Semi-Automatic Registration of Airborne and Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data Using Building Corner Matching with Boundaries as Reliability Check

Liang Cheng,Manchun Li,Yongxue Liu,Lihua Tong

doi:10.3390/rs5126260

Abstract

Data registration is a prerequisite for the integration of multi-platform laser scanning in various applications. A new approach is proposed for the semi-automatic registration of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data with buildings without eaves. Firstly, an automatic calculation procedure for thresholds in density of projected points (DoPP) method is introduced to extract boundary segments from terrestrial laser scanning data. A new algorithm, using a self-extending procedure, is developed to recover the extracted boundary segments, which then intersect to form the corners of buildings. The building corners extracted from airborne and terrestrial laser scanning are reliably matched through an automatic iterative process in which boundaries from two datasets are compared for the reliability check. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed approach provides both high reliability and high geometric accuracy (average error of 0.44 m/0.15 m in horizontal/vertical direction for corresponding building corners) for the final registration of airborne laser scanning (ALS) and tripod mounted terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data.

Highlights

With the development of laser scanning technology, the family of such applications has grown to include airborne laser scanning (ALS), tripod mounted terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), mobile laser scanning (MLS), and boat-based laser scanning
Conjugate building corners are used for the generation of registration relationship with least mean square (LMS) method, which guides the registration of ALS and TLS data
The building corners and boundary segments extracted from ALS and TLS data, respectively, are combined as the registration elements

Summary

Introduction

With the development of laser scanning technology, the family of such applications has grown to include airborne laser scanning (ALS), tripod mounted terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), mobile laser scanning (MLS), and boat-based laser scanning. The performance, as well as application scope, of different platforms is variable, they generally complement one another [1,2]. Along with the progression of laser scanning technology, the integration of multi-platform laser scanning is an evident trend [3]. Airborne laser scanning is quickly able to obtain three-dimensional information about objects over a large area [4]. Despite abundant top-surface information, the corresponding façade information is lacking. Terrestrial laser scanning can obtain detailed façade information, with high geometric precision, but its scanning range is limited and obtaining top-surface information is difficult [5,6].

Methods

Results

Conclusion