Light Detection And Ranging Data Research Articles

Estimating Aboveground Carbon Stock at the Scale of Individual Trees in Subtropical Forests Using UAV LiDAR and Hyperspectral Data

Accurate estimation of aboveground carbon stock for individual trees is important for evaluating forest carbon sequestration potential and maintaining ecosystem carbon balance. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data has been widely used to estimate tree-level carbon stock. However, few studies have explored the potential of combining LiDAR and hyperspectral data to estimate tree-level carbon stock. The objective of this study is to explore the potential of integrating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) LiDAR with hyperspectral data for tree-level aboveground carbon stock estimation. To achieve this goal, we first delineated individual trees by a CHM-based watershed segmentation algorithm. We then extracted structural and spectral features from UAV LiDAR and hyperspectral data respectively. Then, Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between LiDAR features, hyperspectral features, and tree-level carbon stock, based on which, features were selected for model development. Finally, we developed tree-level carbon stock estimation models based on the Schumacher–Hall formula and stepwise multiple regression. Results showed that both LiDAR and hyperspectral features were strongly correlated to tree-level carbon stock. Both tree height (H, r = 0.75) and Green index (GI, r = 0.83) had the highest correlation coefficients with tree-level carbon stock in LiDAR and hyperspectral features, respectively. The best model using LiDAR features alone includes the metrics of H, the 10th height percentile of points (PH10), and mean height of points (Hmean), and can explain 74% of the variations in tree-level carbon stock. Similarly, the best model using hyperspectral data includes GI and modified normalized differential vegetation index (mNDVI), and has similar explanatory power (r2 = 0.75). The model that integrates predictors, namely, GI and the 95th height percentile of points (PH95) from hyperspectral and LiDAR data, substantially improves the explanatory power (r2 = 0.89). These results indicated that while either LiDAR data or hyperspectral data alone can estimate tree-level carbon stock with reasonable accuracy, combining LiDAR and hyperspectral features can substantially improve the explanatory power of the model. Such results suggested that tree-level carbon stock estimation can greatly benefit from the complementary nature of LiDAR-detected structural characteristics and hyperspectral-captured spectral information of vegetation.

Individual Tree Structural Parameter Extraction and Volume Table Creation Based on Near-Field LiDAR Data: A Case Study in a Subtropical Planted Forest.

Individual tree structural parameters are vital for precision silviculture in planted forests. This study used near-field LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data (i.e., unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) and ground backpack laser scanning (BLS)) to extract individual tree structural parameters and fit volume models in subtropical planted forests in southeastern China. To do this, firstly, the tree height was acquired from ULS data and the diameter at breast height (DBH) was acquired from BLS data by using individual tree segmentation algorithms. Secondly, point clouds of the complete forest canopy were obtained through the combination of ULS and BLS data. Finally, five tree taper models were fitted using the LiDAR-extracted structural parameters of each tree, and then the optimal taper model was selected. Moreover, standard volume models were used to calculate the stand volume; then, standing timber volume tables were created for dawn redwood and poplar. The extraction of individual tree structural parameters exhibited good performance. The volume model had a good performance in calculating the standing volume for dawn redwood and poplar. Our results demonstrate that near-field LiDAR has a strong capability of extracting tree structural parameters and creating volume tables for subtropical planted forests.

2-D UAV navigation solution with LIDAR sensor under GPS-denied environment

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is widely used by many industries these days such as militaries, agriculture, and surveillance. However, one of the main challenges of UAV is navigating through an environment where global positioning system (GPS) is being denied. The main purpose of this paper is to find a solution for UAV to be able to navigate in a GPS denied surrounding without affecting the drone flight performance. There are two ways to overcome these challenges such as using visual odometry (VO) or by using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). However, VO has a drawback because camera sensors require good lighting which will affect the performance of the UAV when it is navigating through a low light intensity environment. Hence, in this paper 2-D SLAM will be use as a solution to help UAV to navigate under a GPS-denied environment with the help of a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor which known as a LIDAR-based SLAM. This is because SLAM can help UAVs to localize itself and map the surrounding of the environment. The concept and idea of this paper will be fully simulated using MATLAB, where the drone navigation will be simulated in MATLAB to extract LIDAR data and to use the LIDAR data to carry out SLAM via pose graph optimization. Besides, the contribution to this research work has also identified that in pose graph optimization, the loop closure threshold and loop closure radius play an important role. The loop closure threshold can affect the accuracy of the trajectory of the drone and the accuracy of mapping the environment as compared to ground truth. On the other hand, the loop closure search radius can increase the processing speed of obtaining the data via pose graph optimization. The main contribution to this research work is shown that the processing speed can increase up to 45 % and the accuracy of the trajectory of the drone and the mapped surrounding is quite accurate as compared to ground truth.

