Set Of Control Points Research Articles

Methods of minimising doses incurred by external exposure while moving in radiation hazardous areas

Radiation doses received by workers during their movement within areas contaminated as a result of events and activities, leading to emergency or existing exposure situations, may provide a substantial contribution to total external exposure during remediation work. This paper describes an approach to minimise worker external exposure in these circumstances, based on graph theory. The paper describes several tasks, including: searching for a route with the lowest dose, searching for an optimal bypass with a given set of control points and searching for the optimal road network coverage. Classical graph theory algorithms have been used (Dijkstra’s algorithm, Chinese postman problem and travelling salesman problem). Algorithms for solving the above mentioned problems have been developed and were included in the information-analytical system for radiation safety. This software has been applied for optimisation of protection during remediation work at the Andreeva Bay site of temporary storage for spent fuel and radioactive waste in the Kola Peninsula, both in the context of existing exposure situations and improving the preparedness for emergency exposure situations.

Feedback control of fire simulation based on computational fluid dynamics

AbstractVisual simulation of fire plays an important role in many applications, such as movies and computer games. In these applications, artists are often requested to synthesize realistic fire with a particular behavior. To meet such requirement, we present a feedback control method for fire simulations. The user can design the shape of fire by placing a set of control points. Our method generates a force field and automatically adjusts a temperature at a fire source, based on user specified control points. Experimental results show that our method can control the fire shape.

Spline Parameterization of Complex Planar Domains for Isogeometric Analysis

Abstract Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) involves unification of modelling and analysis by adopting the same basis functions (splines), for both. Hence, spline based parametric model is the starting step for IGA. Representing a complex domain, using parametric geometric model is a challenging task. Parameterization problem can be defined as, finding an optimal set of control points of a B-spline model for exact domain modelling. Also, the quality of parameterization, too has significant effect on IGA. Finding the B-spline control points for any given domain, which gives accurate results is still an open issue. In this paper, a new planar B-spline parameterization technique, based on domain mapping method is proposed. First step of the methodology is to map an input (non-convex) domain onto a unit circle (convex) with the use of harmonic functions. The unique properties of harmonic functions: global minima and mean value property, ensures the mapping is bi-jective and with no self-intersections. Next step is to map the unit circle to unit square to make it apt for B-spline modelling. Square domain is re-parameterized by using conventional centripetal method. Once the domain is properly parameterized, the required control points are computed by solving the B-spline tensor product equation. The proposed methodology is validated by applying the developed B-spline model for a static structural analysis of a plate, using isogeometric analysis. Different domains are modelled to show effectiveness of the given technique. It is observed that the proposed method is versatile and computationally efficient.

4D VMAT planning and verification technique for dynamic tracking using a direct aperture deformation (DAD) method.

We developed a four‐dimensional volumetric modulated arc therapy (4D VMAT) planning technique for moving targets using a direct aperture deformation (DAD) method and investigated its feasibility for clinical use. A 3D VMAT plan was generated on a reference phase of a 4D CT dataset. The plan was composed of a set of control points including the beam angle, MLC apertures and weights. To generate the 4D VMAT plan, these control points were assigned to the closest respiratory phases using the temporal information of the gantry angle and respiratory curve. Then, a DAD algorithm was used to deform the beam apertures at each control point to the corresponding phase to compensate for the tumor motion and shape changes. Plans for a phantom and five lung cases were included in this study to evaluate the proposed technique. Dosimetric comparisons were performed between 4D and 3D VMAT plans. Plan verification was implemented by delivering the 4D VMAT plans on a moving QUASAR™ phantom driven with patient‐specific respiratory curves. The phantom study showed that the 4D VMAT plan generated with the DAD method was comparable to the ideal 3D VMAT plan. DVH comparisons indicated that the planning target volume (PTV) coverages and minimum doses were nearly invariant, and no significant difference in lung dosimetry was observed. Patient studies revealed that the GTV coverage was nearly the same; although the PTV coverage dropped from 98.8% to 94.7%, and the mean dose decreased from 64.3 to 63.8 Gy on average. For the verification measurements, the average gamma index pass rate was 98.6% and 96.5% for phantom 3D and 4D VMAT plans with 3%/3 mm criteria. For patient plans, the average gamma pass rate was 96.5% (range 94.5–98.5%) and 95.2% (range 94.1–96.1%) for 3D and 4D VMAT plans. The proposed 4D VMAT planning technique using the DAD method is feasible to incorporate the intra‐fraction organ motion and shape change into a 4D VMAT planning. It has great potential to provide high plan quality and delivery efficiency for moving targets.

