Effects of Color, Distance, and Incident Angle on Quality of 3D Point Clouds

Abstract

In laser scanning, the precision of the point clouds (PC) acquisition is influenced by a variety of factors such as environmental conditions, scanning tools and artifacts, dynamic scan environments, and depth discontinuity. In addition, object color, object texture, and scanning geometry are other factors that affect the quality of point clouds. These factors can affect the overall quality of point clouds, which in turn could result in a significant impact on the accuracy of as-built models. This study investigates the effect of object color and texture on the PC quality using a time of flight scanner. The effect of these factors has investigated through an experiment carried out on the Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. The outcomes of this ongoing research will be used to further highlight the parameters that must be taken into consideration in 3D laser scanning operations to avoid sources of errors that result from laser sensor, object characteristics, and scanning geometry.