To What Extent Can UAV Photogrammetry Replicate UAV LiDAR to Determine Forest Structure? A Test in Two Contrasting Tropical Forests

AbstractTropical forests are complex multi‐layered systems, with the height and three‐dimensional (3D) structure of trees influencing the carbon and biodiversity they contain. Fine‐resolution 3D data on forest structure can be collected reliably with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors mounted on aircraft or Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), however, they remain expensive to collect and process. Structure‐from‐Motion (SfM) Digital Aerial Photogrammetry (SfM‐DAP), which relies on photographs taken of the same area from multiple angles, is a lower‐cost alternative to LiDAR for generating 3D data on forest structure. Here, we evaluate how SfM‐DAP compares to LiDAR data acquired concurrently using a fixed‐wing UAV, over two contrasting tropical forests in Gabon and Peru. We show that SfM‐DAP data cannot be used in isolation to measure key aspects of forest structure, including canopy height (%Bias: 40%–50%), fractional cover, and gap fraction, due to difficulties measuring ground elevation, even under low tree cover. However, we find even in complex forests, SfM‐DAP is an effective means of measuring top‐of‐canopy structure, including surface heterogeneity, and is capable of producing similar measurements of vertical structure as LiDAR. Thus, in areas where ground height is known, SfM‐DAP is an effective method for measuring important aspects of forest structure, including canopy height, and gaps, however, without ground data, SfM‐DAP is of more limited utility. Our results support the growing evidence base pointing to photogrammetry as a viable complement, or alternative, to LiDAR, capable of providing much needed information to support the mapping and monitoring of biomass and biodiversity.

A Precisely One-Step Registration Methodology for Optical Imagery and LiDAR Data Using Virtual Point Primitives

The registration of optical imagery and 3D Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point data continues to be a challenge for various applications in photogrammetry and remote sensing. In this paper, the framework employs a new registration primitive called virtual point (VP) that can be generated from the linear features within a LiDAR dataset including straight lines (SL) and curved lines (CL). By using an auxiliary parameter (λ), it is easy to take advantage of the accurate and fast calculation of the one-step registration transformation model. The transformation model parameters and λs can be calculated simultaneously by applying the least square method recursively. In urban areas, there are many buildings with different shapes. Therefore, the boundaries of buildings provide a large number of SL and CL features and selecting properly linear features and transforming into VPs can reduce the errors caused by the semi-discrete random characteristics of the LiDAR points. According to the result shown in the paper, the registration precision can reach the 1~2 pixels level of the optical images.

Estimation of Individual Tree Stem Biomass in an Uneven-Aged Structured Coniferous Forest Using Multispectral LiDAR Data

Stem biomass is a fundamental component of the global carbon cycle that is essential for forest productivity estimation. Over the last few decades, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has proven to be a useful tool for accurate carbon stock and biomass estimation in various biomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of multispectral LiDAR data for the reliable estimation of single-tree total and barkless stem biomass (TSB and BSB) in an uneven-aged structured forest with complex topography. Destructive and non-destructive field measurements were collected for a total of 67 dominant and co-dominant Abies borisii-regis trees located in a mountainous area in Greece. Subsequently, two allometric equations were constructed to enrich the reference data with non-destructively sampled trees. Five different regression algorithms were tested for single-tree BSB and TSB estimation using height (height percentiles and bicentiles, max and average height) and intensity (skewness, standard deviation and average intensity) LiDAR-derived metrics: Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), Gaussian Process (GP), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The results showcased that the RF algorithm provided the best overall predictive performance in both BSB (i.e., RMSE = 175.76 kg and R2 = 0.78) and TSB (i.e., RMSE = 211.16 kg and R2 = 0.65) cases. Our work demonstrates that BSB can be estimated with moderate to high accuracy using all the tested algorithms, contrary to the TSB, where only three algorithms (RF, SVR and GP) can adequately provide accurate TSB predictions due to bark irregularities along the stems. Overall, the multispectral LiDAR data provide accurate stem biomass estimates, the general applicability of which should be further tested in different biomes and ecosystems.