A study of integration of LIDAR and photogrammetric data sets by indirect georeferencing and in situ camera calibration

ABSTRACTThis article aims to study the importance of in situ camera calibration for the integration of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and photogrammetric data sets by indirect georeferencing. For this purpose, the in situ camera calibration was performed to estimate the interior orientation parameters (IOP) in the flight condition, using a sub-block of images (six images from two opposite flight strips), extracted from the entire block and a set of LIDAR control points (LCPs) computed by three planes intersection, extracted from the LIDAR point cloud on the building roofs. In order to evaluate the accuracies of the LIDAR and photogrammetric integration, two experiments were performed: the first used IOP from terrestrial calibration, and the second employed the IOP from the in situ calibration. The analysis of the obtained results from the performed experiments showed that the horizontal and vertical accuracies, computed by checkpoints discrepancies, are improved significantly when the IOP from in situ calibration are used. For this condition, the values of horizontal and vertical RMSEs of discrepancies are close to 0.40 and to 0.50 m, respectively.

Radial basis function mesh deformation based on dynamic control points

Radial basis function (RBF) interpolation is a robust mesh deformation method, which has the main property of interpolating the displacements of mesh boundary points to the internal points through RBF. However, this method is computationally intensive, especially for problems with large number of grids. To handle this problem, a data reduction RBF method has been developed in literature. By using greedy algorithm, only a small subset of mesh boundary points is selected as the control point set to perform mesh deformation. Subsequently, much few boundary points are needed to approximate the shape of geometry and the computational cost of data reduction RBF method is much lower than the original RBF. Despite the referred benefits, this method incurs the loss of geometry precision especially at boundaries where large deformation happens, which results into the decline of deformation capacity. To further improve the data-reduction RBF method, a novel dynamic-control-point RBF (DCP-RBF) mesh deformation method is proposed in this paper, which employing a dynamic set of control points. In each time step of mesh deformation, the neighboring boundary point near the cell with the worst quality is added into the control point set, while the neighboring control point near the cell with the best quality is removed from the control point set. In this way, it is ensured that there are more control points placed around the region with lower mesh quality, where usually large deformation occurs. Consequently, in contrast with the data reduction RBF method, DCP-RBF permits significantly larger mesh deformation with a quite small increase in computational cost. The superiority of the proposed DCP-RBF method is demonstrated through several test cases including both 2D and 3D dynamic mesh applications.

Combining nadir and oblique UAV imagery to reconstruct quarry topography: methodology and feasibility analysis

ABSTRACTThe feasibility of unmanned-aerial-vehicle-based photogrammetry was assessed for the reconstruction of high-resolution topography and geomorphic features of quarries by nadir and off-nadir imagery. The test site was a quarry located in the rural area of Turi (Bari, southern Italy). Two processing scenarios were created. Nadir images were initially used, and images acquired with off-nadir angles were added. An accurate set of ground control points (GCPs) were surveyed for both georeferencing purposes and validation processes. In the reconstruction of the surfaces, an accuracy of a few centimeters was achieved in the final positioning of point clouds representing the main geometries of quarry environment. However, greatest differences were found along the edges or the lines characterized by sudden slope changes. To better understand such results, some characteristic quarry shapes depicted by both the scenarios were compared to those surveyed by a total station used as an independent benchmark technique. It allowed to define the benefits introduced by the joint use of nadir and oblique images in the delineation of quarry shapes, surface discontinuities and better descriptions of sub-vertical walls. Beside the evaluation of benefits introduced by use of oblique cameras, the effectiveness of the proposed methodology was also discussed with alternative technologies. Unmanned aerial platforms represent an effective solution, with the need for few accurate GCPs.

