed representation of the earth’s surface, depending on the application in different resolutions and with or without buildings and vegetation
High resolution Digital Surface Model (DSM) are used in different fields such as in archaeology searching for buried sites, in disaster management for preventing or evaluating damages or in reconnaissance for reconnoitring unknown areas
We present an approach for handling of holes while creating a surface point cloud using an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)-based Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) system
Summary
Many applications have needs for a detailed representation of the earth’s surface, depending on the application in different resolutions and with or without buildings and vegetation. The terms Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) are mostly used for models without any objects on the surface, the term Digital Surface Model (DSM) is commonly being used for a model containing all objects. High resolution DSMs are used in different fields such as in archaeology searching for buried sites, in disaster management for preventing or evaluating damages or in reconnaissance for reconnoitring unknown areas. Before the common availability of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), creating a DSM was an elaborate and expensive task which usually involves aircrafts or helicopters. DSMs can be created in a fast and efficient way by the mean of a Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) system carried by an UAS
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