Novel rotor effective wind speed estimation method for light detection and ranging application

The ‘Cyclops’ effect of the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system means that the LiDAR system can only measure wind speed at one point in space at a certain moment. However, for the purposes of wind turbine control, considering the wind information at the rotor plane with time stamps can be more precise. The wind speed attenuates due to the induction zone; however, Taylor's frozen hypothesis is commonly used in the application of LiDAR for the rotor effective wind speed estimation. The wind turbine is controlled directly by LiDAR measured data with constant time delay, which weakens LiDAR's effectiveness. In this paper, a novel LiDAR data pre-processing method is demonstrated. The Medici induction zone model is further refined with initial wind speed and different measured distances for accurate estimation. Furthermore, it makes online variable time delay of LiDAR data computation possible with the solution of the separated differential equation. Finally, the novel method is fully verified through field test results. The results show that the initial wind speed affected the attenuation factor within 1.4 times rotor radius and the error between the experimental value and the theoretical value is within 0.1 m/s.

Application of Supervised Machine Learning Technique on LiDAR Data for Monitoring Coastal Land Evolution

Machine Learning (ML) techniques are now being used very successfully in predicting and supporting decisions in multiple areas such as environmental issues and land management. These techniques have also provided promising results in the field of natural hazard assessment and risk mapping. The aim of this work is to apply the Supervised ML technique to train a model able to classify a particular gravity-driven coastal hillslope geomorphic model (slope-over-wall) involving most of the soft rocks of Cilento (southern Italy). To train the model, only geometric data have been used, namely morphometric feature maps computed on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. Morphometric maps were computed using third-order polynomials, so as to obtain products that best describe landforms. Not all morphometric parameters from literature were used to train the model, the most significant ones were chosen by applying the Neighborhood Component Analysis (NCA) method. Different models were trained and the main indicators derived from the confusion matrices were compared. The best results were obtained using the Weighted k-NN model (accuracy score = 75%). Analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves also shows that the discriminating capacity of the test reached percentages higher than 95%. The model, resulting more accurate in the training area, will be extended to similar areas along the Tyrrhenian coastal land.

Mapping Relict Charcoal Hearths in New England Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks and LiDAR Data

Advanced deep learning methods combined with regional, open access, airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data have great potential to study the spatial extent of historic land use features preserved under the forest canopy throughout New England, a region in the northeastern United States. Mapping anthropogenic features plays a key role in understanding historic land use dynamics during the 17th to early 20th centuries, however previous studies have primarily used manual or semi-automated digitization methods, which are time consuming for broad-scale mapping. This study applies fully-automated deep convolutional neural networks (i.e., U-Net) with LiDAR derivatives to identify relict charcoal hearths (RCHs), a type of historical land use feature. Results show that slope, hillshade, and Visualization for Archaeological Topography (VAT) rasters work well in six localized test regions (spatial scale: <1.5 km2, best F1 score: 95.5%), but also at broader extents at the town level (spatial scale: 493 km2, best F1 score: 86%). The model performed best in areas with deciduous forest and high slope terrain (e.g., >15 degrees) (F1 score: 86.8%) compared to coniferous forest and low slope terrain (e.g., <15 degrees) (F1 score: 70.1%). Overall, our results contribute to current methodological discussions regarding automated extraction of historical cultural features using deep learning and LiDAR.

Multi-platform LiDAR approach for detecting coarse woody debris in a landscape with varied ground cover

