Parameter-free half-spaces based 3D building reconstruction using ground and segmented building points from airborne LiDAR data with 2D outlines

Abstract

This paper aims to automatically reconstruct 3D building models on a large scale using a new approach on the basis of half-spaces, while making no assumptions about the building layout and keeping the number of input parameters to a minimum. The proposed algorithm is performed in two stages. First, the airborne LiDAR data and buildings’ outlines are preprocessed to generate buildings’ base models and the corresponding half-spaces. In the second stage, the half-spaces are analysed and used for shaping the final 3D building model using 3D Boolean operations. In experiments, the proposed algorithm was applied on a large scale, and its’ performance was inspected on a city level and on a single building level. Accurate reconstruction of buildings with various layouts were demonstrated and limitations were identified for large-scale applications. Finally, the proposed algorithm was validated on an ISPRS benchmark dataset, where a RMSE of 1.31 m and completeness of 98.9% were obtained.