A Study on In Situ Calibration of an Off-The-Shelf Digital Camera Integrated to a Lidar System

Photogrammetric procedures using the integration of imagery and light detection and ranging (Lidar) datasets are becoming common in mapping companies nowadays. When photogrammetric and Lidar surveys are performed simultaneously while having the camera connected to the Lidar system, the image's exterior orientation parameters computed from the Lidar system can be used to perform photogrammetric applications. To implement such approach, camera calibration procedures should be applied to obtain accurate interior orientation parameters. This paper shows the performed study and experimental results from an in situ self-calibration using simultaneously collected imagery and Lidar datasets. The experimental study is conducted to devise a methodology for the in situ self-calibration that uses a set of vertical control points, extracted from Lidar point cloud, as well as the three-dimensional coordinates of the camera exposure stations, computed from the Lidar trajectory. For the small photogrammetric block used in this study, the results from the performed experiments demonstrated that the in situ self-calibration is required to obtain horizontal accuracies of approximately one image pixel on the ground in bundle adjustment assisted by direct measured of the coordinates of the camera exposure stations.

EVALUATING DENSE 3D RECONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE PACKAGES FOR OBLIQUE MONITORING OF CROP CANOPY SURFACE

Crop Surface Models (CSMs) are 2.5D raster surfaces representing absolute plant canopy height. Using multiple CMSs generated from data acquired at multiple time steps, a crop surface monitoring is enabled. This makes it possible to monitor crop growth over time and can be used for monitoring in-field crop growth variability which is useful in the context of high-throughput phenotyping. This study aims to evaluate several software packages for dense 3D reconstruction from multiple overlapping RGB images on field and plot-scale. A summer barley field experiment located at the Campus Klein-Altendorf of University of Bonn was observed by acquiring stereo images from an oblique angle using consumer-grade smart cameras. Two such cameras were mounted at an elevation of 10 m and acquired images for a period of two months during the growing period of 2014. The field experiment consisted of nine barley cultivars that were cultivated in multiple repetitions and nitrogen treatments. Manual plant height measurements were carried out at four dates during the observation period. The software packages Agisoft PhotoScan, VisualSfM with CMVS/PMVS2 and SURE are investigated. The point clouds are georeferenced through a set of ground control points. Where adequate results are reached, a statistical analysis is performed.

EVALUATING DENSE 3D RECONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE PACKAGES FOR OBLIQUE MONITORING OF CROP CANOPY SURFACE

Abstract. Crop Surface Models (CSMs) are 2.5D raster surfaces representing absolute plant canopy height. Using multiple CMSs generated from data acquired at multiple time steps, a crop surface monitoring is enabled. This makes it possible to monitor crop growth over time and can be used for monitoring in-field crop growth variability which is useful in the context of high-throughput phenotyping. This study aims to evaluate several software packages for dense 3D reconstruction from multiple overlapping RGB images on field and plot-scale. A summer barley field experiment located at the Campus Klein-Altendorf of University of Bonn was observed by acquiring stereo images from an oblique angle using consumer-grade smart cameras. Two such cameras were mounted at an elevation of 10 m and acquired images for a period of two months during the growing period of 2014. The field experiment consisted of nine barley cultivars that were cultivated in multiple repetitions and nitrogen treatments. Manual plant height measurements were carried out at four dates during the observation period. The software packages Agisoft PhotoScan, VisualSfM with CMVS/PMVS2 and SURE are investigated. The point clouds are georeferenced through a set of ground control points. Where adequate results are reached, a statistical analysis is performed.