ABSTRACT Coarse woody debris (CWD), or fallen logs, is known to be an essential habitat element for many organisms. CWD also supports ecosystem functioning through soil formation, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage. For these reasons, accurate assessments of CWD across landscapes are of interest to many ecologists and landscape managers, but traditional field-based measurements can be time-consuming and sampling strategies may not be representative of entire landscapes. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technologies may be able to provide a more rapid assessment of the number and volume of CWD across wide areas. However, most research using LiDAR for forest and woodland inventory assessment has focused on standing wood. Detection accuracy of CWD with LiDAR can be impacted by the point density of LiDAR data, ground layer vegetation, and sensor positioning relative to other vegetation or landscape structural features. We used a high-resolution terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), an unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) laser scanner (ULS), and a combination of data from both sensors (i.e. fused data, FLS) to estimate CWD in a grassy woodland ecosystem. The study area comprised plots with different types and amounts of vegetation cover and different types of CWD, both naturally occurring and introduced including dispersed, clumped, or a mixture of both types. This enabled a more detailed exploration of model performance across sensor types, vegetation types, and ground cover biomass. A random forest (RF) classification algorithm and noise removing operations on raster imagery were used to classify CWD. Completeness and correctness accuracy with the developed method were highly variable depending on the data and ground vegetation cover and ranged between 20% and 86%, and 12% and 96%, respectively, in comparison with field data. The LiDAR-derived digital surface model (DSM), surface roughness, and topographic position index were important variables for CWD detection. We found that the detection accuracy of CWD varied with the vegetation type, amount of ground vegetation cover, and LiDAR data. Ground cover density had a strong negative impact on accuracy, particularly for TLS and FLS data.

Unlocking the potential of hyperspectral and LiDAR for above-ground biomass (AGB) and tree species classification in tropical forests

Tree species classification using a combination of airborne hyperspectral and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) can provide valuable and effective methods for forest management, such as planning and monitoring purposes. However, only a few studies have applied tree species classification using both combinations in the tropical forest. The research takes a comparative classification approach to examine several classifiers using airborne hyperspectral in the tropical forest. In addition, Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) method was applied on hyperspectral data to extract the crown of individual tree species for classification and estimation purposes. Minimum Noise Fraction Transform (MNF) was applied to reduce the data dimensionality and different training samples from the various species used in this study. The result shows that Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) achieved the highest overall accuracy above 50% compared to other classifiers in the tropical forest. Besides, LiDAR data was also used to estimate individual trees' height for all species in the study area. The multiple coefficients of determination (R2) test result between LiDAR and field observation data in eight years gaps is 0.754. Therefore, Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) and carbon stock will estimate using a combination of LiDAR, hyperspectral, and field observation data for individual tree species. This method has proven to provide the required information for forest planning and generation in a short time, especially in tree species identification, AGB, and carbon stock estimation in tropical forests.

ASSESSING LIDAR TRAINING DATA QUANTITIES FOR CLASSIFICATION MODELS

Abstract. Classifying objects within aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data is an essential task to which machine learning (ML) is applied increasingly. ML has been shown to be more effective on LiDAR than imagery for classification, but most efforts have focused on imagery because of the challenges presented by LiDAR data. LiDAR datasets are of higher dimensionality, discontinuous, heterogenous, spatially incomplete, and often scarce. As such, there has been little examination into the fundamental properties of the training data required for acceptable performance of classification models tailored for LiDAR data. The quantity of training data is one such crucial property, because training on different sizes of data provides insight into a model’s performance with differing data sets. This paper assesses the impact of training data size on the accuracy of PointNet, a widely used ML approach for point cloud classification. Subsets of ModelNet ranging from 40 to 9,843 objects were validated on a test set of 400 objects. Accuracy improved logarithmically; decelerating from 45 objects onwards, it slowed significantly at a training size of 2,000 objects, corresponding to 20,000,000 points. This work contributes to the theoretical foundation for development of LiDAR-focused models by establishing a learning curve, suggesting the minimum quantity of manually labelled data necessary for satisfactory classification performance and providing a path for further analysis of the effects of modifying training data characteristics.

USING SIMULATION DATA FROM GAMING ENVIRONMENTS FOR TRAINING A DEEP LEARNING ALGORITHM ON 3D POINT CLOUDS

Abstract. Deep neural networks (DNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated greater robustness and accuracy in classifying two-dimensional images and three-dimensional point clouds compared to more traditional machine learning approaches. However, their main drawback is the need for large quantities of semantically labeled training data sets, which are often out of reach for those with resource constraints. In this study, we evaluated the use of simulated 3D point clouds for training a CNN learning algorithm to segment and classify 3D point clouds of real-world urban environments. The simulation involved collecting light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data using a simulated 16 channel laser scanner within the the CARLA (Car Learning to Act) autonomous vehicle gaming environment. We used this labeled data to train the Kernel Point Convolution (KPConv) and KPConv Segmentation Network for Point Clouds (KP-FCNN), which we tested on real-world LiDAR data from the NPM3D benchmark data set. Our results showed that high accuracy can be achieved using data collected in a simulator.

