Crowdsourced 3D cadastral surveys: looking towards the next 10 years

Abstract

Rapidly growing cities, multiple uses of urban space and the complexity of overlapping property rights require various types of rights to be registered and handled in a uniform and reliable way, considering the third dimension. The adoption of automated and low-cost but reliable procedures for cadastral surveys and for the capture and processing of cadastral data, as well as the use of modern Information Technology (IT) tools and m-services, is the beginning of a new cadastral evolution. 3D-crowdsourced cadastral data capture has huge potential and may soon facilitate the work of National Mapping Agencies (NMAs). In this paper, an innovative fit-for-purpose procedure is designed and initially tested that aims to save time and costs and to provide a modern technical solution for the initial collection, registration and visualization of 3D cadastral data. An open-source, mobile application for the acquisition of 3D crowdsourced cadastral data and 3D modelling and visualization of property units is developed, tested and presented. The proposed technical procedure is adjustable and may be used in both the developed and the developing world. The geometric accuracy of the final product depends on the geometric accuracy of the basemaps used. The developed application is tested on a multi-story building in an urban area of Larisa, in Greece. An initial evaluation of the procedure and the final product, in terms of its usability, affordability, reliability and implementation duration, is conducted. The first results are satisfactory and may lead to a fit-for-purpose procedure for a 3D cadastre for all in the future.