HYBRID MODELS FOR TRAJECTORY ERROR MODELLING IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract. This paper tackles the first step of any strategy aiming to improve the trajectory of terrestrial mobile mapping systems in urban environments. We present an approach to model the error of terrestrial mobile mapping trajectories, combining deterministic and stochastic models. Due to urban specific environment, the deterministic component will be modelled with non-continuous functions composed by linear shifts, drifts or polynomial functions. In addition, we will introduce a stochastic error component for modelling residual noise of the trajectory error function. First step for error modelling requires to know the actual trajectory error values for several representative environments. In order to determine as accurately as possible the trajectories error, (almost) error less trajectories should be estimated using extracted nonsemantic features from a sequence of images collected with the terrestrial mobile mapping system and from a full set of ground control points. Once the references are estimated, they will be used to determine the actual errors in terrestrial mobile mapping trajectory. The rigorous analysis of these data sets will allow us to characterize the errors of a terrestrial mobile mapping system for a wide range of environments. This information will be of great use in future campaigns to improve the results of the 3D points cloud generation. The proposed approach has been evaluated using real data. The data originate from a mobile mapping campaign over an urban and controlled area of Dortmund (Germany), with harmful GNSS conditions. The mobile mapping system, that includes two laser scanner and two cameras, was mounted on a van and it was driven over a controlled area around three hours. The results show the suitability to decompose trajectory error with non-continuous deterministic and stochastic components.

HYBRID MODELS FOR TRAJECTORY ERROR MODELLING IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS

This paper tackles the first step of any strategy aiming to improve the trajectory of terrestrial mobile mapping systems in urban environments. We present an approach to model the error of terrestrial mobile mapping trajectories, combining deterministic and stochastic models. Due to urban specific environment, the deterministic component will be modelled with non-continuous functions composed by linear shifts, drifts or polynomial functions. In addition, we will introduce a stochastic error component for modelling residual noise of the trajectory error function. <br><br> First step for error modelling requires to know the actual trajectory error values for several representative environments. In order to determine as accurately as possible the trajectories error, (almost) error less trajectories should be estimated using extracted nonsemantic features from a sequence of images collected with the terrestrial mobile mapping system and from a full set of ground control points. Once the references are estimated, they will be used to determine the actual errors in terrestrial mobile mapping trajectory. The rigorous analysis of these data sets will allow us to characterize the errors of a terrestrial mobile mapping system for a wide range of environments. This information will be of great use in future campaigns to improve the results of the 3D points cloud generation. <br><br> The proposed approach has been evaluated using real data. The data originate from a mobile mapping campaign over an urban and controlled area of Dortmund (Germany), with harmful GNSS conditions. The mobile mapping system, that includes two laser scanner and two cameras, was mounted on a van and it was driven over a controlled area around three hours. The results show the suitability to decompose trajectory error with non-continuous deterministic and stochastic components.

POSE ESTIMATION AND MAPPING USING CATADIOPTRIC CAMERAS WITH SPHERICAL MIRRORS

Abstract. Catadioptric cameras have the advantage of broadening the field of view and revealing otherwise occluded object parts. However, they differ geometrically from standard central perspective cameras because of light reflection from the mirror surface which alters the collinearity relation and introduces severe non-linear distortions of the imaged scene. Accommodating for these features, we present in this paper a novel modeling for pose estimation and reconstruction while imaging through spherical mirrors. We derive a closed-form equivalent to the collinearity principle via which we estimate the system’s parameters. Our model yields a resection-like solution which can be developed into a linear one. We show that accurate estimates can be derived with only a small set of control points. Analysis shows that control configuration in the orientation scheme is rather flexible and that high levels of accuracy can be reached in both pose estimation and mapping. Clearly, the ability to model objects which fall outside of the immediate camera field-of-view offers an appealing means to supplement 3-D reconstruction and modeling.