Tidal Creek Mapping from Airborne LiDAR Data Using Multi-resolution Cloth Simulation Filtering

Kim, H.; Lee, J., and Kim, Y., 2021. Tidal creek mapping from airborne LiDAR data using multi-resolution cloth simulation filtering. In: Lee, J.L.; Suh, K.-S.; Lee, B.; Shin, S., and Lee, J. (eds.), Crisis and Integrated Management for Coastal and Marine Safety. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 114, pp. 86–90. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Tidal creeks are transitional waterways promoting the evolution and expansion of tidal flats. The precise and objective delineation of tidal creeks is critical for monitoring the characteristics, formation, and evolution of tidal flats. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are the most widely used source of tidal topography information, since they can provide precise terrain information over wide areas. However, existing tidal creek extraction methods using airborne LiDAR data have limitations, such as the necessity of excessive user intervention and a lack of adaptability to the various shapes and widths of tidal creeks. The morphological irregularities, complexity, and diverse widths (from a few centimeters to several kilometers) of tidal creeks, complicates their automatic or manual extraction from LiDAR data. In this study, we propose an effective and practical method for the mapping of tidal creeks with a wide range of widths. Here, cloth simulation filtering (CSF), a verified ground filtering technique used to filter off-ground objects from point cloud in land LiDAR surveys, was adopted and modified. By sequentially filtering the creek points through a hypothetical cloth with an increasingly larger grid resolution, the proposed multi-resolution CSF can extract huge tidal creeks without compromising the details of narrow creeks. This sequential filtering is based on local thresholds calculated using the creek points extracted during the previous filtering and does not require empirical parameter adjustments. The results of an experimental evaluation based on airborne LiDAR data collected over the west coast of South Korea indicate that the accuracy of the proposed method is high (Kappa > 0.8) and superior to that of results obtained through an user parameter.

Regionalized Linear Models for River Depth Retrieval Using 3-Band Multispectral Imagery and Green LIDAR Data

Bathymetry is of vital importance in river studies but obtaining full-scale riverbed maps often requires considerable resources. Remote sensing imagery can be used for efficient depth mapping in both space and time. Multispectral image depth retrieval requires imagery with a certain level of quality and local in-situ depth observations for the calculation and verification of models. To assess the potential of providing extensive depth maps in rivers lacking local bathymetry, we tested the application of three platform-specific, regionalized linear models for depth retrieval across four Norwegian rivers. We used imagery from satellite platforms Worldview-2 and Sentinel-2, along with local aerial images to calculate the intercept and slope vectors. Bathymetric input was provided using green Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data augmented by sonar measurements. By averaging platform-specific intercept and slope values, we calculated regionalized linear models and tested model performance in each of the four rivers. While the performance of the basic regional models was comparable to local river-specific models, regional models were improved by including the estimated average depth and a brightness variable. Our results show that regionalized linear models for depth retrieval can potentially be applied for extensive spatial and temporal mapping of bathymetry in water bodies where local in-situ depth measurements are lacking.

Simultaneous identification, modeling and registration refinement of poles using laser scanning point clouds

The method presented herein performs the tasks of identification, modeling, and registration refinement of poles using Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) point clouds. This method starts with a preliminary segmentation followed by eliminating outliers by integrating Fourier series and robust estimators. Poles’ cross sectional shapes are then identified by a customized template matching. Afterwards, points belonging to poles are extracted and the as-built model and registration-refined version of poles are generated. The algorithm was tested on five datasets including point clouds of three industrial sites, an urban environment, and a pole-like monument with very different volumes, resolutions, and configurations. The developed method works robustly despite the challenges that are often present in LiDAR data comprising outliers, non-uniform point sampling, gaps, and registration error. The obtained results indicate that 116 out of 117 poles in all five datasets were identified with no false positives at the object level. At point level, it reached greater than 98% average precision and 98% average accuracy in all datasets. Poles were modeled with a sub-millimeter precision in all datasets except for the third dataset in which poles were modeled with millimeter precision.

Impacts of point cloud density reductions on extracting road geometric features from mobile LiDAR data

The variation in point cloud density is driven by many different factors. This variation is expected to affect the quality of the information extracted from the point clouds, however, the extent to which these variations impact the ability to accurately extract and assess geometric features of highways from point cloud data are unknown. This paper investigates the impacts of point density reduction on the extraction and assessment of four critical geometric features. The density of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data was first reduced and the different features were extracted at varying levels of point density and on a selection of different highway segments in Alberta, Canada. The information obtained at lower point density was then compared to what was obtained at 100% point density. It was found that clearance assessments and sight distance assessments had low sensitivity to reductions in point density (i.e., reducing the point density to as low as 10% of the original data (30 ppm2 on the pavement surface) yielded results comparable to what was obtained at 100% density (300 ppm2) In contrast, for cross section slope estimation and curve attribute estimation higher sensitivity to point density was observed. These findings are critical for transportation agencies considering the adoption of LiDAR technology to manage elements of their infrastructure and for researchers developing data processing tools and algorithms for the semantic segmentation of transportation features from remotely sensed point clouds.

Robust registration of aerial images and LiDAR data using spatial constraints and Gabor structural features

Co-registration of aerial imagery and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data is quite challenging because the different imaging mechanisms produce significant geometric and radiometric distortions between the two multimodal data sources. To address this problem, we propose a robust and effective coarse-to-fine registration method that is conducted in two stages utilizing spatial constraints and Gabor structural features. In the first stage, the LiDAR point cloud data is transformed into an intensity map that is used as the reference image. Then, coarse registration is completed by designing a partition-based Features from Accelerated Segment Test (FAST) operator to extract the uniformly distributed interest points in the aerial images and thereafter performing a local geometric correction based on the collinearity equations using the exterior orientation parameters (EoPs). The coarse registration aims to provide a reliable spatial geometry relationship for the subsequent fine registration and is designed to eliminate rotation and scale changes, as well as making only a few translation differences exist between the images. In the second stage, a novel feature descriptor called multi-Scale and multi-Directional Features of odd Gabor (SDFG) is first built to capture the multi-scale and multi-directional structural properties of the images. Then, the three-dimensional (3D) phase correlation (PC) of the SDFG descriptor is established to detect the control points (CPs) between the aerial and LiDAR intensity image in the frequency domain, where the image matching is accelerated by the 3D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) technique. Finally, the obtained CPs not only are employed to refine the EoPs, but also are used to achieve the fine registration of the aerial images and LiDAR data. We conduct experiments to verify the robustness of the proposed registration method using three sets of aerial images and LiDAR data with different scene coverage. Experimental results show that the proposed method is robust to geometric distortions and radiometric changes. Moreover, it achieves the registration accuracy of less than 2 pixels for all cases, which outperforms the current four state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating its superior registration performance.

Automated defect inspection of concrete structures

This paper presents a framework for automated defect inspection of the concrete structures, made up of data collection, defect detection, scene reconstruction, defect assessment and data integration stages. A mobile data collection system, comprising a 360° camera and a digital Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), is developed to render high flexibility of data acquisition of image and three-dimensional spatial data, while users traverse complex indoor environments. Deep learning algorithms are implemented to efficiently detect defects from the collected images, and a simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm is adopted for site reconstruction with the acquired LiDAR data. Based on the images of detected defects, assessment is conducted to evaluate the defect conditions, complemented with the defect dimensions estimated from the aligned image and LiDAR data. The position of defects could also be identified and mapped to respective structural elements. All the inspection results are finally integrated into existing Building Information Modelling files for better facility management. The proposed workflow was validated using a case study for determining concrete cracks and spalls in a real-world facility, successfully demonstrating the joint application of advanced technologies in facilitating inspection programs of civil infrastructure.

Building Extraction from Airborne LiDAR Data Based on Multi-Constraints Graph Segmentation

Building extraction from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point clouds is a significant step in the process of digital urban construction. Although the existing building extraction methods perform well in simple urban environments, when encountering complicated city environments with irregular building shapes or varying building sizes, these methods cannot achieve satisfactory building extraction results. To address these challenges, a building extraction method from airborne LiDAR data based on multi-constraints graph segmentation was proposed in this paper. The proposed method mainly converted point-based building extraction into object-based building extraction through multi-constraints graph segmentation. The initial extracted building points were derived according to the spatial geometric features of different object primitives. Finally, a multi-scale progressive growth optimization method was proposed to recover some omitted building points and improve the completeness of building extraction. The proposed method was tested and validated using three datasets provided by the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve the best building extraction results. It was also found that no matter the average quality or the average F1 score, the proposed method outperformed ten other investigated building extraction methods.