POSE ESTIMATION AND MAPPING USING CATADIOPTRIC CAMERAS WITH SPHERICAL MIRRORS

Catadioptric cameras have the advantage of broadening the field of view and revealing otherwise occluded object parts. However, they differ geometrically from standard central perspective cameras because of light reflection from the mirror surface which alters the collinearity relation and introduces severe non-linear distortions of the imaged scene. Accommodating for these features, we present in this paper a novel modeling for pose estimation and reconstruction while imaging through spherical mirrors. We derive a closed-form equivalent to the collinearity principle via which we estimate the system’s parameters. Our model yields a resection-like solution which can be developed into a linear one. We show that accurate estimates can be derived with only a small set of control points. Analysis shows that control configuration in the orientation scheme is rather flexible and that high levels of accuracy can be reached in both pose estimation and mapping. Clearly, the ability to model objects which fall outside of the immediate camera field-of-view offers an appealing means to supplement 3-D reconstruction and modeling.

Adaptive radial basis function mesh deformation using data reduction

Radial Basis Function (RBF) mesh deformation is one of the most robust mesh deformation methods available. Using the greedy (data reduction) method in combination with an explicit boundary correction, results in an efficient method as shown in literature. However, to ensure the method remains robust, two issues are addressed: 1) how to ensure that the set of control points remains an accurate representation of the geometry in time and 2) how to use/automate the explicit boundary correction, while ensuring a high mesh quality. In this paper, we propose an adaptive RBF mesh deformation method, which ensures the set of control points always represents the geometry/displacement up to a certain (user-specified) criteria, by keeping track of the boundary error throughout the simulation and re-selecting when needed. Opposed to the unit displacement and prescribed displacement selection methods, the adaptive method is more robust, user-independent and efficient, for the cases considered. Secondly, the analysis of a single high aspect ratio cell is used to formulate an equation for the correction radius needed, depending on the characteristics of the correction function used, maximum aspect ratio, minimum first cell height and boundary error. Based on the analysis two new radial basis correction functions are derived and proposed. This proposed automated procedure is verified while varying the correction function, Reynolds number (and thus first cell height and aspect ratio) and boundary error. Finally, the parallel efficiency is studied for the two adaptive methods, unit displacement and prescribed displacement for both the CPU as well as the memory formulation with a 2D oscillating and translating airfoil with oscillating flap, a 3D flexible locally deforming tube and deforming wind turbine blade. Generally, the memory formulation requires less work (due to the large amount of work required for evaluating RBF's), but the parallel efficiency reduces due to the limited bandwidth available between CPU and memory. In terms of parallel efficiency/scaling the different studied methods perform similarly, with the greedy algorithm being the bottleneck. In terms of absolute computational work the adaptive methods are better for the cases studied due to their more efficient selection of the control points. By automating most of the RBF mesh deformation, a robust, efficient and almost user-independent mesh deformation method is presented.

EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF ACTION CAMERAS WITH WIDE-ANGLE LENSES IN UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY

Abstract. The application of light-weight cameras in UAV photogrammetry is required due to restrictions in payload. In general, consumer cameras with normal lens type are applied to a UAV system. The availability of action cameras, like the GoPro Hero4 Black, including a wide-angle lens (fish-eye lens) offers new perspectives in UAV projects. With these investigations, different calibration procedures for fish-eye lenses are evaluated in order to quantify their accuracy potential in UAV photogrammetry. Herewith the GoPro Hero4 is evaluated using different acquisition modes. It is investigated to which extent the standard calibration approaches in OpenCV or Agisoft PhotoScan/Lens can be applied to the evaluation processes in UAV photogrammetry. Therefore different calibration setups and processing procedures are assessed and discussed. Additionally a pre-correction of the initial distortion by GoPro Studio and its application to the photogrammetric purposes will be evaluated. An experimental setup with a set of control points and a prospective flight scenario is chosen to evaluate the processing results using Agisoft PhotoScan. Herewith it is analysed to which extent a pre-calibration and pre-correction of a GoPro Hero4 will reinforce the reliability and accuracy of a flight scenario.

EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF ACTION CAMERAS WITH WIDE-ANGLE LENSES IN UAV PHOTOGRAMMETRY

The application of light-weight cameras in UAV photogrammetry is required due to restrictions in payload. In general, consumer cameras with normal lens type are applied to a UAV system. The availability of action cameras, like the GoPro Hero4 Black, including a wide-angle lens (fish-eye lens) offers new perspectives in UAV projects. With these investigations, different calibration procedures for fish-eye lenses are evaluated in order to quantify their accuracy potential in UAV photogrammetry. Herewith the GoPro Hero4 is evaluated using different acquisition modes. It is investigated to which extent the standard calibration approaches in OpenCV or Agisoft PhotoScan/Lens can be applied to the evaluation processes in UAV photogrammetry. Therefore different calibration setups and processing procedures are assessed and discussed. Additionally a pre-correction of the initial distortion by GoPro Studio and its application to the photogrammetric purposes will be evaluated. An experimental setup with a set of control points and a prospective flight scenario is chosen to evaluate the processing results using Agisoft PhotoScan. Herewith it is analysed to which extent a pre-calibration and pre-correction of a GoPro Hero4 will reinforce the reliability and accuracy of a flight scenario.

GEOREFERENCING ACCURACY ANALYSIS OF A SINGLE WORLDVIEW-3 IMAGE COLLECTED OVER MILAN

Abstract. The use of rational functions has become a standard for very high-resolution satellite imagery (VHRSI). On the other hand, the overall geolocalization accuracy via direct georeferencing from on board navigation components is much worse than image ground sampling distance (predicted < 3.5 m CE90 for WorldView-3, whereas GSD = 0.31 m for panchromatic images at nadir). This paper presents the georeferencing accuracy results obtained from a single WorldView-3 image processed with a bias compensated RPC camera model. Orientation results for an image collected over Milan are illustrated and discussed for both direct and indirect georeferencing strategies as well as different bias correction parameters estimated from a set of ground control points. Results highlight that the use of a correction based on two shift parameters is optimal for the considered dataset.

GEOREFERENCING ACCURACY ANALYSIS OF A SINGLE WORLDVIEW-3 IMAGE COLLECTED OVER MILAN

The use of rational functions has become a standard for very high-resolution satellite imagery (VHRSI). On the other hand, the overall geolocalization accuracy via direct georeferencing from on board navigation components is much worse than image ground sampling distance (predicted < 3.5 m CE90 for WorldView-3, whereas GSD = 0.31 m for panchromatic images at nadir). <br><br> This paper presents the georeferencing accuracy results obtained from a single WorldView-3 image processed with a bias compensated RPC camera model. Orientation results for an image collected over Milan are illustrated and discussed for both direct and indirect georeferencing strategies as well as different bias correction parameters estimated from a set of ground control points. Results highlight that the use of a correction based on two shift parameters is optimal for the considered dataset.

APPROACH FOR IMPROVING THE INTEGRATED SENSOR ORIENTATION

Abstract. The direct determination of exterior orientation parameters (EOP) of aerial images via integration of the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and GPS is often used in photogrammetric mapping nowadays. The accuracies of the EOP depend on the accurate parameters related to sensors mounting when the job is performed (offsets of the IMU relative to the projection centre and the angles of boresigth misalignment between the IMU and the photogrammetric coordinate system). In principle, when the EOP values do not achieve the required accuracies for the photogrammetric application, the approach, known as Integrated Sensor Orientation (ISO), is used to refine the direct EOP. ISO approach requires accurate Interior Orientation Parameters (IOP) and standard deviation of the EOP under flight condition. This paper investigates the feasibility of use the in situ camera calibration to obtain these requirements. The camera calibration uses a small sub block of images, extracted from the entire block. A digital Vexcel UltraCam XP camera connected to APPLANIX POS AVTM system was used to get two small blocks of images that were use in this study. The blocks have different flight heights and opposite flight directions. The proposed methodology improved significantly the vertical and horizontal accuracies of the 3D point intersection. Using a minimum set of control points, the horizontal and vertical accuracies achieved nearly one image pixel of resolution on the ground (GSD). The experimental results are shown and discussed.